Giving Thought – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode we talk to Sharna Goldseker and Michael Moody about their book Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors are Revolutionizing Giving, which is now available in an updated and expanded 2nd edition. Including:

• In what ways are Next Gen donors genuinely different from previous generations?
• Do Next Gen donors give to significantly different causes than their parents’ generation, or simply give to the same causes but in different ways?
• Are Next Gen donors more likely to adopt non-traditional vehicles for their giving? If so, what does this tell us about the limitations of current non-profit models?
• Do Next Gen donors tend to seek advice on their giving (either at the outset, or on an ongoing basis)? If so, who do they turn to?
• Whilst almost all Next Gen donors agree that they “want to see the impact of their giving”, what they mean by “impact” varies considerably- some looking for rigorous metrics and outcome measure, others for human interaction or compelling stories. How can nonprofits cater effectively to these differing notions of impact?
• Are Next Gen donors more likely to take a holistic view of philanthropy, in relation to how wealth is created, how it is invested etc? What does this mean in practical terms?
• What are the key differences between inherited and earned wealth and how do they influence approaches to philanthropy?
• What role does philanthropy play in the planning of wealth transfer within families? (E.g. is philanthropy seen as a tool for engaging the younger generation in the family’s financial affairs? What sorts of roles are Next Gens playing with regard to their family’s giving?)
• Are Next Gen donors more likely to want to blur the boundaries between philanthropy and political activity in order to pursue their aims?
• Is the desire for more “hands-on” engagement from Next Gen donors an opportunity to tap into additional skills, or does it present a new challenge in terms of awkward power dynamics? (I.e. is there a danger of Next Gen donors assuming that their knowledge is “better/more important” than that of people working in nonprofits, simply because of the power dynamics that come with funding?)
• Should we worry that the growing wave of scepticism, and even cynicism towards philanthropy, will have a negative impact on Next Gen donors’ willingness to give?

Related content:

• More detail on the book from Sharna’s 21/64 website
• Excerpt of 1st edition of Generation Impact in SSIR
• More on Next Gen philanthropy from the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy

In this episode we talk to Stelio Stefanou OBE, philanthropist and Founder of the For Baby’s Sake Trust (FBST) - a charity which focuses on working with parents to address the impact of domestic violence on the early years development of children. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discussed:

• Is “philanthropist” a helpful or unhelpful word?
• How does a business background shape approaches to philanthropy?
• Why is it important to recognise that success in business doesn’t automatically equate to expertise about social issues or the work of charities?
• Why is an evidence base so crucial to the work of FBST? How has the organisation worked with academics to build that evidence base?
• How important is it that philanthropy looks beyond addressing symptoms and tries to address underlying causes?
• Are there challenges to combining advocacy with direct provision of services, or do the two naturally go hand-in-hand?
• How has the pandemic affected the work of FBST?
• What, if anything, is the USP of philanthropy in relation to the public or private sector?
• Does the ability of philanthropy to work over a longer time horizon make it better suited to supporting early interventions?
• Do you see yourself as having any responsibility to encourage other wealthy people to give, or is giving entirely down to personal choice?
• Should philanthropists see themselves as having any responsibility to encourage other wealthy people to give, or is giving entirely down to personal choice?
• Is there a danger that the growing wave of scepticism, and even cynicism towards philanthropy, will have a negative impact on people’s willingness to give?
• Des fear of “failure” hold some wealthy people back from engaging in philanthropy? How should we understand failure in philanthropy (and how is this different to failure in the public or private sector?)

Related Links:

• For Baby’s Sake Trust website
• Info on FBST’s approach to influencing
• Giving Thought podcast with Jo Kerr and Sonya Ruparel

In this episode we talk to Nell Edgington, President of non-profit consultancy Social Velocity, about her new book “Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World”. We discuss:

• What is the book about, who should read it and what should they do as a result?
• Why does a scarcity mind-set affect so many donors and funders? Is this particular to philanthropy?
• Why is the “overhead myth” so prevalent, and why is it so problematic?
• Are there signs that funders are changing their behaviour during the current crisis? (Moving to unrestricted funding, trust-based grantmaking etc.) Is this likely to lead to longer-term changes?
• What misconceptions are there about what makes for a sustainable non-profit, and why do these misunderstandings persist?
• How many donors are willing to give away power as well as money? (And will the current crisis put even more focus on approaches such as participatory grantmaking?)
• Do we need to redefine what counts as success and failure in philanthropy?
• How should we rate philanthropy’s response to the current crisis?
• What is the core role of philanthropy within society which differentiates it from either state or market provision?
• Why has the idea that non-profits need to be “more business-like” become so widespread? What is wrong with it?
• Should we seek to measure impact better? What challenges might this bring in terms of distorting activity or creating power imbalances?
• How can donors and funders use philanthropy to challenge or transform the very systems in which wealth has been created?

