Philanthropisms

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a look at the long history of the relationship between philanthropy and music. Including: Philanthropy supporting music Patronage & philanthropy Who gets to decide which music count as "art"? How did Victorian paternalism tie in with the promotion of music? How and when did the state come to accept responsibility for funding music? Musicians a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to philanthropist Dr Ewan Kirk, founder of the Turner Kirk Trust, about why he believes it is so important that philanthropists are willing to take risks and give the organisations they support  'permission to fail'. Including: Why is it so important to give charities permission to fail? What factors make something a “good” failure rather than a “...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Michael Thatcher, CEO of US nonprofit rating service Charity Navigator,  about why and how the organisation tries to help people to choose charities more effectively. Including: What is Charity Navigator? What is its mission and what services does it offer to try to achieve that goal? What criteria does the Charity Navigator rating system encompass? What...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the first of what will hopefully be a regular series, in partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), in which we discuss their quarterly Research Notes. This is a new project that will produce short, accessible summaries of recent academic research relating to philanthropy, with the aim of bringing research to a wider audience of practit...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Rhod talks to philanthropy adviser Emma Beeston and academic Dr Beth Breeze about their new book Advising Philanthropists . Including: What are some of the key elements of philanthropy advice? How much is philanthropy advice about objective, technical things (e.g. tax, structures etc) and how much is it about subjective things (about finding purpose, understanding...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode, as part of our occasional mini-series in partnership with NPC, we talk to Tris Lumley about open philanthropy: what it is, why it is important, and how we make it happen. Including: What is NPC’s Open Philanthropy project? How did it come about? How has NPC been putting some of its thinking about open philanthropy into practice? What is the difference between “out...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to historian and political scientist Claire Dunning about her book Nonprofit Neighborhoods: An urban history of inequality and the American state , and her work on the history of radical philanthropy in Boston. Including: -What are the “nonprofit neighborhoods” described in the book? -Can participation in nonprofits become an alternative to involvement in t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Rhod talks to Jake Ferguson and Vanessa Thomas, two of the Committee members of the Baobab Foundation - a new member-led endowed grantmaker that is seeking to address issues of systemic racism and intersectional injustice in the UK. Including: How did the Baobab Foundation come about?  What has been the progress so far? Has the momentum behind addressing issues of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a deep dive into the relationship between philanthropy and business. Commercial ventures have always played a key role in generating wealth for people to give away through philanthropy, but is there more to it than that? And what are the promises and pitfalls of trying to combine profit with purpose? Including: Does philanthropy need to be "more busine...

Send us Fan Mail In our last episode of the year, we take a look at some of the key issues and trends affecting philanthropy and civil society right now and offer some thoughts on what to watch out for in 2023. Including:  The impact of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and possible recession on philanthropy, everyday giving and the work of charities. Polarisation and political division making it...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a look at a few of the biggest stories from what has been a notable newsworthy couple of weeks for philanthropy - focusing on the fallout from the spectacular implosion of crypto billionaire and high profile Effective Altruist Sam Bank-Fried. We also take a look at a big philanthropy pledge from Jeff Bezos and the latest on Mackenzie Scott's radical no...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Rhodri talks to Sara Slaughter, Executive Director of the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation, and Derek Mitchell, CEO of Partners in Schools Innovation about their relationship as funder and grantee, and how they have worked together to move towards to a new focus on equity and justice. Including: How and why has Stone Foundation changed the way it does gra...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we explore whether it is always necessary to say thank you for a philanthropic gift, whether it might sometimes be problematic, and the implications of how we choose to recognise donations. Including: If we view  philanthropy as a duty of justice, rather than a charitable choice, does that mean we have a right to expect it and therefore don't need to be gratef...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Rhod talks to Martha Lackritz-Peltier, General Counsel of nonprofit technology specialist TechSoup, about using tech to overcome some of the barriers to cross-border giving and the localization of international development. Including: What is the UN’s Grand Bargain? Why is this important? Why has it not been delivered on so far? Where does the reluctance of INGOs...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Rhodri is joined by Angela Kail (Director of Consulting at New Philanthropy Capital (NPC)) to take a look at the growing cost of living crisis in the UK (and beyond), and what means for philanthropy, grantmaking and the work of civil society organisations. Including: Impact on charity finances What will the impact of inflation be when it comes increasing costs (e.g...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to political philosopher Emma Saunders-Hastings about her new book  Private Virtues, Public Vices: Philanthropy and Democratic Equality  and some of the big questions that philanthropy raises for philosophers and political theorists. Including: What is the distinction between distributive and relational concepts of equality?  Many modern critiques of philan...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Derek Bardowell,  CEO of Ten Years Time Ltd and author of new book Giving Back: How to do good better, We discuss why our understanding of philanthropy needs to shift from a mindset of charity to one of justice, and what this means for donors and grantmakers. Including: Why is the distinction between charity and justice so important, and what does it mea...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Charles Keidan, editor of Alliance magazine, about why we need philanthropy journalism and what some of the key issues are in civil society right now. Including: Why is it important to have journalists focussing on philanthropy? Is coverage of philanthropy too focussed on the Global North (especially the US)? Is it possible to rebalance this? Is it possi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we explore the long history of concerns that some money may be "tainted", and ask what this means for philanthropy now and in the future. Including: The history of tainted donations, featuring: St Augustine of Hippo, The Venerable Bede, St Thomas Aquinas, The Paris Guild of Prostitutes, Frederick Douglass, George Cadbury, George Bernard Shaw, The Salvatio...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we discuss the links between religion, faith and giving with David P. King, Karen Lake Buttrey Director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving and Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Lilly Family School on Philanthropy at Indiana University- Purdue University, Indiana. Including: How important a part does faith play in motivating and shaping ap...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a look at the opportunities and challenges that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology bring for giving and ask: is cryptophilanthropy a boom market, or a busted flush? Including: Is the resurgence of interest in cryptophilanthropy  in the last 18 months partly to do with the enforced digitisation many of us went through during the pandemic? At the same...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Tyrone McKinley Freeman, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI about his book "Madam C. J. Walker's Gospel of Giving: Black Women's Philanthropy During Jim Crow" and about the history and current context of Black philanthropy. Including: Madam C. J. Walker: Who was Madam C. J. W...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, in light of recent high-profile disasters in places like Ukraine, Afghanistan and Tigray, we take a look at the long-standing relationship between philanthropy and disaster response. Including: History: The history of disaster response philanthropy: from 16th Century "charitable briefs" in response to fires and floods to the emergence of the Disasters Em...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Sadaf Shallwani, Director of Learning and Evaluation at the Firelight Foundation, about funding systems change, supporting grassroots communities and shifting power dynamics within philanthropy. Including: How did the Firelight Foundation come about, what is its core mission, and what is distinctive/unique about its approach? Why is "traditional aid...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we talk to Teddy Schleifer, Senior Reporter at Puck News, about what is going on in big money philanthropy in the US, and the challenges of reporting on philanthropy. Including. Why is it important to have journalists focussing on philanthropy? Does the trend towards independent media outlets (substacks, specialist outlets etc) make it easier to report on elite phi...