Philanthropisms

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In this episode we offer thoughts on the trends and topics that are going to shape philanthropy and civil society in 2026. Including:

Philanthropy & Charities

• Ongoing political challenges for US philanthropy (more attacks on the legitimacy of foundations; will Trump weaponise the IRS?)
• More billion-dollar gifts; more donors signalling intent (e.g. by joining the Giving Pledge); the emergence of some new big-money philanthropists (including some high-profile women?)
• How will global civil society adapt to a new normal post-USAID?
• Will Asia start to shape global philanthropy?
• As the “impact economy" reframing takes hold in the UK, where will philanthropy fit in?
• Will the further rise of populism and the far right in UK lead to more attacks on charities and foundations?
•  Renewed focus on locality/place as a lens for philanthropy?

Societal Trends

• Will the growing desire for comfort/de-stressing and the emphasis on individual solutions contribute to the erosion of associational life? Do CSOs need to make the case for collective forms of wellbeing?
• Will growing demands for authenticity require CSOs to take stronger lines on issues, and to accord with supporters views and values?
• As people increasingly look to individuals as sources of authority, will CSOs need to find ways of partnering with influencers?
• As concerns about declining population growth enter the mainstream, what impact will this have on philanthropy and civil society?

Technology:

• As platform philanthropy continues to grow, will we start to see the “enshittification of giving"?
• How can charities navigate the challenges of AI slop and misinformation?
• Will we see further ethical questions about CSOs use of GenAI?
• As search shifts towards GenA, will charities need to adapt to a new normal in which no-one visits their websites anymore?
• Is 2026 the year that technologies we’ve been talking about for a long time become mainstream? (E.g. autonomous vehicles, smart home appliances, AR/VR/Smart glasses?)
• Is 2026 the year of Quantum technology? (And what implications will this have for philanthropy and civil society?)

Further Resources:

• WPM articles on Peter Thiel and Elon Musk
• WPM guide to quantum technology and philanthropy & civil society
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes on populism and AI
• Euromonitor's 2026 Global Consumer Trends report
• Nieman Labs 2026 Predictions for Journalism

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On this episode of the Philanthropisms podcast we speak to Philippa Charles OBE, Chief Executive of the DFN Foundation, about the role of foundations and what it means to be a good grantmaker. Including: 

• What is required to make core cost funding work from the funder’s point of view?
• What challenges do current grant application processes present for charities? How can we minimise or overcome these challenges?
• The relationship between fundraisers and funders (or donors) is often portrayed as somewhat antagonistic. How do we reframe it as a partnership in which both sides are benefitting?
• How do you say no to funding requests in a constructive way?
• How can fundraisers build longer-term relationships with funders and donors?
• What else can donors/funders bring to the table beyond money?
• How useful is access to a donor/funder’s networks for grantees?
• Is there too much competition and not enough collaboration in the philanthropy sector? Why is this?
• It is often argued that a key part of the role of philanthropy is to drive society forward by taking risks and funding things that the state and market cannot – but has philanthropy become too risk-averse? 
• Do we need a better narrative about what it means to “fail” and to “succeed” in philanthropy?
• Do foundations in general currently give enough each year as a percentage of their overall assets? Is there an argument for encouraging/pushing them to give more?
• Are their arguments in favour of at least some foundations existing for the long term (or in perpetuity)? 

Further Resources:

• https://dfnfoundation.org/
• Philanthropisms podcast episodes with Sonal Patel, Sally Vivyan & Oli French, and Kate Symondson. 
• WPM articles: “Why Isn’t All Philanthropy Trust-Based Philanthropy?” and “What’s The Point of Philanthropic Foundations? Part 3: Current Issues”

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In this episode we talk to Rachael Jarosh and Suzanne Ehlers, Chair and CEO respectively of USA for UNHCR, the US-based support organisation for the United Nations refugee agency, about their new women-led philanthropy project Building Better Futures. Including

• What is the aim of the Building Better Futures campaign and how did it come about?
• Why was it decided to focus on access to education? What makes that such an powerful catalyst for wider change?
• Why do female refugees face particular challenges when it comes to accessing education?
• Does fundraising from female donors need to be done differently? If so, how?
• Why is narrative and storytelling so important?
• What impact does applying a gender lens to funding have?
• Do female donors put more of an emphasis on collective approaches? What additional value can this bring?
• Is it easier or harder for a large organisation like the UNHCR to fundraise from donors than for a smaller organisation?
• Are there particular challenges right now for organisations working with refugees and migrants? How can these be overcome?

Further Resources:

• USA for UNHCR
• The Building Better Futures campaign
• Jessica de Rothschild talking about her involvement with Building Better Futures in Spears Magazine
• Suzanne and Jessica de Rothschild's article for Inside Philanthropy, "Fundraising Wasn’t Built for Women. So We Built Something New"
• WPM article "Philanthropy at a time of chaos"
• Philanthropisms podcasts with Sarah Jeffrey, Victoria Tayler & Lonnie Hackett; Lisa Greer, Farahnaz Karim; and Elizabeth Barajas-Román

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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?"