Author Archive:
Martin O'Brien
How philanthropy can help tackle violent extremism
The fight against the far-right Golden Dawn group in Greece shows how funders can equip civil society for similar struggles Extremism seems to be on the rise internationally, even in societies where it had appeared …
Constitutional change and devolution – is there a role for philanthropy?
I think it’s fair to say that many of us working in philanthropy were entirely unprepared for the deep divisions and polarisation exposed and brought about by Brexit. We are still coming to terms with …
Supporting legal action
As Alliance magazine celebrates its 25th anniversary, we asked two long-standing funders of legal action to reflect on their experience over those 25 years and to point out some of the most important lessons learned …
Build back better: A role for philanthropic scaffolding
Philanthropy has a responsibility to respond to the inequalities revealed by COVID-19 and graphically underlined by the killing of George Floyd. Many philanthropies have listened to their grantees and are already offering no cost extensions …
Messages that work
‘He expanded the definition of “us” and shrank the definition of “them”.’ This was the core of Bill Clinton’s eulogy at the funeral of Martin McGuinness, the former IRA leader turned peacemaker in Northern Ireland. …