Can community philanthropy help the UK level up?
If the UK is to level up, does philanthropy have a role? Outside challenging ultra-high-net-worth donors and foundations to put place at the heart of their thinking (many do, lots...
Essays
How can we unleash the power of civil society in the 2020s?
Philanthropy
Unleashing the potential of UK philanthropy
Nudging generosity or dodging tax? How charity tax breaks improve philanthropy
Questions about democratic equality and accountability are important, and need to be debated. But we also need to understand the role of tax reliefs in relation to the demand-side as...
Better data, better giving
We can build a better future for philanthropy and charities by improving transparency about money flows in the sector.
Research, Respect and Risk: three maxims for doing philanthropy well
In our society of seemingly ever-increasing inequality, for those that want to make a difference now, there is philanthropy. But what may come as a surprise is that in 15...
How to do good
One of the questions I’m often asked is how, as a philanthropist, I can be confident that I, and our team, are doing the best we possibly can with our...
The Power of Letting Go: Is Participatory Grantmaking the Future of Philanthropy?
We are living in a time when philanthropy is at a moment of reckoning. Many grantees and social entrepreneurs feel disconnected from and disrespected by the institutions that fund them,...
Funding for Racial Justice Work: Is it the same old game or could we create some bold new moves?
Two years ago, The Ubele Initiative (TUI), the African Diaspora led organisation which I founded in 2014, had no UK based funding. Our community wealth building agenda was rejected by...
Donor education is the key to the future of Islamic Philanthropy
In 2018, the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) published a finding on ‘giving’ in the Muslim community, which concluded that £130 million had been donated by British Muslims in just one...
Standout Sector
Demonstrating the distinct and invaluable contributions of civil society
A holistic service that the state and private sector cannot provide
The reason we exist is to serve our PWS community - not to make a profit. Our stakeholders are our PWS families and those working with people with PWS, and...
Community-rooted action is vital for society
“At its heart, civil society is and always has been about the power of human connection”, concluded the 2018 report of the Civil Society Futures independent inquiry. Yet, during the...
Civil society should never just fill the gaps
In one of the only self-reflective moments of his miserable failure of a reign, King Charles I lamented, “There’s more to the doing then the bidding it to be done.” He wasn’t the first person...
Capital Ideas
The importance of properly valuing our country’s social capital
Social capital: the economy’s rocket fuel
The Covid crisis represents the latest in a long line of moments of economic upheaval in the UK in which social capital has provided important counter-cyclical stability.
Seizing the moment: why Covid provides a chance for lasting change
Despite its overwhelmingly disastrous impact on our lives, Covid has galvanised campaigning, activism and civic participation. This creates an opportunity for us to reimagine and reshape society for the better....
Civil society and the generations
The power of civil society rests on the establishment and active management of institutions that help to hold us together. It must evolve as circumstances change and, in the current...
It’s time to unleash the power of youth
Most young people feel a strong sense of social responsibility and many are already contributing to civil society in a variety of ways. At the same time, the Covid pandemic...
Why we need civil society to stand up and lead
Charities play an essential role in our country and are often the driving force behind positive policy change. But they find themselves too often ignored, unsupported, and misunderstood. Charities need...
Unleashing social power
At best civil society builds the relationships, trust, engagement, hope, and momentum that make change possible – what we call ‘social power’. Reform is woven into everything it does. But...
Civil Partners
Optimising outcomes across the private, public and social sectors
Inclusive localism: communities’ place in a globalised world
Much of the disillusionment displayed by those living in ‘left behind’ parts of advanced economies is directed towards the process of globalisation. But the answer lies not in retreating to...
The importance of reciprocity in gluing society back together
Throughout the world and over decades, putting communities at the heart of policymaking has faced challenges. Learning from the past is essential as we look to reinforce and develop the...
The power and potential of places
When local government puts civil society at the heart of what they do, it brings democracy closer to the people. If powers and finance are devolved effectively, local government can...
Business is back in the community
Business plays a crucial role in supporting communities and delivering social good, and they have done in various ways for centuries. Covid has emphasised just how essential they can be,...
Civil society and business: a two-way street
Too often, the discussion around businesses’ relationship with civil society suggests it is a one-way street. But in reality, the relationships goes two-ways. From accessing local insight to exchanging expertise,...
Imagining better: prioritising people and planet over growth
Government misunderstands civil society as something that takes more than it gives. Empowering civil society requires understanding it as a set of relationships – between people, places and sectors –...
The ‘dugnad’ spirit: valuing the invaluable
Too often, businesses take civil society and the value it brings to them for granted, making it hard to work together. Companies and investors could learn much about the true...
From ‘sectors’ to ‘system’: partnership working and civil society’s role in tackling inequality
Civil society is at the heart of Greater Manchester’s response to Covid, reflecting the approach to governance that the city-region has developed over recent years. Further collaboration and a devolved...
Unleashing Potential
Making the most of our civil society
Strong ties and sharp focus: How the voluntary and charitable sector in Kensington & Chelsea enhances our civic life
Conservative councillor Sof McVeigh discusses the importance of her work with the voluntary sector in Kensington and Chelsea, especially in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Should charities be responsible for society’s most vulnerable?
Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari reflects on how charities have increasingly become the safety net for society's most vulnerable.
Without structural change, civil society can only help one starfish at a time
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman reflects on the huge impact delivered by civil society, arguing that structural change from government is needed to unleash the sector's full potential.
We need to reshape society to unleash the full potential of civil society
Former Green Party leader Baroness Natalie Bennett argues for a radical rethinking of the relationship between people and the economy.
Britain needs a stronger social sector in these challenging times
Commissioner Baroness Valerie Amos, a Labour peer, explores the importance of civil society and the crucial part it has to play in building a stronger Britain.
Structural improvements: ideas for supporting a thriving civil society
Making the most of the great potential for good that civil society offers requires marrying the passion and drive that exists within the sector with a keen focus on maximising...
An uncertain future: the need to better understand the potential of civil society
The Covid pandemic has emphasised many of the existing fault lines in our society. Civil society responded nimbly to the crisis, but many are left in a financially vulnerable position...
Small charities are here to stay
Covid has changed the landscape for small charities. We need to seize the opportunity to create a brighter and bolder understanding of how small charities operate.
About. For. From: unpicking the sector’s data pessimism
We need better civil society data. That includes data ‘about’ civil society - measured at the national level; ‘for’ civil society – access to public data, along with the support...
Entrepreneurial philanthropy for all
Why are Americans so much better at giving money away than Brits? Britons don’t give as much as they could, while approaches to giving are too hands-off. In challenging inequality,...
A new social covenant
We need a new ‘social covenant’ between civil society and the state. One that empowers communities and asserts the importance of government and businesses producing public good. We also need...
Civil society in our extremely digital world
To thrive in a digital world, civil society must play an active role in responding to the opportunities and challenges of technology. Doing so, means both making use of technology...