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In this episode we talk to Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, about the evolution of Giving Tuesday from its origins as a US-based giving day to its current incarnation as a global generosity movement operating in over 100 countries worldwide; and what she has learned about the power of everyday acts of giving. Including:

• How has GivingTuesday evolved since its inception over a decade ago?
• What are the key aims of the organisation today?
• How important does the actual Giving Tuesday day itself remain? What does success look like on the day?
• What is the role of the GT Data Commons? 
• Is there a decline in generosity in the US (and other countries), or is giving just evolving into new forms?
• Can emphasising the impact of small acts of generosity give people a sense of agency at a time when they might otherwise feel powerless in the face of major challenges facing our world? 
• Does collective giving build social capital? 
• Can mass giving movements help to counter concerns about the potentially anti-democratic impact of big money philanthropy?
• Have the Trump administration’s attacks on philanthropy and nonprofits had any impact on GivingTuesday as an organisation and on its mission?
• What lessons should the nonprofit sector should be taking from populist attacks?

FURTHER READING:

• Giving Tuesday
• Giving Tuesday Data Commons
• Asha's 2023 SSIR article "The Case for Effusive Altruism"
• BBC article from 2022, "Giving Tuesday: How day for 'radical generosity' went global"
• 2021 event "Rewriting the Rules of Giving", moderated by Rhodri, featuring Asha, Lucy Bernholz and Edgar Villanueva.
• WPM articles, "Language Barriers: is the way we talk about philanthropy and civil society holding us back?" and "Why Are We So Bad at Measuring Giving and Why Does It Matter?"
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes with Pamala Wiepking, Sara Lomelin and Lucy Bernholz.

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In this episode we talk to Sonal Sachdev Patel, CEO of GMSP Foundation, inaugural Philanthropist In Residence at the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) and executive coach working with philanthropists and senior leaders. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss:

• How did the LSE Philanthropist in Residence role come about? What is the aim of the role, and what are the key insights so far?
• How did Sonal and her family get started in philanthropy, and what shaped their approach?
• What can philanthropists bring to the table beyond money?
• How do philanthropists use their skills with the required humility?
• How useful is access to a philanthropist’s networks for grantees?
• Do Next Gen wealth holders have distinctive characteristics when it comes to their attitudes towards philanthropy, or their methods of doing it?
• How valuable is it for Next Gen donors to be able to meet like-minded peers?
• What are the rewards and challenges of giving as a family?
• What sort of due diligence and relationship building do you have to do to be able to fund in a trust-based way?
• What kind of advice is necessary or useful for people when starting out on their philanthropy journey? 
• Is it currently easy enough for existing and potential donors to access good advice about philanthropy? How can we improve this?

Further Resources:

• Sonal's blog article, "Reflections of a Philanthropist in Residence"
• Sonal's conversation with volunteer Andrea for the homelessness charity, Crisis.
• Article in The Philanthropist, "From Humble Beginnings to Trust-Based Giving: The Journey of GMSP Foundation" 
• LSE Marshall Institute
• WPM article "Why isn't all philanthropy trust-based philanthropy?"
• Philanthropisms podcast conversations with Kate Symondson, Ewan Kirk and Emma Beeston & Beth Breeze.

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In the eleventh edition of our podcast partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we talk to more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes.

 In this episode we hear from: 

• Maria Jedicke (formerly of University of Freiburg), about her research on how to design effective volunteering appeals.
• Georg von Schnurbein (University of Basel) about his paper (with Alice Hengevoss) looking at the different strategies used by spend-down foundations.
• Tine Faseur & Tine de Bock (KU Leuven) about their research (withe Glen Timmermans) on donor perceptions of what constitutes ethical fundraising.

Further Resources:

• ERNOP's Research Notes
• Maria's paper, "Designing Effective Volunteering Appeals: Results of Choice-Based Conjoint and Latent Class Segmentation Analyses", and the accompanying ERNOP research note, by  Ashifa Agede.
• Georg's paper (with Alice Hengevoss), "All Good Things Come to an End: Emerging Strategic Patterns of Sunset Foundations", and the accompanying ERNOP research note, by Martina Ulrichs
•  Tine & Tine's paper (with Glen Timmermans), "Fundraising Ethics: Toward an In-Depth Understanding of Individual Donors’ Perceptions", and the accompanying ERNOP research note by Franziska Juch & Antonia Muhr.

