“Keep it simple”: that was the advice of Scott Harrison, the founder of Charity: Water, when asked for his advice to a social entrepreneur with an idea for doing good. Harrison was on a panel with Lauren Bush, founder of FEEDprojects (and the niece/granddaughter of two American presidents), and Charles Best, of DonorsChoose, moderated by […]
It was good to see Barron’s magazine’s cover feature about the world’s 25 best givers, which rightly observed that “the name of the game in philanthropy this year is to make your dollars go far – very far.” The article, prepared in partnership with the excellent Trevor and Maggie Nielson at Global Philanthropy Group, focuses […]
So, we are philanthropy’s “dangerous and destructive” assailants, accuses Phil Buchanan in his recent blog at Philanthropy Central, a new site from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. It seems that celebrating the wave of successful entrepreneurs and big corporations that are getting into giving back, what we call philanthrocapitalism, is a threat to […]
So the long wait for Barack Obama to nominate America’s international development czar is over. Congratulations to Raj Shah, who should breeze through the confirmation process to become head of US AID, having already been approved for his current post in the Department of Agriculture. Shah, who is just 36, takes on this crucial job […]
“Will the Gates Foundation or Kiva.org have a greater impact on poverty?” That was the question up for debate on our Facebook fansite in a competition for a signed advance copy of the new paperback. Opinions were evenly divided. People like Kiva’s focus on supporting entrepreneurs through microfinance and the way it empowers ordinary donors, but […]
Win a pre-publication copy of Philanthrocapitalism in paperback! The first copies of the paperback have arrived hot off the presses at our offices. The book looks great – with an attractive new cover (as featured on our redesigned website), a new subtitle (How Giving Can Save the World), and lots of new material, including a […]
The recent decision by the English Charity Commission that two private schools are not doing enough to justify their charitable status has sparked a volley of criticism in the media, with accusations that the venerable Commission has succumbed to the politics of envy and even class war. The controversy is the product of the 2006 Charities Act, which tried to tighten […]
Women, it seems, are more likely than men to give to overseas causes, says a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. According to the paper’s authors, Karen Page Winterich, Vikas Mittal and William T. Ross Jr., men prefer to give to causes closer to home, when offered the choice between donating to victims […]
“This week Ashton Kutcher (aka @aplusk) broke the one million mark in Twitter followers and introduced Oprah (@oprah) to the phenomenon. He’s also using his fame and Twitterlebrity to raise awareness of malaria and ask fans to support Malaria No More in sending insecticide-treated mosquito nets to African countries where they are needed most.” So […]
Congratulations to Wikipedia. The free online encylopedia has just exceeded the $6m target it set for its recent fundraising effort. A thank you letter from its inspirational founder, Jimmy Wales, noted that “This campaign has proven that Wikipedia matters to its users, and that our users strongly support our mission: to bring free knowledge to […]