Latest from Alliance
Philanthropic Futurist predicts the next wave of philanthropy
We are living in a time of transformative change in the philanthropic field. In 2016, I was starting to feel the acceleration of this change and created a future of philanthropy model that envisioned a tomorrow where foundation processes could act quickly when a community crisis struck by streamlining their application and evaluation systems to focus on doing the most good in a community as soon as possible. Because of the accelerating forces of the …
Who decides what is effective in Effective Altruism?
In the weeks following the FTX collapse, and the subsequent breakdown of Sam Bankman-Fried’s reputation, some of the scrutiny has turned to Effective Altruism (EA) – the philanthropic movement that Bankman-Fried championed for years (evidently only for good PR). Everything from EA’s philosophical underpinnings to the causes it supports have been questioned following the loss of the movement’s most significant donor. Instead of asking whether to condemn or support the movement, however, the more crucial …
How can funders support pro-democracy movements?
As the United States celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day on 16 January, it is a moment to look back on the ways a broad-based, pro-democracy movement came together to push for civil rights and racial justice. Looking ahead to 2023, the need to galvanize such a large-scale, diverse movement is as crucial as ever. The alarming rates of democratic decline and rising authoritarianism around the world are well documented. Philanthropists can find inspiration from …
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 the game that it neglected to build the systems and processes necessary to support its mission and vision. Today, a similar phenomenon is evident in the philanthropic and international development sectors as they too evolve and mature. In recent years, …
Reversing the fortunes of ‘orphans’ in Kenya
Have you ever donated to an orphanage? Maybe you’ve been inspired by stories of helpless, hungry orphans fending for themselves …
Changing the humanitarian mindset: From helping people in need, to protecting people at risk
Humanitarian funding needs fundamental reform. The increasing number and intensity of disasters requiring humanitarian assistance, combined with the financial conditions …
Resilience is not the goal – systems change is
Occasionally, the development ‘industry’ can send me into full-on ‘grumpy old man’ mode – and some of the patronising ill-informed …
Seeing our mitigation ambition through: The need for climate visionaries
To limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2030, as agreed upon under the 2015 Paris Agreement, …
Cost-of-living crisis: How one foundation is responding
‘We seem to be going from one crisis to another.’ When I first read this line – written to me …
For a fair, inclusive zero-carbon transition, policy development needs to go hand-in-hand with public engagement
If there’s one thing we know, it’s that the UK is in dire need of a zero-carbon transition. With spiralling …
The dilemmas of philanthropy: to be or not to be? to do or not to do?
For some time now, because of research we have conducted on philanthropy and gender in Latin America, I have noticed …
Foundation funding practices: Triggering change from within
Criticism of inflexible and unfair funding practices of foundations is not limited to the US and the UK. On the …
Radical change requires radical philanthropy
The overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year is the signal of a larger effort to significantly roll back …