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Articles

Articles exploring current issues, historical themes and future trends in philanthropy.

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  • Article

    GUEST ARTICLE: Why we (still) need to move beyond “overheads” as a way of judging charities

    20th October 2023

    In this guest article Tom Le Fanu from Raise Your Hands, explores why the “overhead myth” is still the bane of so many charities’ lives and what we can do to move beyond it.

  • Article

    Essay Series: The Expanding Landscape of Doing Good

    23rd Sept 2023

    Is the “landscape of doing good” getting bigger and more diverse than ever before? And what might this mean for traditional philanthropy and nonprofits? We pose the questions that are going to guide a new essay series on this website.

  • Article

    Does Philanthropy Make You a Good Person?

    9th September 2023

    We explore how and why philanthropy informs our judgements about other people’s moral worth.

  • Article

    Radical Philanthropy: Some thoughts on the recent New Yorker profile of Leah Hunt-Hendrix

    17th August 2023

    Rhodri Davies highlights a few thoughts prompted by the recent New Yorker magazine profile of philanthropist Leah Hunt-Hendrix.

  • Article

    In An Ideal World, Would There Be No Philanthropy?

    14th July 2023

    We explore the idea that “in an ideal world there would be no philanthropy”: why does it have such deep roots, how should we understand it, and is it right?

  • Article

    What is Philanthropy For? (Speech to Yorkshire Funders 2023 Conference)

    23rd June 2023

    This is the text of a keynote speech Rhodri Davies gave at the 2023 Yorkshire Funders Conference in Leeds, outlining some of the key questions about the nature and role of philanthropy and why there is a particular need to engage with them right now.

  • Article

    GUEST ARTICLE: Solidarity NOT Charity – What it means to be a funder in solidarity with immigrant communities

    22nd May 2023

    In this article Lorena Gonzalez and Jes Olvera from the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights highlight some of the key challenges they have faced in their work trying to give voice to children from minoritsed communities (whose voices have often been little-heard) and explore why this dictates taking a justice-centered approach to philanthropy; which asks funders to think in terms of solidarity, rather than charity.

  • Article

    Giving More & More Equitably: Reflections on the Gates Foundation’s Greater Giving Summit 2023

    10th May 2023

    Rhodri reflects on the key insights and topics of discussion at the recent Greater Giving Summit 2023, hosted by the Gates Foundation in Seattle.

  • Article

    Good For Ratings? MrBeast & Philanthropy in the Attention Economy

    6th February 2023

    Hugely successful YouTuber MrBeast has become well known for his model of on-screen “Beast Philanthropy”. We take a look at what it is, why it has become controversial & what we should make of it.

  • Article

    Philanthropy, Population Debates & Eugenics

    19th January 2023

    As debate grows over whether we should be more concerned about over-population or declining birth rates, we explore why philanthropy has such a problematic history when it comes to engaging with population issues, and what lessons this holds for modern-day donors and non-profits.

  • Article

    If You Were a Philanthropist, What Would You Do?

    18th November 2022

    If you had the resources to be a philanthropist, how would you go about it? We explore some of the key choices and issues.

  • Article

    Politically Correct? Charities, Campaigning & Politics

    13th October 2022

    Why does the relationship between charities and politics in the UK continue to cause so much debate? What benefits does charity campaigning bring, and what risks does it pose? And are the rules governing this area fit for purpose, or do we need a radical rethink?

  • Learn from our past to better understand our future.

    Philanthropy has a long and varied history. We’ve created bite-size chapters that you can jump in and out of to better understand philanthropy.