CEO & Philanthropic Expert, Appearing on PBS's 'Wall Street Week with Fortune,' Says ''Think About Charity the Way You Think About Investing''.

WAYNE, Pa. -- Eric Thurman of Geneva Global, Inc. Says New Trend Called "Performance Philanthropy" Is Based on Rigorous Investigation of Charities Showing Proven Results

The CEO of Geneva Global, Inc. (http://www.genevaglobal.com/), the philanthropic research and international grantmaking company that specializes in arranging grants by America's wealthy private donors on the basis of rigorous research and investigation of charitable projects in Third World countries, said on the PBS television program, "Wall Street Week With Fortune," that high net worth individuals should look at making their charitable contributions with an investing mentality.

Eric Thurman, CEO of Geneva Global, based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, told host Geoff Colvin, on the program that aired on April 22nd, that a new concept in charitable giving, a phrase coined by Geneva Global called "Performance Philanthropy," is about giving based not only on need, but also on proven results. "Because if nothing changes, you've wasted your money," Thurman told Colvin. "That's a terrible shame, to have had good intentions and you put money out there, but nothing was different." When asked by Colvin how charities can be measured, Thurman replied, "We think you can track it always to life change. If people's lives are changed, you actually can measure that. You can say how many people were affected and in what ways?"

A perfect example about this in the news, said Thurman, was the recent New York Times story on the tsunami relief effort, in which the Times correspondent in Banda Aceh reported little evidence that outside assistance was having concrete results, despite $9 billion in private donations and foreign aid.

Mr. Thurman explained that with performance philanthropy, private donors are presented with specific in-depth research about specific projects. "We have very specific outcomes that are forecast, carefully researched, competent, business grade due diligence, and then we report back on what actually did happen," he said. "So just like you get financial statements, you actually get to see what the yield was on the investment you made."

Thurman explained that after potential donors are armed with this vital information, they then can become its exclusive funder. "So when you donate $30,000 to reopen some water systems or to reopen a school, it's something that wouldn't happen if you hadn't done it," he said.

Geneva Global has over 500 field experts in 90 developing countries stationed strategically to investigate high-performing but often little known grassroots charitable projects. Geneva Global's experience shows that many wealthy donors want to give - but they want to give wisely, just as they want to invest wisely.

Projects that Geneva Global selects for donors are wide-ranging and fascinating. Each month, dozens of new projects are discovered. They include: Preventing sex trafficking in East Europe and Asia; Curing tuberculosis among women and children in Afghanistan; Helping abused women in Macedonia; Helping HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa through the work of local African Churches; Finding homes for displaced Columbians.

A transcript of Eric Thurman's interview on "Wall Street Week with Fortune" can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wsw/tvprogram/20050422.html#philanthropy. Along with Mr. Thurman, host Geoff Colvin interviewed Tim Stone, of the New Tithing Group.