Author Archive:
John Harvey
‘Smart risks: how small grants are helping to solve some of the world’s biggest problems’ – edited by Jennifer Lentfer and Tanya Cothran
Reviewed by John Harvey Smart risks: how small grants are helping to solve some of the world’s biggest problems has an unusual origin story. One of its editors, a passionate writer herself, put out a …
TrustAfrica’s first decade edited by Halima Mahomed and Elizabeth Coleman – reviewed by John Harvey
The concept of agency is a driving force behind a great deal of emergent global philanthropy, perhaps no more so than in Africa. In the context of its particularly traumatic history of colonialism, ‘agency’ refers …
Internationally engaged foundations: coping with the disabling environment
As readers of Alliance will be aware (see especially the September 2015 edition), over the past several years, internationally engaged foundations have faced unprecedented challenges from governments around the world. This is just one element …
2016 US Council on Foundations: Community foundations join the ranks of global grantmakers
Over the past decade, an increasing number of community foundations in the United States have joined the ranks of global grantmakers. What’s brought about this trend? In large part it has been the result of …
2016 US Council on Foundations: The importance of investing in the talent pipeline
The programmatic content of the Council on Foundations’ annual conference ended with a fine plenary on diversity, equity and inclusion in U.S. philanthropy. Council Board Javier Soto of the Miami Foundation introduced the session by …
2016 US Council on Foundations: How US funders can lead the SDGs at home
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) made a helpful appearance during the first day of the Council on Foundations’ 2016 conference in Washington, DC today. Helpful and somewhat unusual for this annual gathering of mostly U.S. …
The Palgrave Handbook of Global Philanthropy – Edited by Pamala Wiepking and Femida Handy
Review by John Harvey The Palgrave Handbook of Global Philanthropy calls itself a ‘comprehensive reference guide to the practice of philanthropy’. This description is perhaps not quite on the mark: while certainly comprehensive, the book …
AIDS Philanthropy Summit 2015
AIDS Philanthropy Summit 2015 For funders working on HIV/AIDS globally, these are indeed the best of times and the worst of times. This Tale of Two Cities reference showed up on multiple occasions within speaker …
Should human rights funds just say no to corporate alliances?
Without a doubt, the highpoint of the IHRFG conference 14-15 July in New York City was a formal live debate – unfortunately a rare form of discourse at philanthropy conferences. The resolution under discussion: ‘human …
IHRFG: Choosing when to take a rights-based approach
‘The Rights-based Approach: The Right Approach?’ was the theme of the International Human Rights Funders Group’s most recent gathering, 14-15 July 2015 in New York City. Having attended IHRFG gatherings for nearly 15 years, I …