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Unearthing secret excel spreadsheets – why measuring what matters, matters

“What’s on your secret excel spreadsheet?” This was the question posed to a room of Brazilian civil society practitioners, who had been convened by Candid in 2019 to discuss the topic of measurement in their work. Over 2018 and 2019, the GFCF had similarly coordinated a separate learning group of 15 community philanthropy partners to explore the…

Bleak prognosis for Indian civil society following new foreign funding bill

The Government of India passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 on 23 September, less than 72 hours after it was tabled without any prior consultation, taking both civil society in India and the international donor community by surprise. The President gave his assent on 28 September, despite nationwide outcry from civil society and condemnation from the…

The problem with resilience as we know it

What builds community resilience? In this article posted on the India Development Review, Ruchita Chandrashekar, a behavioural health researcher and independent psychologist focusing on trauma and post-violence recovery offers important lessons for development and philanthropic organizations in their attempt to support communities through difficult times. As elements that are integral to building community resilience, she…

Between Hypervisibility and Invisibility: Sex workers strive for space

Sex workers are a hypervisible population — in popular imagination, in media, in sketches of the ‘bad woman’, but strangely they are also completely invisible — in government policies, the healthcare sector, etc. This hypervisibility/invisibility means that sex workers are viewed through the lens of criminality, morality or victimhood while finding themselves on the periphery…

Covid-19 is a social justice issue: How one Brazilian community foundation is responding

On 18 March, the Brazilian government mandated the closure of public schools, non-profit organizations and other public entities that provide essential services to the most vulnerable families in the region of Greater Florianópolis. Vulnerable children, in particular, relied on the food that was given to them at school, or by local non-profits. At the same…