Here are four different perspectives on the characteristics of a good funder: The criteria for “Philanthropy at its best” proposed by the US-based National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy are particularly useful in my opinion; see the one page version or the full paper. They propose a manageable number of holistic but measurable criteria, eg “Invests…
Continue reading →We have all been in meetings dominated by the person who just had to have their say on every topic, or sat round a dinner table where someone never managed to get a word in. There is a simple formula for solving this. If we are in a group of 8 people, we should talk…
Continue reading →What does it mean to be a great nonprofit? How do great nonprofits compare to good nonprofits? And how do we get there? This was the topic I was asked to explore at the Tonic Conference for nonprofits, held in Tauranga, Aotearoa New Zealand and put on by the good folk at Exult. Here are…
Continue reading →If you are eligible to vote in the US elections, please vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday – because the stability of the whole world may depend on it. I don’t usually make party-political statements, not in my own country of New Zealand nor globally, however, like many non-Americans, I am feeling worried and somewhat…
Continue reading →There’s lots of good that philanthropy does in our world, but there’s also so much more that is possible. For starters, I would love to see philanthropy become more plentiful, enabling, transparent and equitable, and here’s why: Plentiful: What more could be achieved if all of us gave a little extra so that through our…
Continue reading →Where does philanthropy end and dirty self-promotion begin? This was the question posed at the recent and fabulous Auckland Writer’s Festival to British philosopher Julian Baggini, economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan and me by Radio NZ presenter Wallace Chapman. Here’s how we answered this question – plus a few other key points: Philanthropy ends when…
Continue reading →Who benefits most from Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi? It is those of us who are non-Māori, because it is through the Treaty that we have the right to be in this land. Furthermore, the treaty is an integral part of our collective identity. Earlier this year I was privileged to…
Continue reading →If you are part of a community organisation which seeks funding, how would you describe your relationships with funders? I am just back from the fabulous and thought-provoking Grantmakers for Effective Organisations biennial conference in Minneapolis. In the first of several blog posts, here’s my interpretation of an analysis of funder – grantee relationships by…
Continue reading →I recently gave a presentation in Christchurch New Zealand with Iain Hines from J R McKenzie Trust to “Seed” – the bi-annual conference of the Combined Community Trusts. Here are the key points, and the presentation is below. As funders, we need our processes for finding, selecting and reporting on funding to be in the…
Continue reading →Here are two useful rules of thumb for philanthropy: First do no harm Err on the side of generosity These are neither new nor radical, but they are important and complementary considerations – and are sometimes neglected. The “first do no harm” principle is so obvious it is generally taken as read, but I think…
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