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The Intrepid Philanthropist Blog
Barry Varela, Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society
Video of Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO of the Knight Foundation (0 comments)
February 9, 2010
Last Wednesday the Center had the honor of hosting Alberto Ibargüen, President and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as he presented before the Foundation Impact Research Group. Mr. Ibargüen's talk centered on... more »
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Mark Kramer, Managing Director, FSG Social Impact Advisors
The Structure of Philanthropic Revolutions (0 comments)
February 8, 2010
This is the first in a series of explorations into the shifting paradigm that shapes our understanding of philanthropy. more »
Barry Varela, Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society
Quote of the Weekend (0 comments)
February 5, 2010
King Gama's Song (from Princess Ida, music by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W.S. Gilbert, 1884) If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am: I'm a genuine philanthropist—all other kinds are sham. Each little fault of temper and... more »
Barry Varela, Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society
Notable Comment (0 comments)
February 2, 2010
Yesterday Clara Miller, president and CEO of the New York City-based Nonprofit Finance Fund, posted a lengthy comment on last Tuesday's Intrepid Philanthropist post by Michael Edwards, and this morning Mr. Edwards posted a... more »
Barry Varela, Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society
Katrina @ 5 (0 comments)
February 2, 2010
The five-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are coming up this fall, and to mark the occasion more than 30 organization are gathering in New Orleans next month at a conference called Katrina @ 5: Partners in Philanthropy. The purpose of... more »
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Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Good-bye Philanthrocapitalism, Hello Citizen Philanthropy? (4 comments)
January 29, 2010
Given the rise of neoliberalism over the last twenty years—the extension of the market into every sphere of life—it’s no surprise that civil society has begun to receive the same attention. Large parts of politics and government,... more »
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Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Philanthropy and the Path of Least Resistance (0 comments)
January 28, 2010
Is there anything more frightening to foundations than democracy? I don’t mean the kind you pay for through projects, but the kind that enables people to participate in decisions that affect them, including decisions about philanthropy. If... more »
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Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Welcome to Philanthropy’s "Pandora"—A Land Free of Trade-Offs and Contradictions (2 comments)
January 27, 2010
Much of the "new philanthropy," it seems to me, inhabits a world like Pandora of Avatars—James Cameron’s new film that is now the biggest blockbuster of all time. Pandora is a place whose inhabitants live in perfect harmony... more »
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Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Why "Social Capital Markets" Could Be a Really Bad Idea (6 comments)
January 26, 2010
A common assumption of the "new philanthropy" is that "social capital markets" will separate effective from ineffective organizations by forcing nonprofits to compete with each other for scarce resources, allocated according to... more »
Michael Edwards's picture
Michael Edwards, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
Should Civil Society Be Reduced to a Subset of the Market? (8 comments)
January 25, 2010
Over the past few years it’s become almost an article of faith that civil society—including philanthropy and the not-for-profit sector it supports—should operate on business principles, like rates-of-return, competition to weed out... more »