If you would like to contribute to making academic work accessible and more relevant for people working in, with or for philanthropy, then why not consider becoming an ERNOP practitioner expert and help translate academic work on philanthropy into research notes in close collaboration with the authors of the original work.
 https://ernop.eu/information-for-practitioner-experts/

Or, if you or your organisation might be interested in supporting ERNOP’s wider mission to advance philanthropy research and make it accessible to those working in, with, and for philanthropy, then why not consider joining as a member:
 https://ernop.eu/member-portal/subscription-plan/

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In this episode we talk to Oli French (freelance consultant) and Sally Vivyan (Co-Director of Gower Street and Grants Advisor/Trustee to the Sir Ernest Cassel Education Trust) about why and how foundations choose to spend themselves down. Including:

• Are decisions to spend down more commonly about mission, principles or practicalities? Or is it a mixture of all 3 (and how does the balance shift over time)?
• Who tends to make the decision to spend down in an existing perpetual foundation? How do they justify their legitimacy to make this decision?
• How often do people make appeals to the original founder’s wishes or values?
• How many foundations openly share their rationale for spending down? Is this primarily to justify their own decision, or to influence others?
• How important is it to situate a decision to spend down in knowledge of the wider funding ecosystem?
• What are the different methods for spending down?
• Do most foundations increase spending across all existing grantees, focus in on a particular subset of them, or look to fund new things?
• How are debates about spending down related to debates about the need for higher average foundation payout rates (or mandatory minimums)? 
• How are payout debates related to debates about foundations investing their assets in line with their missions?
• To what extent do foundations exist in perpetuity as a default, rather than an active choice?
• Would it be enough to shift this norm? (i.e. allow for foundations to be perpetual, but make that more of an opt-in/active choice than it is currently?)
• Is there a risk that discussions of spending down with the philanthropy world become too polarised and polemic (i.e. spending down is the only “right” way, and all others are “wrong”)? 
• Is the current focus on spending down merely the latest iteration of a long-standing critical debate about perpetuity, or is there something fundamentally new or different about what we are seeing right now?
• What is driving this focus on spending down? Is it primarily supply-side concerns about philanthropic power, or demand side concerns about the scale and urgency of need right now?
• How do charities view the spend down debate?  
• How different is the decision to make a newly-created foundation limited-life from the decision to shift an existing perpetual foundation to a spend down approach?
• Is there any evidence (anecdotal or otherwise) that next generation philanthropists take a different view of perpetuity than previous generations?
• Are there ever valid arguments in favour of perpetuity?

FURTHER RESOURCES:

• The microsite presenting the findings of the spend down group
• ACF Funders Collaborative Hub page for the spend down group 
• WPM short guide on long-term vs short-term in philanthropy
• WPM long read "What is the Point of Foundations?"
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes on the history of foundations and on The Gates Foundation and Timescales in Philanthropy

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In this episode we consider the rise of political populism across the world, the impact this is having on philanthropy and civil society, and what the response might be. Including:

• What are the key features of populist politics?
• Has philanthropy played a role in creating the current populist moment?
• How are funders and NGOs in the US responding to populist attacks on their legitimacy? Are these challenges set to intensify?
• Can and should philanthropic funders step in to cover gaps left by government withdrawal?
• Should funders and nonprofits vocally stand up for principles of social justice, DEI and climate concern in the face of political pressure, or take a pragmatic decision to keep quiet but continue their work?
• Is it possible to maintain civil society pluralism in the face of political populism?
• Where do populist and progressive critiques of philanthropy overlap?
• How should funders and charities in the UK respond to right-wing populism and the rise of Reform?
• Can civil society organsiations create spaces that bring polarised communities together?
• What lessons should funders and nonprofits be taking from populist attacks, without simply lending further weight to them?

Further Resources

• Chronicle of Philanthropy 17 Sept 2025, "100-Plus Foundations Stand United as White House Goes on the Attack"
• Michael Hartmann & William Schambra's 2025 HistPhil article, "The New Populist Conservatism and Civil Society"
• David Callahan's Inside Philanthropy piece "Philanthropy’s Identity Focus Strengthens the Right. Is There Another Way?", and Tynesha McHarris's response, "Retreating on Identity Will Not Unify Us"
• Report on the rise of anti-rights funding across Europe
• Ted Lechterman's 2017 piece "Is Populist Criticism of Philanthropy Justified?"
• Kristin Goss (2007) "Foundations of Feminism: How philanthropic patrons shaped gender politics" 
• WPM article on "Philanthropy at a time of chaos"
• Philanthropisms episode on pluralism, and interviews with Daniel Stid, Farai Chideya and Elizabeth Barajas-Román.

