In this episode we talk to historian Anelise Hanson Shrout about her fascinating new book Aiding Ireland: The Great Famine and the rise of transnational philanthropy. Including:  Was the global philanthropic response to the Irish famine unprecedented at that point?Is the response best explained by the fact the famine was able to act as an “empty signifier” which allowed a wide range of groups to interpret the situation according to their own worldview and to imbue their giving with different...

In this episode we hear from author Amy Schiller about her fascinating and thought provoking new book The Price of Humanity: How philanthropy went wrong and how to fix it. Including: Has our understanding of philanthropy has become too centred on the idea that it is solely about funding things that make human life possible, rather than those that make it worthwhile? Is there a danger that philanthropy which becomes too focussed on seeing human life in terms of basic existence ends up...

In the fifth edition of our partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we hear from more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from: Arthur Gautier from ESSEC Business School, about his work exploring how wealthy people's life experiences shape their views on the relationship between impact investing and philanthropyIsabel de Bruin from Erasmus University, about her...

In this episode we talk to Australian philanthropy expert Krystian Seibert about his work with the Productivity Commission's Public Inquiry on philanthropy, including their recent draft report "Future Foundations for Giving" which sets out findings and recommendations on developing philanthropy in Australia. Including: How did the Productivity Commission report on philanthropy come about, and what is the aim behind it?What is the history and current context for civil society in Australia?Do...

On this episode we take an in-depth look at the 2023 documentary film "UnCharitable", based on the book and TED talk by Dan Pallotta, which argues that the current funding model for the nonprofit sector is broken. Including -An interview with the Director of the film, Stephen Gyllenhaal, in which he talks about how the film came about, what he learned through making it, and what the plans are next for taking the film's aims forward. -A critical assessment of the film -Some short perspectives...

In this episode we discuss the 'Wealth Shared' project that took place in 2023 in Liverpool, UK -  in which 12 randomly-selected citizens of the L8 postcode were given the chance to decide how £100K was given away. We talk to project founder David Clarke, who provided the money and designed the approach, and also hear briefly from Anne-Marie Gilleece, one of the 12 participants who got to make the decision. Including: What was the thinking behind the project?What primarily drove the design?...

In this episode we speak to Mary Rose Gunn, Founder and CEO of The Fore, about why small charitable organisations are so valuable and how to support them to thrive. Including: How did The Fore come about, and what does the organisation exist to do?Is there too much competition and not enough collaboration in the charity sector? Why is this?How can we design more collaborative approaches? What kinds of resources and infrastructure will this require?How can philanthropic funders collaborate...

In the fourth edition of our partnership with the  European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we hear from more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from:  Pamala Wiepking (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUI &  Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)  and Arjen De Wit ( Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ), about developing a conceptual model to understand the benefits of core funding for...

In this episode we talk to J. Bob Alotta - SVP, Global Progammes at Mozilla - about what is happening at the intersection of artificial intelligence, philanthropy and civil society. Including: What role can open source approaches play in ensuring that AI is developed in a way that benefits society? What is Mozilla funding in this area, and how much other philanthropic funding is currently focussed on these kinds of initiatives?How optimistic should we be about the potential for developing...

As is now tradition, in our final episode of the year we take a look at some of the key themes and trends in philanthropy and civil society right now and offer some thoughts on what the coming year might bring. In this second of two parts, we focus on the opportunities and challenges that technology will bring. Including: Will Twitter (oh, alright, "X") finally give up and die? Will we settle on a replacement? And should we even do that, or should we rethink the whole idea of social...

As is now tradition, in our final episode of the year we take a look at some of the key themes and trends in philanthropy and civil society right now and offer some thoughts on what 2024 might bring. In this first of two parts, we explore developments in the wider political and economic landscape,  as well as taking a deep dive into what to expect in philanthropy, everyday giving, grantmaking and the nonprofit sector. Including: Given the number of major elections worldwide, and the ongoing...

In this episode we talk to Dr Farahnaz Karim, Founder & CEO of Insaan Group, about catalytic philanthropy, impact investing and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Including: What does Insaan Group do, and how did the organisation come about?What does the current impact investing market landscape look like? Where is the money coming from, and where is it going?How do we ensure that the focus on social, as well as financial, returns is maintained in impact investing?Is it appropriate to...

