Interview with WISE Founders, Maurice Machenbaum and Etienne Eichenberger
Maurice Machenbaum and Etienne Eichenberger are the two co-founders of WISE-philanthropy advisors, a Switzerland-based advisory firm that aims to bring philanthropists closer to impactful projects. Since 2012 the company is also based in Vietnam to cover Asian clients. The two entrepreneurs laid the cornerstone for their organisation twelve years ago on their first collaboration, a project with street children in Central America.
Maurice Machenbaum and Etienne Eichenberger are the two co-founders of WISE-philanthropy advisors, a Switzerland-based advisory firm that aims to bring philanthropists closer to impactful projects. Since 2012 the company is also based in Vietnam to cover Asian clients. The two entrepreneurs laid the cornerstone for their organisation twelve years ago on their first collaboration, a project with street children in Central America.
Today, the two entrepreneurs continue to enforce their vision of a professional approach to philanthropy. They told Tharawat Magazine about the fulfilment of working with entrepreneurs and their families in the quest for positive change.
Tell us about the project that set WISE into motion.
MM: We were working on a project with street children in Nicaragua. Etienne met with a Belgian philanthropist who wanted to support the cause. Our first ever match! He made a donation and we grew from there.
Soon after the project completed, Hurricane Mitch hit and destroyed everything we had built. We then helped the charity to cover the cost attached to the rebuilding. We travelled with our client to show how his engagement made a difference. Our client committed ten years of support after his visit. A few years later he joined us again, but this time as a volunteer. He now lives in Honduras where he takes care of the older children and helps them with their studies. The experience truly transformed his life.
On one side there was an organisation that needed long-term support, on the other an individual wanting to focus his philanthropic activities on a worthwhile cause. We simply connected the two. Our next step was to replicate the experience. How could we connect wealthy people to good, worthwhile projects? And so WISE was born. We founded our company to help people use their money, their time and their skills in impactful ways. Twelve years later we believe that we have proven our model to work.
How do you identify worthwhile projects?
MM: We begin from the donor’s perspective. Every client gets a tailor-made solution. Some philanthropists want to donate to a cause, others to a specific NGO. It is our job to evaluate opportunities and guide our clients through the process.
In order to promote long-term philanthropic commitment, and a greater experience for him or her, it is imperative that the donor’s aspirations are understood. We usually recommend a 3 to 5-year project commitment, ensuring our donors a way out if the project doesn’t inspire change. We pay a lot of attention to the organisations though, to us, the most important element is the people involved.
Another criterion we pay keen attention to is relevance. You might think that poor children in Vietnam are in need of education and that building schools is intuitively a good idea. However, if you do your research, you’ll find that the government is actually building lots of educational facilities. A better investment would be to ensure that good teachers are employed and materials are available at the existing institutions.
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It is important to understand the real issues, then the right solutions will follow. When WISE evaluates an organisation, we make a point to really understand the context within which it operates.That way we give the donors the right feedback. We rigorously select the organisation to understand both the opportunity of the support and the quality of the management. But a good organisation isn’t enough. We need to see projects that have a real and lasting impact. The projects need to change lives.
Who are your clients?
EE: Our clients are private individuals, and family business owners. Often they are looking for meaningful engagement and appropriate advice. Yann Borgstedt, entrepreneur and philanthropist told us once: “You have a pragmatic, entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy which really resonates with me as an entrepreneur.” In addition, some of our clients can be established philanthropic foundations that we either help set up or develop their impact. For instance, we helped the CHANEL Foundation in Paris in its initial setup phase. Many foundations want to review their policies and we advise them on how to do it.
Our clients are people or institutions who need help determining the right charity or social enterprise to fund and to create long-standing impact. We travel with them in search of those that best suit their criteria. One can obviously be very moved by the things seen when visiting various sites, but signing a cheque is not necessarily the best response. Our function as advisors is a great leverage not only for the donor but for the organisation supported as well.
What services do you provide to families?
EE: Donors look both for an experience and lasting impact. Our services hence help them to shape the involvement – we can manage their grants and we can help them to nurture a meaningfully approach to their philanthropy.
When it comes to families we often have multiple generations from the same family involved in our projects, which makes for great client trips. We also get to see how it brings them closer together. We give families independent advice and bespoke approach. We are flexible and can adapt to what the family needs and desires.
This year, we are launching a New Gen Council aimed at getting family youth to engage in philanthropic endeavour in collaboration with the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. In fact, 20 young adults between 25 and 35 years old will meet four times over the next two years to define jointly what matters to them in philanthropy. There is a shift in trend. Younger generations want to get involved. They think differently than people did 10 years ago. They are looking to make the difference in their own way, which is very exciting.
What does the future hold for WISE?
MM: As you know the engagement of private individuals will never be enough to cover the existing needs. We will always prioritise quality relations that scale impact. We travel often with our clients and over time we develop profound relationships. Our one-on-one bespoke approach would hardly be possible on a much larger scale. We observe that others are trying to replicate our model, which is a good sign. It seems to be working! Thierry Mauvernay, a second generation entrepreneur, was telling us: “All too often, philanthropy tends to be equated with good intentions. We realised that philanthropy is far too important to be managed amateurishly.” We will remain in the picture as long as we bring added value.
You can get in touch with the team at WISE and find out more about their projects and activities:
Phone (Switzerland): +41 22 321 77 37
Phone (Vietnam): +84 8 3520 77 37
E-mail: contact@wise.net
www.wise.net
Tharawat Magazine, Issue 29, 2016
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