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Giving Thought — Business
Giving Thought

Charities Aid Foundation’s Giving Thought podcast explored the big issues, themes and news stories relating to philanthropy and the work of civil society.

This podcast is no longer produced.

Latest Episodes:

Connie Gallippi - Cryptophilanthropy & Blockchain Oct 02, 2018

Show notes

In episode 34, Rhod chats to Connie Gallippi, Founder and CEO of the BitGive Foundation (the first US nonprofit to accept cryptocurrency donations). They discuss:

- What is the potential for cryptophilanthropy?

-What are some of the practical challenges to taking donations in cryptocurrency?

-Is the current crypto bear market likely to result in more or fewer donations of crypto?

-What is the wider potential of blockchain for the nonprofit sector?

-What does radical transparency bring for donors and beneficiaries?

-How might we solve the blockchain last mile problem?

-Should nonprofits be concerned about the environmental cost of existing blockchain tech?

Related links:

https://www.bitgivefoundation.org/

https://www.givetrack.org/

Zoe Amar - Charities, Technology & Digital Transformation Sep 18, 2018

Show notes

In episode 33, Rhod chats to Zoe Amar about digital transformation in the charity and non-profit world, and how organisations can get to grips with the opportunities and challenges presented by new technology.

Topics covered include:

-What role does leadership play in digital transformation?

-Is new technology perceived as too risky? How can we overcome this barrier?

-How will our workplaces need to change in response to developments in tech?

-Is there a danger of a "digital brain drain" if non-profits cannot offer appealing opportunities for tech-savvy young professionals?

-Can new technologies benefit small organisations as well as larger ones?

-What role can charities play in the design of new technology to ensure it is human-centred?

-Should charities be concerned about the mental health and social impacts of social media and other tech tools?

-Can charities play a wider role in addressing the negative impact of technology?

-Why should the non-profit world wake up to AI?

Related Links

Chris Willis Pickup - Charity Law, Regulation & Technology Sep 04, 2018

Show notes

In episode 32 we chat to Chris Willis Pickup, Partner at Taylor Vinters law firm and former Head of Litigation for the Charity Commission for England & Wales. charity law. We discuss a whole host of topics including:

-What does charity law actually entail?

-Defining charitable purposes

-Dormant trusts, the Cy Pres doctrine and the National Fund

-Campaigning and charity law

-What is the role of a charity regulator?

-Developing digital skills in charities

-Charity RegTech

-What role can lawyers play in promoting philanthropy?

Civil Society Strategy Special Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

In episode 31, we take a look through the recently published UK government Civil Society Strategy. We explore what it means for charities, businesses and communities in the UK, and how it fits in with wider global trends affecting civil society. Including:

-The value of having a strategy

-Broadening the definition of civil society

-Place and civic philanthropy

-Civic engagement and direct democracy

-The importance of civil society campaigning

-Welfare and the lines between state and voluntary provision throughout history

-Getting to grips with technology

-Responsible business

-The UK's ambitions to be "the world leader in philanthropy services".

Fran Perrin: Philanthropy & Transparency Jul 17, 2018

Show notes

In episode 30, Rhod chats to Fran Perrin- founder and Director of the Indigo Trust, founder of 360 Giving, former government policy advisor and member of the famously philanthropic Sainsbury family - about promoting transparency in philanthropy. Topics touched on include:

-Why transparency is valuable

-When transparency might not be such a good thing

-Are foundations and philanthropists resistant to transparency?

-How can technology help people and communities, and how can it cause harm?

-Does philanthropy take enough risks?

-How do you address the imbalance of power between donor and recipient?

-What policy changes are needed to boost the culture of philanthropy?

-The value of "meta-philanthropy" (i.e. philanthropy aimed at supporting more philanthropy)

-The role of upbringing in instilling a sense of philanthropic 'duty'

Ben Joakim & Paul Currion from Disberse: Philanthropy, International Aid and blockchain technology Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

In this episode (number 29), I chat to Ben Joakim and Paul Currion from Disberse - a fintech startup applying blockchain technology to the international development and aid sector. We had a wide-ranging chat about the challenges they have found in getting beyond the hype surrounding blockchain, and the genuine opportunities they believe the technology has to offer. Including:

-Why blockchain? What can you do with a blockchain in an aid context that you can't do with another, simpler technology?

-The last mile problem: how do you get money and goods to where they are actually needed when using blockchain, assuming that people and communities on the ground are not themselves using the technology?

-Regulation: how are governments and regulators approaching blockchain technology? What challenges does this present for those trying to use it in a civil society context?

