Send us a text

In our last episode of the year, we take a look at some of the key issues and trends affecting philanthropy and civil society right now and offer some thoughts on what to watch out for in 2023. Including:

•  The impact of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and possible recession on philanthropy, everyday giving and the work of charities.
• Polarisation and political division making it harder for philanthropy to engage constructively with criticism and the need for change. 
• More mainstream media focus on philanthropy. (And therefore more scepticism and critique?)
• More big donors supporting efforts to develop everyday giving.
• A new generation of celebrities (Youtubers, sports stars etc) reclaiming the word “philanthropy” for themselves? What impact might this have on wider perceptions of philanthropy?
• More ultra-wealthy people make public pledges to give the majority of their wealth away.
•  Blurring the lines between individual and corporate philanthropy more than ever
• Ongoing tensions between “strategic” and “trust-based” philanthropy.
• More donors and funders experimenting with models that enable them to shift power as well as money e.g. participatory methods, funding grassroots movements etc.
• Debates about balancing urgency and patience in philanthropy.
• Division in the Effective Altruism movement  in the wake of Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall?
• Tainted donations: will more organisations reject ‘bad money’, or will they try to find ways of justifying taking it in light of pressures on finances?
• The balkanisation of social media in the wake of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.
• Is cryptophilanthropy dead in the water?
• Will nonprofits start to make use of new generative AI tools like Chat-GPT? What new possibilities and challenges will these bring?
• Will layoffs and restructuring across many tech companies open up an opportunity for nonprofits to recruit new talent and skills?

Related Links

• Philanthropisms episode on the downfall of Sam Bankman-Fried
• Dylan Matthew's Vox piece "How effective altruism let Sam Bankman-Fried happen"
• WPM Nov 2022 newsletter
• Philanthropisms episode on the Cost-of-Living Crisis (with Angela Kail from NPC)
•  Philanthropisms episode on platform philanthropy
• WPM article on Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia
• WPM article on charities, campaigning and politics
•  WPM article on Effective Altruism
• WPM article on Blackbaud and the NRA
• Rhod’s piece for NPC about AI and grantmaking