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I have always been a fan of science fiction - not fantasy fiction but hard science fiction. Partly it’s because science fiction assumes that there will be a future for humanity, however strange. And partly it’s because these alternative futures are often mind-opening. William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer (published in 1984) was one of those memorable […]

Six years ago, I began reviewing books on philanthropy and social purpose leadership for The Philanthropist Journal. I can now look at a bookshelf’s worth of reviews – 16 books written by 20 authors.  These authors are all from the English-speaking world, primarily the US and the United Kingdom, joined by two Canadians, an Australian […]

In early April, the leaders of two relatively new Canadian foundations, Definity Insurance Foundation and Daymark Foundation, joined me at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners to share their experiences and insights on the evolution of strategic philanthropy. Here is some of what we talked about... We live in a better […]

When should a foundation start thinking of moving from two to three? Most relations between funder and recipient are of course binary, involving two parties. But sometimes a funder might provide resources to a recipient in between the funder and another recipient. The awkward term “intermediary” is often used in these circumstances where a funder might grant to […]

One of the most difficult things for any organization is to think ahead, to imagine new scenarios, to picture different or more innovative strategies for your work. At the beginning of a year, there is both opportunity and temptation to draw back for a period and consider the present and the future. But how to do […]

January rolls around once more and we try to make sense of the year behind and the year ahead. Last year, I avoided predictions, as did others, given the turbulence of our world. Instead, I listed some hopes and fears for 2023. It turned out to be a roller coaster year, with more downs than ups. […]

The conversation about the need for transformation in the practices of philanthropy continues across the philanthropy field. We hear about the what and the how of change. But we don’t hear as much about the reasons why change is so difficult. These often have to do with some of the built-in tensions and need for […]

It has been a very tough summer for the world, weather-wise. Heat, storms, floods and fires affected countries across the map. The changing climate convinces many of us that these are partly human-made, not just “natural”, disasters. This could be cause for despair. But there is still room for hope. And philanthropy can be both […]

It’s difficult, and somewhat unfair, to generalize about foundation philanthropy. If I have learned anything after two decades of working with foundations, it’s that generalizations quickly find their contradictions. There are great differences among foundations in motivation, strategies and governance. That said, there is reason to focus on one big generalization right now. It’s about […]