Special features

At the end of the first decade of the new millennium, it is clear that many countries will fail to meet several of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Compelling reasons might be advanced for …

African institutions are the heart that must pump the vital blood to nourish the initiatives that will protect our environment and support our communities. These institutions must become effective and they must reach and be …

The difficulty and expense of measuring the impact of small grants is often seen as a drawback to making such grants at all. Can measurement systems be developed that do not overburden grantees and whose …

In a country like Brazil where many still live in poverty, fighting inequality and social exclusion are top priorities, and they require social change. Brazilian philanthropy – or private social investment, as it is called …

With two-thirds of the 70,000 US private foundations having assets of less than $1 million, what value can small foundations bring to international philanthropy? In 2009 the Association of Small Foundations launched an international programme …

Grassroots Grantmakers Grassroots Grantmakers is a community of funders whose projects work at a local or community level. The organization does not fund projects directly, but instead seeks to build connections between funders and facilitate …

This issue of Alliance is on dangerous and radical ground. Dangerous because a gauntlet has been thrown down by guest editor Olga Alexeeva, who challenges the motivation and ethics of donors who appear not to …

I once attended an evening party organized by a wealthy family in a South American country, devoted to philanthropy. Guests, similarly ultra-wealthy families, gathered to talk about their giving, share experiences and possibly form alliances. …

Olga Alexeeva chooses a provocative fashion image to highlight the ways in which ‘new’ philanthropy may not be very different from the robber baron variety that emerged in the United States early in the 20th …

In the English-speaking countries of the global North, we often assume that terms like ‘philanthropy’, ‘donor’ and ‘grant’ are universally understood. Of course, they aren’t. The terms often resist easy translation. Even where a similar …