Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam appointed Dr Pamala Wiepking as full professor in ‘Social significance of charity lotteries’ of the first of January 2019. Her chair is being financed by the Dutch National Postcode Lottery with the intention of increasing scientifically based insight into the social significance of charity lotteries.
Since the 1990s, the social significance of Dutch charity lotteries has increased substantially. Due to their millions of participants, these lotteries contribute more than 500 million euros to charitable organizations every year. This chair will be responsible for conducting research into the impact of these lotteries as well as how charity lotteries and charitable organizations cooperate with each other and with government agencies. To fund this research, VU Amsterdam will receive an annual amount of 60,000 euros from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery.

Last year, Wiepking was appointed visiting professor at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at the University of Indiana in the United States. Along with her appointment at VU Amsterdam, she will continue her work as Stead Family Chair in International Philanthropy at the Lilly Family School. The chair is being accommodated in the Centre for Philanthropic Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences’ Department of Sociology.