Philanthropy as ‘Sisyphus’
Ylvisaker, in his speech to the 1976 International Conference on Opportunities for Philanthropy, argued that doing philanthropy is akin to [...]
Philanthropy as ‘love’
Given that the earliest image of philanthropy is associated with Prometheus' love of humanity, what better image to finish with [...]
Foundations – ‘black holes’ vs ‘supernovas’
The last couple of years have seen substantial developments around learning, information management and sharing of knowledge in philanthropy. Today's [...]
Community foundations as ‘a very large tent’
Today’s image of philanthropy comes from a panel discussion on the role of community foundations and regional associations of grantmakers [...]
Trusts as ‘underground rivers’
Today's image of philanthropy raises questions about the visibility and understanding of foundations and their activities. As Anthony Sampson stated: [...]
Starting a foundation? Think ‘porcupine’
Today’s image of philanthropy highlights that starting a foundations might be easier than figuring out what to do with it: [...]
Foundations as ‘astronomical objects’
The direct and indirect influence that larger foundations might have on their wider context is picked up in today’s image [...]
Community foundations as ‘amoebae’
Today’s image of philanthropy could be applied to different foundation sectors across the globe. However, it is taken from the [...]
Philanthropy as ‘a pebble in a pond’
Today’s image of philanthropy focuses on philanthropy’s potential to act as a catalyst and create far reaching ‘ripples’. This is [...]
Foundation executives as ‘artful jugglers’
Managing a foundation is a complex task. This is highlighted in today’s image of philanthropy. Examining foundation CEOs’ tasks, activities [...]