Author Archive:
Hilary Pearson
Private philanthropy and public legitimacy
What makes a private foundation ‘legitimate’? And what role does public scrutiny play in answering this question? My reflection was piqued by two recent thought pieces on private philanthropy and public legitimacy. The first, from …
Canadian foundations must confront inequality and exclusion
Typically, Canadian foundations remain very reticent to draw attention to themselves, unlike our more visible American neighbours. This is partly a matter of size. It’s the rare Canadian foundation that grants more than $1 million …
2017: Canada’s Year?
Canada is getting global attention in 2017, not just for our charismatic and youthful Prime Minister, but for our apparent social harmony, in contrast to the social turbulence being experienced in other Western countries facing …
Studying philanthropy in Canada: from benevolence to impact
Three years ago, the two infrastructure organizations for foundation philanthropy in Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC) and Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) joined forces with a national partnership of scholars dedicated to creating a more …
Strategic co-funding: exploring funder collaboration
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) organized a convening of about 140 funders in Washington on 21 February to discuss a rapidly developing field of activity for many philanthropic players: increasing impact through co-funding. The format …
Canadians come together to promote funder collaboration
Funders working together – the increasing interest in this approach in Canada denotes the coming to maturity of Canadian philanthropy. This was one of the conclusions of a symposium on the topic organized by Philanthropic …