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Editorials
Speaking up for philanthropy
In a two-day discussion at the Bosch Foundation in June, people expressed disquiet about the endurance and impact of their work. As I write, for example, both the MacArthur and Charles Stewart Mott Foundations are …
Goodbye, Alliance!
It hardly seems possible that, after 16 amazing years, my time with Alliance is almost at an end. Paula Park, my successor, takes up her post on 1 June, and we will work together to …
Art and social justice: which is the higher good?
It’s an old chestnut: should we fund art ‘for its own sake’ or to further some other end? Can we justify philanthropic funding for the arts when there are so many more urgent things to …
Philanthropy in transitions
The special feature of this issue of Alliance is profoundly topical. No week goes by without a mixture of news about transitions out of war or repression: it could be progress in places like Tunisia …
People matter – it’s common sense
As a long-time philanthropy watcher, I would say ‘talent management’ is something I have thought about only very occasionally over the years, probably when new presidents/CEOs are appointed at big foundations. The appointment of Judith …
Glass half full or glass half empty?
If you’re looking at impact investing, do you see a glass half empty or a glass half full? It all depends which end of the looking glass you’re looking through. If you consider that the …
When is repetition a virtue?
When proofreading the contents page for this issue of Alliance, I came across the expressions ‘game-changer’ and ‘game-changing’ just a few lines apart. For an editor, repetition is anathema: the reflex reaction is ‘must change …
A new vision for how the world works?
Is it possible that the next generation of donors are coming up with a new and better vision for how the world works? Take Jessan Hutchison-Quillian, the 25-year-old American Google engineer who gives away around …
Living with power
‘As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth for the few, the more heroic it sounds to “give back.” It’s what I would call “conscience laundering” … …
Clear directions, but more questions than answers
The special feature in this issue of Alliance looks at ‘philanthropy in a changing world economy’. We wanted to explore how philanthropy has responded to economic changes since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. …
