See blog posts from our team, partners, founders and network, on topics affecting the philanthropy sector.
This week, Michael Gove announce the long-awaited Levelling-Up white paper. The ambitious plan looks to rocket-boost ‘left-behind’ communities around the UK. But with no new money coming from Treasury, we consider the increasingly important role of engaging philanthropists in the project.
“Attacks on ‘big giving’ have become more commonplace over the last decade,” states Dr Beth Breeze. But in a world where charities are reliant on donations from the wealthy, allowing this narrative to go entirely unchallenged risks donations drying up. Beth lays out why so many fundamental philanthropy criticisms are unfounded.
In this edition Philanthropy Right Now, Marie-Louise Gourlay reflects on the recent #Partygate revelations. She looks at the damage these revelations have done to public confidence in the government and asks what lessons we, as funders, can take forward into our own philanthropic partnerships.
Fake news, propaganda, corruption. Elements found far too often in the UK media. But can hope be found in an unlikely ally? Jonathan Heawood, director of Public Interest News Foundation, analyses the topic and how donors can help to realise a better media landscape.
Beacon has been tracking giving in the UK’s millionaire population since the start of Covid. The most recent results, our 7th survey, provide the opportunity to reflect on the imperative role of good data in encouraging greater giving. The article also highlights the results of the December 2021 survey.
If we want to see philanthropy in the UK grow, it is essential that we become more comfortable celebrating it. This is the argument put forward by Beacon director Sarah Jane O’Neill, as she reviews 2022’s New Year’s Honours List. This year’s list reveals that philanthropy is referenced just 9 times out of 1,278 honours.
In her third column for Beacon, Marie-Louise Gourlay reflects on the recent Mind The Giving Gap report, which indicates a drop in high-net-worth philanthropy. She explores what may have driven this, and suggests that a cultural change in how we talk about money may provide a solution.
“Mum and dad died too young” starts Lucy Scanlon, reflecting on the legacy of her two parents, who never completely fulfilled their philanthropic aspirations. Picking up the baton, Lucy explains how her and her sister Jane are developing giving principles which both do good and honour their parents’ memory.
One donation, twice the impact – clearly an attractive proposition for any funder. But what is the history of match funding programmes, have they been successful in the UK, and why is the philanthropy sector now waking up to them? Alex Day writes for Beacon in this guest blog.
The Beacon Collaborative