Related Links

• Nell’s book Reinventing Social Change
• Nell’s Social Velocity blog
• Rhod’s WEF article “Philanthropy is at a Turning Point: Here are 6 Ways It Could Go”
• CAF Giving Thought podcast with Phil Buchanan
• CAF Giving Thought podcast with Kris Putnam-Walkerly
• CAF Giving Thought podcast with Louise Pulford, Josiane Smith & Dame Julia Unwin
• CAF Giving Thought blog “Philanthropy and Civil Society after Covid-19: Key questions for the future”

Episode 24 of the Giving Thought podcast is our first ever interview! And it is a cracker. Rhod speaks to Jeremy Heimans, co-author of bestselling book "New Power".

We discussed Jeremy and his co-author Henry Timms' thesis on why the nature of power has changed in the 21st Century and what this might mean for philanthropy and civil society.

We covered a whole range of issues including:

-the challenges of giving away power

-the benefits and downsides of decentralisation

-whether giving control to the crowd could marginalise unpopular causes

-Changing organisational culture to embrace technology

-Whether New Power provides a use case for blockchain

-Is New Power an opportunity or a threat for existing philathropic organisations?

In this episode, Rhod looks at whether philanthropic giving is always a choice on the part of the donor, or whether it can sometimes be compelled. Topics covered include:

-Compelled by your peers: We look at the part peer pressure plays in philanthropy, both at a micro level (i.e. the effect that "being watched" has on prompting giving) and a macro level (i.e. the notion of a social contract). We also consider a bit of history (including a scathing attack on the culture of giving in Victorian England).

-Compelled by a higher authority: We consider the role governments have played a role in shaping philanthropy through charity law: from the 1601 Statute of Charitable Uses to the emergence of "GONGOs" in modern China. We look at the idea of "percentage philanthropy", and whether it should be seen as philanthropy at all, or merely a form of tax. We also touch on obligations to give in various major religions and what role these play in driving philanthropy.

-Compelled by your own mind: We explore unusual cases of "pathological generosity", where people with brain damage find themselves compelled to give to such a degree that it can adversely affect them and their families.

Related Material

• Public Good by Private Means: How Philanthropy Shapes Britain

• Eye Images Increase Charitable Donations: Evidence From an Opportunistic Field Experiment in a Supermarket

• So are the conditions for philanthropy improving in China or not? CAF Future World Giving blog

• Explaining Percentage Philanthropy, International Centre for Nonprofit Law

• Could zakat plug the gaps in humanitarian or development aid?

• The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Giving, The Atlantic

In episode 22, we explore whether philanthropy is progressive: i.e. is it a means for moving society forwards or a tool for defending the status quo? Including:

The case for: On what grounds can we claim that philanthropy is progressive? We look at cause areas associated with progressive ideals, and the rich history of philanthropic support for campaigning. And could the very process of philanthropy also be seen as a tool for social progress?

The case against: We ask whether conservation and heritage causes are, by definition, not progressive. We also consider the long traditional of opposition to progressive causes being supported by philanthropy; and highlight evidence that wealthier people are more likely to hold conservative political views. We also ask whether philanthropy itself undermines progress by adding to inequality and power imbalance in our society.

Remedies: What can we do to ensure philanthropy is progressive? Should this actually be a goal, or should we simply accept that philanthropy reflects the balance of views of donors? Are there ways in which we can change the mechanics of philanthropy in order to make it more democratic and thus more reflective of the views of wider society?

Related Material

-HistPhil series on philanthropy and conservatism

-“Suffragettes & Campaigning” (Extract from Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain)

-PGPM Cass MSc course lecture SLIDES and NOTES

-Philanthropy: anti-democratic and proud of it?

-Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans

In episode 21, we look at "New Money vs. Old Money", and what the difference between inherited and created wealth means for philanthropy. Topics covered include:

- Attitudes to Wealth: We explore historical and contemporary evidence to see what differences there might be in the attitudes towards wealth of those who have made or inherited money. We look at the crucial distinction between stewardship and ownership, the role of social status, and the recognition of the element of luck and the existence of a social contract.

-Future Money & Precommitment: We look at economic evidence about the power of making pledges or commitments to give at a later date, and how these best work. We highlight practical examples or pledges, such as the Giving Pledge, or the 1-1-1 corporate giving model. We also touch on the curious story of the gambling philanthropist, Baron Hirsch.

