Austin Gives to the World

Here’s a snippet — and a link — from my story today on Austin’s new charitable focus on the rest of the world.

Experts estimate that, in the past 15 years, Central Texans have given more than $1 billion to charities that help other Central Texans.

Yet while donating privately — or at a growing number of public giving events — they have not forgotten the rest of the world.

Increasingly, Austin-based charities are targeting the needy far beyond our country’s shores.

Altogether, the 12 local and relatively young nonprofits surveyed for this column have spent more than $330 million on overseas projects.

The culture associated with these big donations is changing as much as the giving.

“Austin has the potential to be the center for social innovation in the world,” says Steven Wanta, executive program director for the Whole Planet Foundation, which has provided $52 million in microloans to Whole Foods Market suppliers around the globe. “We have all the the pieces necessary: marquee events, world-changing companies and passionate people.”