How will big liberal philanthropy react to the 6 January attack on the U.S. Capitol? The following day Ryan Schlegel of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy tweeted, ‘My money is on ‘stunned silence’ then back to the usual webinars about the value of active listening and press releases about equity task forces.’ I was asked how I thought big liberal philanthropy should respond, based on my 30 years of work in philanthropy and grassroots …

Podcast listeners – a new episode of What Donors Want is out! We had the honour of speaking with David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation. If you haven’t tuned in, What Donors Want is a podcast by I.G. Advisors, which offers a fresh, dynamic (and slightly irreverent) view into major gifts fundraising and philanthropy from the donor’s perspective. We are proud to have Alliance magazine as our Media Partner, and will be sharing insights on this platform. …

The blind spot in the stewardship of locally led systems change networks The plight of the social activist Many social activists can relate to the following scenario. They sign up for an intensive training in a beautiful nearby region, with the intention of networking with fellow activists and learning about social change and innovation. The timing is perfect – they feel like they’ve been working alone for years and are struggling to see the impact …

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed many flaws in government policies and relationships around the world, from the underfunding of health services to public mistrust of official advice. But in our sector, one of the most disappointing – if unsurprising – revelations has been policymakers’ failure to properly understand or support civil society. Civil-society organisations (CSOs) have helped raise billions of pounds and mobilised millions of volunteers to help counter the effects of the pandemic and …