Letters

In his article in the September issue of Alliance, Bruce Sievers highlights a number of important questions that journalists did not ask when reporting on Warren Buffett’s donation to the Gates Foundation. This is a …

Simon Collings (‘Can you blame them?’ in the September issue of Alliance) provides a useful reality check on the motives of governments receiving democracy assistance. I fully agree that the Iraq War has allowed undemocratic …

I am writing in response to Andrew Milner’s article in the September issue of Alliance. His interviews with three firms of investment advisers reveal a merging of two distinct concepts. Social investment is recognized by …

I read with interest Andrew Milner’s account of his conversations with foundation investment advisers in your September edition. Pressure from stakeholders usually drives changes in the investment strategies of financial institutions, but private foundations face …

I was intrigued by your recent article on social investments. This is an area where my firm, FSG Social Impact Advisors, is presently conducting extensive research. It should not be surprising that investment advisers shy …

This October, Ashoka elected a new class of 26 European social entrepreneurs as Fellows. Seventeen of them are from four Western European countries where Ashoka has recently launched: France, Germany, Spain and Ireland. This class …

David Bonbright raises two interesting questions in his response to Jo Andrews’ article about the Strategic Fund for Turkey (SFT). One is about local ownership or ‘community feet’ for the SFT. This is a work …

In the June issue of Alliance, Bruce Sievers wrote an opinion piece, ‘Miserable Measurables’. For a moment, I thought I had a copy of a magazine from 1996 since we now live in the age …

I am writing this letter as someone who has worked with international NGOs for over 30 years and as one who is well aware of the difficulties of implementing effective advocacy, fundraising, or creating public …

In the March 2006 edition of Alliance Andrew Kingman and Jonathan Edwards point readers towards the vexed issue of defining philanthropy. Their concern was triggered, in part, by arguments made in favour of expanding ‘philanthropy’ to …