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 “othering” poor people and seeing them as a distinct group (to be pitied/helped), and thereby dehumanis ..read more

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 philanthropy Isabel de Bruin from Erasmus University, about her research on how the "NGO halo effect" (i.e. the inflated sense of moral goodness that nonprofit organisatio ..read more

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 recent critiques of philanthropy in the US and elsewhere resonate in the Australian context? (E.g. th ..read more

On this episode we take an in-depth look at the 2023 documentary film "UnCharitable", which is based on the book and TED talk by Dan Pallotta, and 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 from a few of the attendees at a recent screening of the film held in London (organised by Why P ..read more

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? Was it a desire to make distribution of money more effective; concerns about democratic legitima ..read more

In this episode we speak to Mary Rose Gunn, 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 with the public sector more effectively? Do small charities have unique value (i.e. compared to larger ones?) Is ..read more

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 open source approaches to AI at a time when there is such  huge commercial competition surrounding ..read more

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 rise of political populism, will 2024 be a pivotal year from democracy? Will there be further att ..read more

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 media? Will the ongoing rise of influencer philanthropy, epitomised by MrBeast, bring more criticism and more ..read more

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 use philanthropic grant money as "first loss" capital to lower the risk of impact investments and m ..read more