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Is equality really on the menu?
On the shelf of philanthropic playthings, community philanthropy sits like a teddy bear. Next to the die-cast action figures of scientific and venture philanthropy, it feels soft, flexible and comforting; compared to the precious and …
Managing natural resources: how far can community philanthropy go?
The need for thoughtful, holistic, democratic stewardship of natural resources has never been more critical. Community philanthropy can play a big part in the management of large-scale natural resources, but it faces challenges in doing …
Data needed … and more besides
Community philanthropy organizations (CPOs) collect data for the purpose of donor compliance – numbers of grants awarded, people served, training sessions held, etc. What they don’t tend to collect are data on the other form …
Resourcing community philanthropy
The international development landscape is shifting rapidly. In many ways, we’re witnessing the end of the ‘development-industrial complex’ that has dominated the sector for the last two decades. The days of rich northern countries delivering …
Case study: Feminist philanthropy on the streets of Latin America
The Women’s Fund from the South (FMS) was created in 2007 to promote women’s rights by investing in women-led organizations, particularly at the grassroots level. Part of the International Network of Women’s Funds (INWF/Prospera), it …
Case study: Instilling a sense of co-responsibility in donors
The Community Foundation for Greater Florianopolis (ICOM) operates in Southern Brazil in a region of deep inequalities. Over the 10 years since its establishment, ICOM has gradually moved its source of funding away from international …
Case study: Developing community philanthropy in Vietnam – part-way there
LIN Center for Community Development (LIN) was set up in Ho Chi Minh City in 2009 to ensure that local people were actively involved in addressing local problems. As such, one of its objectives was …
Working with scarcity in rural Russia
Since the late 1990s, the NGO sector has developed rapidly in Russia. Community foundations have sprung up, private and corporate charitable foundations have started to grow, and state programmes of NGO support have emerged. However, …
USAID embraces community philanthropy
In September 2014, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest bilateral donor in the world, joined the Global Alliance for Community Philanthropy. The main purpose of joining was to generate greater understanding …
Putting our money where our mouth is
Earlier this year I met a group of collaborators who are all working on and for a community philanthropy model. When they described to me what they were doing I got really excited. Why? Well, …