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PODCAST

Philanthropisms

Philanthropisms is the podcast that puts philanthropy in context. Through conversations with expert guests and deep dives into topics, host Rhodri Davies explores giving throughout history, the key trends shaping generosity around the world today and what the future might hold for philanthropy. Contact: rhodri@whyphilanthropymatters.com.

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All Episodes

54:16

Dr Xanthe Scharff: Mackenzie Scott gifts,...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/04/23

Send us Fan Mail On this episode we are joined by Dr Xanthe Scharff, Managing Director for External Affairs and Editor-at-Large at the Freedom Fund, to discuss their work combatting modern slavery and what it is like to receive not one but two major gifts from Mackenzie Scott. Including: What is Freedom Fund’s mission, and how does it go about delivering on this?What is the scale of modern slavery as an issue? How much philanthropic funding does modern slavery currently attract? How...

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53:45

ERNOP: Connecting Philanthropy Academia & Practice #13

Philanthropisms ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail In the thirteenth edition of our podcast partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we talk to more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from: Lauren Dula (Binghamton University, State University of New York) & Laurie Paarlberg (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University), about their research into the literature on how power m...

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44:25

Craig Newmark on philanthropy

Philanthropisms ·

2026/03/26

Send us Fan Mail On this episode we are joined by Craig Newmark - founder of Craigslist, philanthropist and recent Giving Pledge signatory - to discuss his thoughts on the importance of philanthropy and how he approaches it. Including: What was it that particularly made him decide to sign the Giving Pledge last year, given that he has been doing philanthropy at a significant level for a long time now?Part of Craig's stated aim in signing the Giving Pledge is to “inspire really rich people to ...

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49:51

Myths of Philanthropy #3: Individualism and Scarcity,...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/03/12

Send a text In the third and final episode of our "Myths of Philanthropy" series, Rhodri and Chiara are joined by Zaineb Mohammed (Kataly Fund) and Devi Leiper O'Malley (Closer Than You Think) to discuss individualism and scarcity. Including: What does it mean to have a scarcity mindset, and why is it so common in the nonprofit sector?What does a scarcity mindset lead to?How can funders and nonprofits overcome the scarcity mindset themselves, and how can they help the nonprofits they fund to ...

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60:27

Myths of Philanthropy #2: Presumed Expertise, with...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/03/09

Send a text For the second episode in our "Myths of Philanthropy" series, we are joined by élysse marcellin (Whose Knowledge?) and Tesmeralna Atsbeha (philanthropic strategist & advisor, formerly Wellspring Philanthropic Fund) to discuss presumed knowledge. Including: Why do we equate wealth with expertise across a broad range of domains, and why is this a mistake? Do we also make judgements about those who do not have money (i.e. that they have less knowledge or less capacity to abs...

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54:37

Myths of Philanthropy #1: Legacy, with Lisa Cowan and...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/03/05

Send a text In the first episode of our mini-series on "Myths of Philanthropy", Rhodri and Chiara are joined by Lisa Cowan (Director of The Haven Fund, previously Vice President of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation) and Dimple Abichandani (author of A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth Into a More Just and Sustainable Future) to discuss the notion of legacy. Including: To what extent do foundations exist in perpetuity as a default, rather than an active choice...

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32:06

Myths of Philanthropy: Introduction, with Mandy van...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/03/05

Send a text Rhodri is joined by Mandy van Deven and Chiara Cattaneo from Elemental, to introduce a new 3-part collaborative series on "Myths of Philanthropy". Including: Why curate a series about the myths of philanthropy? How did the series take shape? Who are the contributors?What are the myths of philanthropy, and where did they come from?What do we hope readers and listeners will take away from this series?Further Resources: ElementalThe Myths of Philanthropy Filantro...

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58:07

David Campbell & Lindsey McDougle: Can You Teach...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/02/19

Send a text In our 100th episode we talk to David Campbell (Binghamton University, State University of New York) and Lindsey McDougle (Rutgers University - Newark) about their work on "Experiential Philanthropy" (EP) and using giving as a teaching tool. Including: What is experiential philanthropy?What are some of the different models for delivering EP courses? Is EP primarily a way of learning about philanthropy, a tool for learning about other subjects, or a means of promoting active c...

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53:31

Jonathan Heawood: Philanthropy and Public Interest...

Philanthropisms ·

2026/02/05

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Jonathan Heawood, Executive Director of the Public Interest News Foundation (PINF), about the role philanthropy can play in funding public interest journalism, and some of the opportunities and challenges this might bring. Including: How do we define public interest journalism?What are the key challenges for news providers in the modern digital landscape? What role can philanthropy play in addressing these challenges?Why is local news particularly imp...

