Author Archive:
Michael Alberg-Seberich
Trust-based philanthropy
Trust should be at the heart of relationships but what happens when one party to those relationships has more power than the other? People on the receiving end of power often don’t have a choice …
Giving Done Right: Effective philanthropy and making every dollar count – Phil Buchanan
Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich, Wider Sense If you drew a map of philanthropy-land Giving Done Right would be the vast, fertile, middle ground situated between the mountains of Giving is like Business, the ocean of …
The Tyranny of Metrics
Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich, Wider Sense, Germany How many letters does the word philanthropy have? Twelve, exactly. How many vowels and consonants? Three and nine. What does that say about the actual impact of philanthropy? …
Making infrastructure future-ready
In order to meet the challenges philanthropy and social investment is contending against, its infrastructure needs to be rethought and retooled. Those of us who live in the developed world take many things for granted: …
‘Money Well Spent: A strategic plan for smart philanthropy’ second edition by Paul Brest and Hal Harvey
Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich How do you review the second edition of a book that has become a standard on many foundation managers’ and philanthropists’ desks? The first edition of Money Well Spent was published …
The Global Philanthropy Environment Index 2018 – A storm front ahead in Europe?
In Bob Dylan’s song Subterranean Homesick Blues it says “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows…” Well, in philanthropy we at least need a weatherperson to map the environment overall …
‘How Great Philanthropists Failed and You Can Succeed at Protecting Your Legacy’ by Martin Morse Wooster
Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich This is the fourth edition of a book that in the past had the title The Great Philanthropists and the Problem of ‘Donor Intent’. No doubt, donor intent is a crucial …
‘Philanthropy in Practice – Pragmatism and the impact of philanthropic action’ by Ekkehard Thümler
Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich This book is like a Matterhorn expedition in the world of philanthropy. As in mountaineering, you need to be prepared for a steep ascent when the author, German scholar, Ekkehard Thümler, …
‘The Philanthropic Mind’ by Chuck English and Mo Lidsky – Reviewed by Michael Alberg-Seberich
This book is an express introduction to private philanthropy in Canada – a country that, so far, has not been on the radar in most works on private giving. Fundraising and marketing adviser Chuck English …
The need for guiding lights
Oslo is a beautiful, welcoming but also a bit dim city at this time of the year. The shrinking amount of daylight hours in Northern Europe in fall made it fitting to use the motto …
