Author Archive:

Andrés Thompson

Opinion 2 Andrés Thompson 6 September 2011

Sports philanthropy on the rise

Sports have become one of the largest, most popular and global activities of the world. As a cultural phenomenon, sport attracts the attention of millions of people, acts as a bridge among cultures and contributes …

Opinion 2 Andrés Thompson 3 August 2011

The game of the social legacy of sporting events

Sports have been a neglected field for social investments and philanthropy in Latin America. Even though many non-profit organizations use sports as a tool for engaging youth in development processes, it may have been considered …

Special feature Andrés Thompson 1 March 2011

Advancing the cause of racial equity in Brazil

Race is an area that is largely neglected by funders in Brazil. A recent (2007-08) survey by GIFE, the Brazilian grantmakers’ association, for example, revealed that race does not appear among its members’ top 12 …

Special feature Andrés Thompson 1 June 2007

Hard lessons for economic development

While foundations around the world have had some real achievements in building ‘social capital’, they cannot make the kinds of investments in marginalized communities that will allow them to become economically self-sustaining. Bottom-up foundation-funded economic …

Special feature Andrés Thompson 1 March 2006

Community foundations in Latin America – can the concept be adapted?

Based on the success of the US experience, the community foundation approach has been advocated internationally in recent years as a valuable way of dealing with local problems, while providing a space for community representation …

Special feature Andrés Thompson 1 September 2003

Social justice – whose responsibility?

There was a time in Latin American politics and social thought when the concept of ‘social justice’ was associated with the redistribution of income and wealth from the richest sectors of society to the poorest. …

Special feature Andrés Thompson 1 June 1999

Church, state and civil society in Latin America

Over the last decade Latin American countries have been witnessing a rapid change in the dynamics and activities of civil society organizations. The changing relationship of NGOs with governments and business sectors is perhaps one …