By Stephen Pittam Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org Six months after I had started working for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) a close friend said to me, ‘you have changed – you expect people to listen to you.’ It was a good reminder of the best piece of advice I received on getting the job. Eric…
By the following members of the Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace: Ana Criquillion, Barry Knight, Atallah Kuttab, Halima Mahomed, Stephen Pittam, Chandrika Sahai and Suzanne Siskel. Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org On 8 July members of the Working Group on Social Justice and Peace held a webinar to talk about power and philanthropy.…
By Albert Ruesga Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org ‘Let not thy will roar, when thy power can but whisper.’ Dr Thomas Fuller Wealthy donors are typically the lifeblood of a community foundation. These individuals and families draw their power from many of the institutions that define contemporary life in a capitalist society – not only financial institutions,…
By Avila Kilmurray Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org ‘This is how the verb “to participate” is conjugated – I participate, you participate, they decide.’ This comment relates to international development aid but could be echoed by grant recipients of many philanthropic programmes. Who decides on the allocation of resources and how? Motivated by an acute sensitivity to…
By Suzanne Siskel and Anna-Nanine Pond Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org How powerful are foundations relative to other actors in society? With few exceptions, foundations and NGOs pale in size, programme scope and budgets beside governments, international development agencies and multinational corporations. Yet, too often, grantmakers act as if the limited transactional clout of giving away money…
By Chandrika Sahai and Ana Criquillion This post is also available here in Spanish. At the current moment in time, Latin America and the Caribbean as a region is witnessing enormous shifts. Its economic landscape is changing and some of the countries in the region are now identified as emerging markets. Meanwhile social, economic and…
The Second Olga Alexeeva Memorial Prize will be awarded to an individual who has demonstrated remarkable leadership, creativity and results in developing philanthropy for progressive social change in an emerging market country or countries. Sound like someone you know? The closing date for nominations is 18 October (recently extended). Read more about the prize and…
Earlier this month (on September 10 and 11, 2013) the Working Group on Philanthropy for Social justice and Peace and the Global Fund for Community Foundations convened a small group of grassroots indigenous foundations in Shillong in the North East of India. The convening was hosted by the Foundation for Social Transformation – Enabling North…
“Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can effect change – it can not only move us, it makes us move.” Ossie Davis (American actor and playwright) For the first time ever, Tamil and Muslim students from Jaffna District in the North of Sri Lanka came together and produced…
By Ana Criquillion Courtesy of www.alliancemagazine.org When I started the Central American Women’s Fund (FCAM) in Nicaragua almost a decade ago, I wondered how I could involve Central American women’s movements in decision-making without creating a political mess. Decisions around money are always difficult, particularly where there are so few resources available and where organizations…