In this episode we speak to Elizabeth Barajas-Román, President & CEO of the Women's Funding Network, about taking a feminist approach to funding and what more philanthropy should be doing to drive gender equity. Including: What does it mean to be a feminist funder?Is feminist funding just for those who are interested in gender and women's issues, or can the principles be applied by funders in other areas?What are the similarities and the differences in terms of the context for gender...

In this episode we speak to Sara Lomelin, founding CEO of Philanthropy Together, about the rise of giving circles and the intersection between philanthropy, community and identity. Including: How did Philanthropy Together come about, and what is the organisation's mission?Who gets involved in giving circles? Are they different from"typical donors"?Do collective giving models appeal more to younger donors?What different approaches to giving circles take to decision-making?Are there models of...

In this episode we talk to Joshua Amponsem, co-founder and Strategy Director of the  Youth Climate Justice Fund, a newly-formed organisation that aims to support youth-led climate movements with trust-based funding, resources and youth-to-youth development. We discuss:  How did YCJF come about? What is the organisation's mission and what does it aim to do?Why is so little philanthropy currently aimed at climate issues? Why is only a tiny fraction of that funding aimed at youth-led climate...

This is the third edition of our partnership with the  European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), in which we talk to academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from: Marlou Ramaekers from Vrije Universitat in Amsterdam, on how behaviour modelling and encouragement from parents and partners influence our informal volunteeringNina Sooter from the University of Geneva, on using virtual reality for...

In this episode we talk to Aaron Horvath, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford University's Center on Philanthropy & Civil Society, about his research on how nonprofits responded in an unexpected way to new regulatory reporting demands- going well above and beyond what was expected of them. Including: What is the notion of "supererogation" and how is it applied in this research to analyse the response of nonprofits to new accountability demands?Why did nonprofits choose to report...

In this episode, we talk to Lorena Gonzalez and Jes Olvera from the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights about their work supporting unaccompanied child migrants in the US, and what it means to put justice at the heart of their approach to philanthropy. Including: What is the current landscape of philanthropic funding for immigrant rights like in the US?The issue of immigration is highly politicised (especially in the US), so when working as a funder in this field do you try to...

In this episode we talk to Martha Awojobi, Founder/CEO of JMB Consulting about the upcoming BAMEOnline conference and about what it means to bring the principles of anti-racism to bear on philanthropy, charity & fundraising. Including:  How did the BAMEOnline conference come about, who is it for, and why is it needed?Does philanthropy and the charity sector have a diversity problem?What does it mean for organisations in the charity and philanthropy world, and those working in them, to...

In this episode we hear from three academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused Research Notes from the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP). We have: Claire van Teunenbroek from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, talking about her work on crowdfunding and philanthropyTobias Jung from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, talking about his paper on how the concept of spectrality can be applied to further our understanding of...

In this episode we take a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges that artificial intelligence might bring for philanthropy and civil society. Including: Why is everyone talking about AI all of a sudden?What do we actually mean by "AI"?How much of the talk about "AI For Good" is substantive, and how much is hype?What are some of the best examples of nonprofits/funders currently making use of AI?What impact will the emergence of new AI capabilites around process automation, image...

On this episode, we talk to philosopher and lawyer Patricia Illingworth about her recent book Giving Now: Accelerating Human Rights for All, and about how we can apply the framework of human rights to some of the big questions about the nature and role of philanthropy. Including: What does it mean to use human rights as a framework for understanding donor responsibilities?Is philanthropy a choice or a duty?Do human rights responsibilities apply to all philanthropy, or just a certain portion...

In this episode we take a deep dive into an issue that has been generating a lot of debate recently: is pluralism in philanthropy a good thing, or not? Including: What has caused the latest furore, and what has the reaction been?Is philanthropic freedom genuinely under threat, and if so why? Or is this just a straw man?Should donors and foundations be free to "engage in the unfettered pursuit of their own mission, interests and prerogatives", or are there arguments for constraining this...

In this episode we take a look at the long history of the relationship between philanthropy and music. Including: Philanthropy supporting music Patronage & philanthropyWho 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 as Philanthropists How does the fact that many musicians come from relatively modest or poor backgrounds inform their...