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In this episode we talk to Liv Egholm, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Pia Gerber, Director of Freudenberg Stiftung, about philanthropy and democracy in Europe. Including:

• What is the core role of philanthropy within a democratic society, which differentiates it from either state or market provision? 
• Can philanthropy be used to strengthen democracy, or is it inherently anti-democratic, because it offers a means for those with wealth to bypass the electoral system and exert unwarranted influence on public debate and public policy?
• Are there concerns about the influence of philanthropic “dark money” on politics in Europe? 
• How do governmental attitudes towards philanthropy and civil society vary across Europe, and what implications does this have for democracy? 
• What role can philanthropic funders play in addressing the challenges of political polarisation in Europe?
• What impact does the governance of philanthropic organisations have on the overall perceived legitimacy of philanthropy? (e.g. Can the adoption of participatory methods help to overcome concerns about philanthropic legitimacy?) 
• What role can philanthropic or nonprofit structures play in addressing concerns about the power and legitimacy of private sector organisations? (E.g. can nonprofit ownership models be used to ensure that companies are accountable to society as well as shareholders or investors?) 
• Is there any danger that in becoming partners with/agents for the state, nonprofits undermine their own ability to speak out? 

Further Resources

• Liv's personal website
• Freudenberg Stiftung's website
• ERNOP conference 2025
• Philanthropisms podcast conversations with Róisín Wood, Farai Chideya and Daniel Stid, and episodes on the history and role of foundations, and pluralism.

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On this episode of the Philanthropisms podcast we talk to Alisha Fernandez Miranda, author of Someone's Gotta Give (out 5th August), a comic novel about the struggles of an American former fundraiser to balance motherhood, life in the UK and a new job working as a philanthropy adviser.

Including: 

• How did the book come about?
• How did the experience of working in philanthropy inform the book?
• Which archetypes and situations are people who work in nonprofits and philanthropy most likely to recognize?
• The book centres on the ethical and moral challenges of working within a flawed system to try and deliver impact/change, and the extent to which we are willing to make compromises in order to achieve some greater good – is this is a dilemma that a lot of people in the philanthropy world face?
• What role can fiction play in helping to get a better understanding of debates about philanthropy?
• Why hasn’t it been that widely covered as a topic in books, films and TV before?
• What are some good examples of philanthropy and philanthropists in popular culture?
• Are there major differences between the culture of philanthropy in the UK and the US? 

Further Resources:

• Pre-order the book (or buy it from August 5th).
• Alisha's website
• WPM long read "Does Philanthropy Make You a Good Person?"

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In the tenth edition of our podcast partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we talk to more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes.

 In this episode we hear from: 

• Bouke Klein Teeselink (Assistant Professor in Economics at the Department of Political Economy, King's College London), about his research on how political affiliation affects charitable giving.
• Elizabeth Dale (Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University), about her research into gender stereotypes, discrimination and harassment in the fundraising profession.
• Dominik Meier (Assistant Professor of Global Philanthropy at the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Center for Philanthropy Studies, University of Basel), about his research into the 'compassion fade effect' and the impact that recipient group sizes have on crowdfunding donations.

Further Resources:

• ERNOP's Research Notes
• Bouke's paper (with Georgios Melios), "Partisanship, political alignment, and charitable donations". (Plus the ERNOP research note version, from Lucy Pfliger).
• Elizabeth's paper (with Beth Breeze), "Making the tea or making it to the top?
  How gender stereotypes impact women fundraisers’ careers". (Plus the ERNOP research note version, from  Anh P. Nguyen). 
• Dominik's paper, "Compassion for All: Real-World Online Donations Contradict Compassion Fade". (Plus the ERNOP research note version, from Vuk Vukovic).

If you would like to contribute to making academic work accessible and more relevant for people working in, with or for philanthropy, then why not consider becoming an ERNOP practitioner expert and help translate academic work on philanthropy into research notes in close collaboration with the authors of the original work.
 https://ernop.eu/information-for-practitioner-experts/

Or, if you or your organisation might be interested in supporting ERNOP’s wider mission to advance philanthropy research and make it accessible to those working in, with, and for philanthropy, then why not consider joining as a member:
 https://ernop.eu/member-portal/subscription-plan/

Learn from our past to better understand our future.

