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Letters
An argument for ‘both/and’
Hats off to Alliance for its March 2009 ‘focus’ piece on the merits of an ‘either/or’ approach for social investors and philanthropists who seek to address important global challenges. The authors do a commendable job …
Climate change
George and Peter both make some very good points, and there is no doubt that we need philanthropic support for policy and direct action initiatives. The work that ECF is doing is vital, and so …
Donor intent
According to Congressman Xavier Becerra, the US federal government forgoes $44 billion in revenues annually to subsidize charitable donations. Fernando Rossetti suggests that it makes sense to attach charitable contributions to public policies and purposes. …
Measurement vs action
When Deepti Goel and Nachiket Mor say that ‘REs [randomized experiments] create two groups that are identical in all respects except for the intervention itself’ (Alliance March 2009, pages 48-49), I suggest that they are …
Waking the sleeping giant
It is inspiring to read in the March Alliance the account of solidarity giving to Gaza, and the impressive results from countries that are relatively new to organized public fundraising. It was especially gratifying to …
A last word …
At the risk of straining the patience of Alliance readers, I write to underscore what I believe is a powerful point of contention – and potentially maturation – in philanthropy that has been clearly framed …
Trade associations are … just that
As Mr Gunderson notes in his comments on my ‘Watchdog or lapdog?’ article in the September issue of Alliance, the call for foundation accountability is ‘hardly new’. Nor is the limited progress the foundation sector …
Where’s the menu?
I am writing in response to Peter Kenyon’s letter in the December issue of Alliance. I was also in Frankfurt last year at the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) conference and would like to pick …
Not the will lacking, but the means
I was very surprised and disappointed to read the letter from David Bonbright in the December issue of Alliance. He has no grounds at all for his assumption about my ‘mental model’ of philanthropy. In …
The right match
In the September 2008 issue of Alliance, Matthew Bishop and Michael Edwards offer contrasting views on the subject of ‘philanthrocapitalism’. In my estimation, philanthrocapitalism as described by Bishop and Edwards is neither inherently good nor …
