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Analysis
The ‘Tunisami’: some insights into events in the Arab region
The wave of protests across the Arab region triggered by events in Tunisia has become a ‘Tunisami’. Having denied them for many years, governments are allowing reforms to establish the basic rights of citizens, to …
Aga Khan Foundation embraces community philanthropy
While there is general agreement on the importance of civil society in development, there is now a healthy debate about how to create self-sustaining civil society organizations (CSOs). Can external models take root in foreign …
Supporting Indian social entrepreneurs with ‘more than just money’
Philanthropists and social sector leaders exist in a vicious circle. Social entrepreneurs on the ground are so caught up in running their day-to-day operations that they have very little time to put their head above …
Rethinking scale – a response
For most, the concept of going to scale invokes a sense of the large, the systemic, the external. It brings to mind replication, expansion and spread − like tentacles, ever-reaching, ever-growing. But taking a single …
Beyond business as usual: ten principles to promote Nigerian social capitalism
‘Wealth is not what a man has; it’s what he gives away.’ Ancient Nigerian proverb about philanthropy The current recession has caused worldwide soul-searching about whether conventional capitalism is the right economic model for the …
Measuring the benefits of collaboration
How to measure the impact that charities and social enterprises have on their communities is a hotly debated topic. CAN Mezzanine, a UK-based social enterprise that provides office space for third sector organizations, has been …
From grants to loans: how social credit scoring models can prevent us from playing God
In 1989, Paul Ylvisaker’s essay Small Can Be Effective made a strong plea for a more professional type of philanthropy that goes beyond ad hoc grantmaking and considers classic financial techniques like lending, insuring and …
Civil society, aid and security post-9/11: challenges and dilemmas
Following President Bush’s declaration of a ‘war on terror’ in 2001, governments around the world introduced a range of counter-terrorist legislation, policies and practices. These included first-order measures aimed specifically at suspected terrorists, such as …
Going ‘glocal’ with governance
When Eurasia Foundation transformed its office in Kyiv, Ukraine, into the independent East Europe Foundation (EEF) in 2007, one of its first priorities was ambitious, given the local environment for governance: to establish a locally …
Investing in transformational leadership
‘It’s hard to see the future with tears in your eyes.’ This Native American proverb poignantly characterized many of the residents of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin after the town’s largest employer was purchased by an international …
