Author Archive:
Devon Kearney
Three philanthropy myths to bust in 2024
2024 arrives with a sense of urgency on all fronts. At a time when democratic norms are slipping, inequality and human needs are rising, and the climate is dangerously heating up, we are called upon …
The future of the past: Intergenerational trauma and transitional justice
Recently I completed a research project for the Fund for Global Human Rights on the present and future of transitional justice: the things societies can do to address mass human rights abuses in their history. …
To shift power, fund entire ecosystems
It’s a classic tale of the trajectory of a nongovernmental organization (NGO): a well-meaning organization grows rapidly, crafts a beautiful strategy, and has all the right subject-matter expertise in place, only to realize late in …
Trust-based philanthropy is a solution not a myth
One of the most heated debates so far this year came in response to criticism of trust-based philanthropy by Jacobs Foundation CEO Simon Sommer and a piece by Charles Keidan exploring the merits of Sommer’s …
How to do philanthropy strategically in a messy world
I muttered and cursed on the subway the first time I read Paul Brest’s The Power of Theories of Change. It was the heyday of the Strategic Philanthropy movement, talk of measuring impact was everywhere, …
Letter to the editor: Trust-based philanthropy is not a myth, it’s a solution
Like Simon Sommer says of himself, I may not know what trust-based philanthropy is. But I have a good idea of where he goes wrong. Let’s set aside the broad generalizations (‘unrestricted funding seems to …
