Can you name five well-known Irish philanthropists? What about two? Probably the best known "Irish" philanthropist is Irish-American businessman Chuck Feeney, who has quietly given $1 billion (€712 million) to projects here and whose biography by Conor O'Clery was recently launched, writes Tina Roche.

One of the challenges for the new prosperous Ireland is to develop our own local philanthropy culture.

What is philanthropy and how does it differ from charity? Essentially, charity is reacting to a problem or issue, while philanthropy seeks to get to the root of an issue and look for a solution. It requires a longer-term vision and quite often involves more money and involvement from the donor.

The Community Foundation for Ireland (CFI) believes that Ireland is on the cusp of a giving boom. A recent estimate by Bank of Ireland's Wealth of a Nation report suggests we have 33,000 millionaires and that the wealth of the country now stands at €804 billion. We've made the money, but are we ready to give it away?

Research in the UK shows that British people give away about 0.71 per cent of GNP each year compared to just 0.34 per cent in Ireland. Are we really less charitable as a race? In fact the biggest difference is that Irish people are, by and large, still reactive givers.

There are less than 30 foundations in Ireland. Few people have set up their own charitable fund to give a real strategic, long-term focus to their giving.

UK-based businessman Anil Argawal, last year announced that he was giving £510 million (€730 million) to a university in India. His donation is greater than the total estimated Irish donations of €500 million in 2006. If we were to give at UK levels we would, as a nation, be giving over €1 billion a year away. We invested €6 billion in overseas property in the first six months of last year, so surely this is an achievable target.

Community philanthropy is an obvious starting point to promoting increased activity in Ireland. As a people we are proud of our roots and most business people have a commitment to "putting something back" into the area they are from or in which their wealth was created. The CFI helps donors to create their own fund to support local projects or can link them into their local county fund.

In Monaghan, for example, over 30 people have come together and now have a county fund which has already made grants of €30,000 and provides an outlet for local people who want to put something back - either today or through their will. That experience exposes the misconception that it requires wealth of the level of Bill Gates or Warren Buffet to make a contribution.

The Irish charity sector is lobbying the Government to change our tax laws to make them more philanthropy friendly. While this is only one of the motivators, the sector knows the impact that tax breaks in Ireland have had in creating the Celtic Tiger. We now need to see a Government commitment to creating a climate where giving away one's wealth is made attractive and becomes a new norm for society.

Many of Ireland's wealthy are looking at how best to use their wealth and the lack of a supportive tax regime is inhibiting the potentially great philanthropy tide.

Wealthy people are wondering if they should leave all their wealth to their family, or whether they want their children and grandchildren to inherit a fairer Ireland. Philanthropy today can be the answer. It is also extremely rewarding and enables people who have done well to really see the impact that their wealth has made. In November, CFI will announce the winners of the inaugural Philanthropist of the Year awards. If you would like to nominate somebody, nominations forms are available from www.foundation.ie.

Prospective philanthropists can also check out the Guide to Giving, published by Philanthropy Ireland this week.

Research by Philanthropy UK found the main reasons that philanthropists give include their belief in a cause, the desire to be a catalyst for change, a sense of duty and responsibility, and, to an extent, self actualisation. The climate is now perfect to allow these objectives be fulfilled here in Ireland too. It's time to let the sun shine.

Tina Roche is chief executive of the Community Foundation for Ireland and of Business in the Community Ireland.