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In this episode of the Philanthropisms podcast we talk to Róisín Wood, CEO of the Community Foundation Northern Ireland (CFNI), about the landscape for philanthropy and civil society in Northern Ireland. Including:

• How and why was CFNI originally formed, and what is the organisation’s focus today?
• What is the history and current context for civil society in NI?
• What is the overall makeup of the NI civil society sector, in terms of formalised vs informal orgs, large vs small, different cause areas etc.?
• What is the history and current context for giving in NI? E.g. how much HNWI giving is there? How much mass market giving? What role does corporate philanthropy play? What role do foundations play?
• What is the attitude of the NI government towards civil society in general? What is the attitude towards philanthropy?
• Northern Ireland has a well-document history of challenges with political and religious polarisation - what role have civil society organisations and philanthropy played in trying to overcome this? 
• At a time of increasing polarisation elsewhere, does the NI experience have things to teach CSOs and funders elsewhere about how to address these issues effectively?
• Are there ongoing challenges with polarisation in NI? Are these continuations of long-standing issues, or are there new fault lines emerging?
• Does working further upstream demand a willingness to blur the boundaries between philanthropy and politics? How much of a barrier is this?
• How can philanthropic funders bring people together across divides to have meaningful conversations, work together and find common cause?
• What is the USP of Community Foundations within the wider ecosystem of philanthropy?
• Can the successes of place-based initiatives inform activities or policymaking at a regional or national level? How can organisations based in one place ensure they ‘influence upwards’?
• Is “place” more complex than it is sometimes presented? I.e. at what geographic level do we feel a sense of belonging or identity?
• Is there potential for cultivating philanthropy from a Northern Irish Diaspora? What might this look like?

Related Links:

• CFNI’s website
• CFNI Strategy 2023-26
• Philanthropisms podcast conversations with Michaela Giurgiu on Eastern European Philanthropy and Community Foundations, Anelise Hanson Shrout on the history of philanthropy and the Great Famine, Farai Chideya on philanthropy’s role in building a multiracial pluralistic democracy, and Natasha Friend & Maria Ahmed on participatory place-based philanthropy.
• WPM article “Why isn’t all philanthropy trust-based philanthropy?”
• Republic of Ireland’s National Philanthropy Policy, launched by govt in 2023

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In this episode we take a look at the recent announcement by Bill Gates that he now plans to give away 99% of his wealth and spend down his foundation over the next 20 years. Including:

• Should we be excited about this news?
• Why has the announcement been made now? Should it be seen in part as a response to the Trump administration? 
• Do the sums stack up? Can we square what has been said so far about the total amounts that will be given away with the projected annual spending rates?
• Is the Gates Foundation going to look beyond grantmaking in order to spend out? i.e. by transferring its endowment to other orgs, or by using endowment assets to make impact investments?
• Is this more evidence that norms around perpetuity in foundation philanthropy are shifting?
• Will it be necessary to shift away from “strategic” philanthropy in order to give money away at the required rate?
• Will Gates’s decision prompt other wealthy people to commit to giving more money more quickly? 
• Gates has framed his goals in terms of “solving” a number of major societal problems, but does this set unrealistic expectations of what philanthropy can achieve?
• Is there a risk that the increased pace of Gates' giving could exacerbate concerns about the distorting effect that his philanthropy can have in some of the countries where the foundation operates?
• Why did a norm of perpetuity for foundations become established in the first place?
• What are some of the key criticisms that have been levelled at perpetual endowments?

Relevant links

• AP article featuring comment from Rhodri, “Bill Gates pledges his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation, which will close in 20 years”
• Michael Kavate’s piece in Inside Philanthropy, “Gates Sets An End Date: 2045. But Do We Really Know How Much He’ll Spend?”
• New York Times interview, “The $200 Billion Gamble: Bill Gates’s Plan to Wind Down His Foundation”
• WPM article series “What’s the Point of Philanthropic Foundations?” Part 1, part 2 and part 3.
• WPM Guide to short-term vs long-term approaches in philanthropy
• Ben Soskis’s paper on “The History of the Giving While Living” ethic
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes on the ‘history of foundations’ and ‘philanthropy, gratitude and recognition’
• Philanthropisms podcast interview with Maribel Morey