-Cryptophilanthropy? We consider whether the money being made by early adopter of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could be harnessed for philanthropy. Does this represent a totally new form of wealth, with its own characteristics? And could this present challenges for charities trying to tap into it? What wider lessons might we learn for future fundraising?

Related material

-Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain

-If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich? Turns out it’s just chance. (MIT Technology Review article)

- Meyvis, T., Bennett, A. & Oppenheimer, D. (2011). "Precommitment to Charity" in Oppenheimer, D. ed. (2016) The Science of Giving: Experimental Approaches to the Study of Charity, Routledge.

In this week's episode (no. 20) - the second of our "Death & Taxes" two-parter, we look at the link between tax and philanthropy. Topics covered include:

Importance and Controversy: Why does tax relief on donations matter to understanding the role of philanthropy, and why has it proved controversial over the years? We touch on the current US situation in light of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and look at previous political attempts to meddle with tax breaks on donations, such as Gladstone's one-man crusade in the late C19th and George Osborne's ill-fated 2012 Budget.

Justifying Philanthropic Tax Breaks: We explore three possible theoretical justifications, based on the work of Stanford academic Rob Reich, and conclude that only one works. We then see whether any of these has been used in practice, and compare the deliberate introduction of the US Charitable Deduction with the accidental introduction of donation incentives in the UK.

Do Philanthropic Tax Breaks Work? We look at whether tax incentives on donations are actually effective. We see that there is evidence they are correlated with greater generosity, but room for debate about how they are structured and at what level they are offered. We consider the difference between credit and deduction systems. We also look at recent findings from the University of Birmingham that Gift Aid might not be that effective as an incentive, and ask what this might mean for policymaking.

Related Giving Thought (and other) content

-The Justification for Charitable Tax Breaks

-Donation States: An international comparison of the tax treatment of donations

-Gross Domestic Philanthropy: An International Analysis of GDP, Tax & Giving

-Tax Incentives for Giving are Effective, Even in Low Income Countries

-The NAO on Gift Aid and Tax Relief on Donations

-Principles of Philanthropy Policymaking lecture (SLIDES) and (NOTES)

-Unversity of Birmingham paper on price elasticity (working paper and blog)

In episode 19, the first of a two-parter on "Philanthropy, Death and Taxes", Rhod looks at the influence of mortality on giving. Topics covered include:

-The History of Death & Philanthropy: how has mortality shaped modern philanthropy? We look at the pheonomenon of competitive eulogies in Tudor England, and the impact of the 1736 Statute odf Mortmain on creating a pluralist charity sector. We also consider the problems that can result from the "dead hand of the donor".

-Giving while living vs. Waiting til you are gone: We look at the shifting balance between legacy giving and giving during one's lifetime. Have recent years seen a shift towards the latter, with a growing number of spend-down foundations, the establishment of the Giving Pledge and the rise of a breed of young billionaires from Silicon Valley?

-The Future of Death: Life Extension, Digital Emulation & Wills on the Blockchain: We consider some of the ways in which new technology might solve traditional problems for philanthropy when it comes to death, but also the new challenges it might bring.

Related Giving Thought content

Public Good By Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain (BOOK)

In episode 18 of the podcast, Rhod takes a look at the relationship between philanthropy and technology. Including:

• Supporting technology: How has philanthropy has supported the development of new technologies over the years? We look at the rich history of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Department of Natural Sciences and the growth of the open source movement. We also consider the blurred lines between long-term tech investment and philanthropy, and the “moonshot” approach of Silicon Valley figures like Elon Musk.

• Harnessing Technology: How have philanthropic organisations used new technologies to further their missions? We consider some current examples of “Tech for Good”, and take a brief detour into the history of Victorian chimney sweeps to see how similar approaches have been used in the past.

• Challenging Technology: New technologies may have negative as well as positive impacts, and charitable organisations are often required to play a part in addressing these problems. What new social and environmental challenges might disruptive technologies pose in the future, that charities will be called upon to help solve? What role can philanthropy play now in helping to avoid some of the potential downsides of new technology?

Related Giving Thought content

• Tech Support: Why should philanthropic funders care about disruptive technology and what to do about it?

• Charity 2037: 13 jobs we might all be doing in 20 years' time

• 5 ways AI is already having an impact on charity

• Future Imperfect: 10 new problems that technology will create and charities will have to deal with

• Giving in a World Without Work

• The Stars My Destination: philanthropy and the future of space exploration