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49:13

Ann Mei Chang: Data and Civil Society

Philanthropisms ·

2026/01/22

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Ann Mei Chang, CEO of Candid, about the opportunities and challenges when it comes to collecting and publishing data on the nonprofit sector. Including: How does Candid decide what data to collect beyond what’s available from IRS filings?How can we ensure that data collection benefits nonprofits rather than burdening them? How are nonprofits using Candid data?What role could the nonprofit sector take in modeling more ethical and transparent appr...

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54:02

ERNOP: Connecting Philanthropy Academia & Practice #12

Philanthropisms ·

2026/01/08

Send us a text In the twelfth edition of our podcast partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we talk to more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from: Peter Vandor (WU Wien), about his research (with Fabian Dober, Michael Meyer and Reinhard Millner) into how social investors make decisions about what to fund.Jo Bacon & Claire Routley (University of Kent...

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81:48

What Next? 2026 Trends and Predictions for...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/12/18

Send us a text In this episode we offer thoughts on the trends and topics that are going to shape philanthropy and civil society in 2026. Including: Philanthropy & Charities Ongoing political challenges for US philanthropy (more attacks on the legitimacy of foundations; will Trump weaponise the IRS?)More billion-dollar gifts; more donors signalling intent (e.g. by joining the Giving Pledge); the emergence of some new big-money philanthropists (including some high-profile women?)How will g...

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53:34

Philippa Charles: Foundations and Grantmaking

Philanthropisms ·

2025/12/11

Send us a text On this episode of the Philanthropisms podcast we speak to Philippa Charles OBE, Chief Executive of the DFN Foundation, about the role of foundations and what it means to be a good grantmaker. Including: What is required to make core cost funding work from the funder’s point of view?What challenges do current grant application processes present for charities? How can we minimise or overcome these challenges?The relationship between fundraisers and funders (or donors) is o...

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45:02

Rachael Jarosh & Suzanne Ehlers: Women-led...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/11/27

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Rachael Jarosh and Suzanne Ehlers, Chair and CEO respectively of USA for UNHCR, the US-based support organisation for the United Nations refugee agency, about their new women-led philanthropy project Building Better Futures. Including What is the aim of the Building Better Futures campaign and how did it come about?Why was it decided to focus on access to education? What makes that such an powerful catalyst for wider change?Why do female refugees face...

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59:33

Asha Curran: Radical generosity & the power of...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/11/13

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, about the evolution of Giving Tuesday from its origins as a US-based giving day to its current incarnation as a global generosity movement operating in over 100 countries worldwide; and what she has learned about the power of everyday acts of giving. Including: How has GivingTuesday evolved since its inception over a decade ago?What are the key aims of the organisation today?How important does the actual Giving Tuesd...

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58:24

Sonal Sachdev Patel: Reflections of a Philanthropist...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/10/30

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Sonal Sachdev Patel, CEO of GMSP Foundation, inaugural Philanthropist In Residence at the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) and executive coach working with philanthropists and senior leaders. In a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss: How did the LSE Philanthropist in Residence role come about? What is the aim of the role, and what are the key insights so far?How did Sonal and her family get started i...

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54:37

ERNOP: Connecting Philanthropy Academia & Practice #11

Philanthropisms ·

2025/10/16

Send us a text In the eleventh edition of our podcast partnership with the European Research Network on Philanthropy (ERNOP), we talk to more academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of short, practitioner-focused ERNOP Research Notes. In this episode we hear from: Maria Jedicke (formerly of University of Freiburg), about her research on how to design effective volunteering appeals.Georg von Schnurbein (University of Basel) about his paper (with Alice Hengevoss) lookin...

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71:27

Oli French & Sally Vivyan: Why and how do foundations...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/10/02

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Oli French (freelance consultant) and Sally Vivyan (Co-Director of Gower Street and Grants Advisor/Trustee to the Sir Ernest Cassel Education Trust) about why and how foundations choose to spend themselves down. Including: Are decisions to spend down more commonly about mission, principles or practicalities? Or is it a mixture of all 3 (and how does the balance shift over time)?Who tends to make the decision to spend down in an existing perpetual foun...

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74:07

Philanthropy in an Era of Populist Politics

Philanthropisms ·

2025/09/18

Send us a text In this episode we consider the rise of political populism across the world, the impact this is having on philanthropy and civil society, and what the response might be. Including: What are the key features of populist politics?Has philanthropy played a role in creating the current populist moment?How are funders and NGOs in the US responding to populist attacks on their legitimacy? Are these challenges set to intensify?Can and should philanthropic funders step in to cover gaps...

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56:43

Liv Egholm & Pia Gerber: Philanthropy & Democracy in...

Philanthropisms ·

2025/07/15

Send us a text In this episode we talk to Liv Egholm, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Pia Gerber, Director of Freudenberg Stiftung, about philanthropy and democracy in Europe. Including: What is the core role of philanthropy within a democratic society, which differentiates it from either state or market provision? Can philanthropy be used to strengthen democracy, or is it inherently anti-democratic, because it offers a means for those with wealth to bypass the ele...

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108 results

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