I ended my most recent post by saying I thought the field of philanthropy would benefit by hearing more from small foundations about how they practice grantmaking. Shortly thereafter I was directed to a monograph that strongly underscored that point. Trusting What We Don’t Know by Maribel Alvarez is both an insightful reflection on philanthropy…
I was reminded yesterday, at LeaderSpring’s A Bolder Form of Leadership luncheon, that non-profit organizations, on average, spend $29 a year on leadership development. Given how vital developing leadership is, this investment (or lack of it) is striking. In the NCRP’s report Cultivating Nonprofit Leadership, philanthropic support for leadership development is studied and found lacking….
Last week I attended the Edge Funders Alliance’s Just Giving Conference. The conference this year was entitled Better, Not More Towards a Just Transition: Principles and Practices for the Next Economy. While on a process level it didn’t hit all of the points Pia highlighted in her recent post about the Art of the Un-Conference,…
How do we make challenging critiques within philanthropy in a way that people can hear? That question came up strongly this week when I read a couple of blog posts from Jake Hayman of the Social Investment Consultancy, starting with “Not Fit for Purpose: Why I’m Done with the Foundation World.” His bracing list of…
How can we re-imagine a brighter future through social enterprise? This question was at the heart of the recent Ashoka Future Forum, which attracted about 400 social entrepreneurs from around the world. Many of the sessions focused on cultivating mindfulness, trust, and empathy, and offered ideas about what the future could look like with more…