Category: Money
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Why study philanthropy?
I’ve just graduated with an MA in Philanthropic Studies at the University of Kent, the UK’s first and only master’s course in this subject. Studying a whole degree in philanthropy sounds a bit niche to most people. (What even is philanthropy, some people wonder. One of our lecturers says she’s been asked more than once,…
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Who decides who gets the money?
Guerrilla Foundation is the rebellious teenager of European philanthropy. Many foundations avoid uncomfortable questions around power; Guerrilla Foundation, which backs activists and grassroots movements around Europe, is out to “radically and deliberately redistribute wealth” – and to have some fun with it along the way. Until 2022, however, its grantmaking process wasn’t all that unusual. A…
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What does generosity actually look like?
Brits are becoming less generous – at least according to the World Giving Index, described as the “world’s leading study on global generosity”. The UK has typically ranked in the top 10, but in the latest index it’s in 22nd place, its (joint) lowest spot yet. This is not a new worry. In 2021, analysts…
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Friction, not oil
What happens when giving seems a little too easy? “Save a life, in your sleep”, said the sign. Buy a pair of pyjamas at this shop, the promise was, and your money will help eradicate malaria in southern Africa. There’s no question that the cause is valid. More than 600,000 people died of the disease…
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Everyone’s a philanthropist… once we get around to it
A family friend told me recently that he and his wife, both writers, wanted to get into philanthropy. It’s not something I often hear, outside my professional bubble. Giving makes you feel good, so why don’t more people do it regularly? Partly, I think, because there’s an assumption that philanthropy is only for the very…
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