What Donors Want

Philanthropy is changing — and donors are changing with it. In this episode of What Donors Want, we speak with Isabelle Hayhoe, Senior Philanthropy Adviser at Barclays Private Bank, about new research exploring how high-net-worth individuals in the UK are approaching giving today. Drawing on insights from their report The Modern Philanthropist, the conversation reveals a clear shift: today’s donor...

I.G.'s Chair, Alisha Fernandez Miranda, just published her second book and first novel, Someone's Gotta Give. How to describe it? Think Devil Wears Prada meets the world of high-value philanthropy. This relatable and heartwarming dramedy follows Lucia, a new mom and expat in London who lands a glamorous job as a philanthropic advisor to the ultra-wealthy. Caught between career ambitions, family ne...

In this episode of Alisha and Emily interview Piyush Tantia, Chief Innovation Officer at Ideas42. Piyush shares insights on donor psychology, philanthropy trends, and the challenges of building effective giving platforms. They dive into: 🟡 The psychology behind charitable giving and why it's an interesting behaviour from an economic perspective. 🟡 How the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced gi...

In this episode, Rachel and Emily explore the concept of narrative ecosystems with Mandy Van Deven and Jody Myrum. Together, they dive into: 🟡 What is a narrative ecosystem, and why is this important? 🟡 How can philanthropy effectively support narratives of liberation, and fund the infrastructure for narrative power? 🟡 What is the case for supporting narrative ecosystems and what are the stakes...

Rachel and Alisha speak with the incomparable Farah Mohamed - a leader with over 25 years of experience in the government, social-profit, and for-profit sectors. Currently, Farah is the CEO of The King's Trust Canada, a charity that creates pathways to employment for barriered youth across Canada, but you may also know her from her roles as CEO of the Malala Fund, founder & CEO of G(irls)20, or th...

In this episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Emily Collins-Ellis speak with three philanthropy experts on the debate around whether mandatory minimum payout rates should be introduced for charitable foundations in the UK. Drawing on Pro Bono Economics’ recent report on the potential of the UK’s ‘Hidden Dragon’ Foundations that are ‘sitting on assets’, we discuss the opportunity to increase funding...

In this episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Emily Collins-Ellis speak with Cassie Robinson about the need to invest in ‘imagination infrastructure’ to support communities in developing practices around collective imagination to envision new futures beyond the status quo. Cassie holds roles with Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Arising Quo, and Pro Bono Economics. **** This epis...

In this episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Beatrice Onyango speak with three of Segal Family Foundation’s African Visionary Fellows - all about the power of unrestricted funding, and what it can unlock across the Continent and beyond: 🟡 Delphine Uwamahoro, Our Sisters Opportunity (OSO) 🟡 Abaas Mpindi, Media Challenge Initiative 🟡 Jackie Leonard Bomboma, Young Strong Mothers Foundation (YSMF)...

Imagine this - you get a call out of the blue from a consultant offering an unrestricted grant of $10 million that you can use however you like, spend on any time frame, and you never have to send a *single* update to the donor. You only have a couple of days to confirm whether or not you want to accept, and it turns out the donor is none other than MacKenzie Scott. In this episode, Rachel Stephen...

Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Emily Collins-Ellis speak with the incomparable Roz Lee - a leader who has dedicated her life to advancing racial, gender, economic and LGBTQ justice through community organising, advocacy, political education and philanthropy. Roz has held leadership roles at the Equality Fund, Ms. Foundation for Women, and the Arcus Foundation. She is also the first-ever Professor of...

Rachel Stephenson Sheff speaks with two brilliant executives from the international fashion brand, Kurt Geiger: Neil Clifford, CEO, and Pascale Montaner, Vice President of Global Marketing & Executive Director of the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation. In this wonderfully transparent and energising conversation, they dive into all things corporate impact, including: 🟡 Why Kurt Geiger decided to star...

Rachel Stephenson Sheff speaks with Jessamyn Shams-Lau and Jane Leu all about power dynamics in governance - particularly in family foundation structures, but also more broadly across the non-profit world. Following a decade of leading a family foundation, Jessamyn shares her powerful story of navigating these power dynamics during the #BlackLivesMatter protests of June 2020, when her foundation B...

