From Ambassador for Philanthropy, Dame Stephanie Shirley

          Promoting philanthropy and exploring its potential and problems has proved a fascinating task as the British government-appointed Ambassador for Philanthropy.

          Most encouraging of all has been the way other philanthropists, philanthropic leaders and organizations have seized on my ambassadorship as an opportunity to work together to put forward their own ideas of how to transform philanthropy, giving and charity to better meet needs from the local to the global.

          Many of them have urged me to continue this work, using the freedom and independence of my position, having the ear of government yet able to challenge established thinking and existing practice, to foster these initiatives and others to explore the future of philanthropy. I do hope that our next government will make a commitment of carrying on the post of Ambassador for Philanthropy.

          At a time of economic difficulty and political challenge, philanthropy has an ever more vital role to perform, and I remain committed to giving philanthropists a voice, from the platform of major events to lobbying key decision makers and the web site Ambassador For Philanthropy.

          Leading figures are eager to take forward the work underway as if they were ambassadors for philanthropy themselves, whether in this country, in their personal field of interest, or around the world, reflecting the leadership I think Britain can offer in unleashing philanthropy.

          It is my deepest honour to serve.