Rachel Stephenson Sheff speaks with Nick Grono, CEO of The Freedom Fund, all about their new resource for donors and philanthropic advisors: #FundingFrontlineImpact (www.fundingfrontlineimpact.org). I.G. was thrilled to work with the Freedom Fund to create this resource, which shares advice, stories and tools to help donors of all kinds on their own frontline grantmaking journeys - no matter the c...

Emily Collins-Ellis and Rachel Stephenson Sheff speak with some of the Fellows from the very first cohort of I.G. Advisors’ #FixTheFlow Fellowship. One year ago, we added a bold, systems-change project to our work at I.G.: the #FixTheFlow Fellowship. Born out of frustration with the inequities and challenges of the funding system, we launched this fellowship for fundraisers who want to learn to th...

Welcome back to Season 4 of What Donors Want! In episode 36, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Emily Collins-Ellis chat with the legendary Vu Le, founder of @NonprofitAF. We discuss: 🌟 Self care for non-profit professionals 🌟 Vu’s brilliant #CrappyFundingPractices campaign on Twitter, and the ‘Tipping Points’ that can change bad donor behaviour 🌟 The incredible Community Centric Fundraising Movement...

In the thirty-fifth episode, Lauren Gross chairs our launch event for The Mesa! (https://www.themesa.org) The Mesa is the only digital platform designed to help you bring your philanthropic community online to connect, grow, and give better. Created by us at I.G. Advisors, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Mesa is your completely customizable, private hub for members a...

In the thirty-fourth episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Jasmine Awad speak with Ximena Andión Ibañez, Programme Officer for Mexico and Central America at the Ford Foundation. Today’s episode is a special one because not only did we have a fantastic conversation with Ximena about all things fundraising and philanthropy, but we also announced the release of I.G.’s latest free sector resource: the...

In the thirty-first episode, Emily Collins-Ellis and Rachel Stephenson Sheff speak with zohra moosa - Executive Director of Mama Cash - about all things related to feminism, fundraising and activism. In 1983, Mama Cash became the first international women’s fund; what began as a small-scale - but incredibly visionary - initiative of five lesbian feminists around a kitchen table in Amsterdam, has s...

In the thirtieth episode, Carlos Miranda and Rachel Stephenson Sheff speak with David Simas – CEO of the Obama Foundation – about all things related to philanthropy, politics and democracy. The Obama Foundation, of course, is the philanthropic legacy of former US President and former First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama – and its mission is to inspire, empower and connect people to change their w...

In the twenty-ninth episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Gaby Cervera chat with Hannah Paterson, a Senior Portfolio Manager at the UK's National Lottery Community Fund. The Community Fund is one of the largest funders in the UK and distributes £600m+ a year to communities across the country, raised by players of The National Lottery itself. Our conversation with Hannah dives into all of this and m...

In the twenty-eighth episode, Alisha Miranda and Emily Collins-Ellis chat with the legendary Richard Curtis. He is, of course, the BAFTA and Emmy award winning film writer and director, responsible for classics such as Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’ Diary and Love Actually - but films are just one part of his life. In the other half, Richard is a philanthropic leader, responsible for co-founding Com...

In the twenty-seventh episode, Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Jasmine Awad dive into the world of corporate impact with Katy Goodrich, Customer Success Director and Social Impact Team Lead at Adobe UK. Adobe, of course, is the American multinational computer software company responsible for Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere and Illustrator, among many other things. Adobe gives back in several different w...

In the twenty-sixth episode, Emily Collins-Ellis and Rachel Stephenson Sheff dive into the world of Donor Advised Funds (aka DAFs) with Anna Josse, CEO and Co-Founder of Prism the Gift Fund. Prism is a UK DAF established in 2005 with a mission to increase the flow of funds to the charitable sector. It’s one of the largest and most well-known DAFs in the country, with assets of over £100 million, a...

In the twenty-fifth episode - streamed originally for IoF's virtual 2020 Convention (#IoFFC)- Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Erin Niimi Longhurst dive into the world of livestream fundraising with Alyssa Sweetman, Twitch's Charity Programme Manager, and Daniel 'Kasper' Bong, one of Twitch’s livestream fundraising influencers (known as 'Kasper' on the platform). Twitch is, of course, the world's large...

In the twenty-fourth episode, Alisha Miranda and Rachel Stephenson Sheff speak with Victoria Vrana, Deputy Director of Philanthropic Partnerships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In this role, Victoria leads the Foundation’s Giving By All initiative, which aims to inspire and enable more informed and intentional generosity by everyday givers. Giving By All has been at the forefront of the p...