-Cryptocurrency: Why have Disberse chosen not to work with existing cryptocurrencies? What are the opportunities and pitfalls of doing so?

-State of blockchain for good: How much of what has been said about blockchain tech's potential in the civil society space is merely hype, and how much reflects true potential to do this differently or better? And where do things go next?

Related Material:

Ben Soskis - Learning from the history of philanthropy Jun 26, 2018

Show notes

In episode 28, Rhod is joined by Ben Soskis, a Fellow at the Urban Institute and editor of HistPhil.org, for a wide-ranging (and quite long!) chat about the history of philanthropy and what it can teach us about the big challenges facing charities and donors today. They talked about all sorts of things, such as:

-Why is studying the history of philanthropy worthwhile, and what are the limitations of historical comparison?

-What are the most telling criticisms of philanthropy that have been seen through the ages?

-Which supposedly "new" developments in philanthropy actually have historical precedents? What, if anything, is genuinely new?

-Is philanthropy anti-democratic? Can that sometimes be a good thing?

-Why have power dynamics always been such a challenge for philanthropy, and what efforts have been taken to overcome this challenge?

-What are the biggest challenges facing philanthropy in the US right now?

Related content:

histphil.org
George Soros and the Demonization of Philanthropy (An article by Ben for The Atlantic)
The Importance of Criticizing Philanthropy (An article by Ben for The Atlantic)
New Realities for Philanthropy in the Trump Era (An article by Ben for the Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Dirty Money: From Rockefeller to Koch (An article by Ben for The Atlantic)
The History of the "Giving While Living" Ethic (Report by Ben, commissioned by Atlantic Philanthropies)
Philanthropy: Anti-democratic and proud of it? (Rhod)
Philanthropy and Inequality: Part of the solution or part of the problem? (Rhod)
Public Good by Private Means: How Philanthropy Shapes Britain (Rhod's book)

Rachel Rank- Open Data, grantmaking and philanthropy Jun 12, 2018

Show notes

In episode 27 of the podcast Rhod chats to Rachel Rank, CEO of 360 Giving (www.threesixtygiving.org)- an initiative promoting and supporting an Open Data approach among UK grantmakers. Topics covered include:

-The background and rationale to 360 Giving

-What challenges has 360 Giving faced in terms of getting grantmakers to adopt an open data approach?

-How are organisations using the information that is being published?

-Where does the work of 360 Giving fit within the wider move towards open data and transparency?

-What is the potential for applying new techniques and tools such as machine learning to the data being opened up on grantmaking?

-Will there be new challenges when it comes to making data more accessible in the light of GDPR and the growing unease about data privace and usage?

Philanthropy, Civil Society & Artificial Intelligence May 22, 2018

Show notes

In episode 26, Rhod looks at the impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to have on philanthropy and civil society. Topics covered include:

-What are we talking about? We look at what AI actually means and why it has come to prominence in recent years, and consider 3 broad ways in which AI is going to affect civil society.

-AI for Good: How is AI being put to use to deliver social and environmental benefits, and where could this go in the future? We touch on fascinating projects using machine learning for medical research and environmental protection, and explore the use of chatbots and voice-activated assistants.

-The wider operating environment: AI seems set to disrupt the way that organisations, and even entire industries, operate. Civil society organisations could harness the benefits of automation, but will also need to address the wider challenges that it poses to the future of the workplace. Regulation could also be transformed, and CSOs will have to adapt. And the ways in which we are able to give in the future might look radically different.

-Negative consequences of AI: We are now aware that AI poses risks as well as opportunities, and civil society seems certain to play a role in addressing many of these new challenges. We explore the dangers of algorithmic bias and the growing tide of fake news and targeted propaganda- including the emergence of "deepfakes". We also look at the ways in which interaction with AI could affect human behaviour and the challenges this might pose.

Related Content

-Machine-Made Goods: Philanthropy, civil society and artificial intelligence (forthcoming discussion paper, so watch out for it on our Future:Good pages)

-CAF Submission to House of Lords Select Committee on AI Call for Evidence

-"Where are Charities in the Great AI Debate", World Economic Forum blog

-Civil Society article on charities and AI ethics

-5 ways AI is already having an impact on charity

-Robotic Alms: Is AI the future of philanthropy advice?

-Future Imperfect: 10 new problems that technology will create and charities will have to deal with

-Automatic for the People: What might a philanthropy algorithm look like?

Fundraising (Interview with Dan Fluskey) May 08, 2018

Show notes

In this episode (number 25) Rhod chats to Dan Fluskey, Head of Policy and External Affairs at the UK's Institute of Fundraising about the asking side of the philanthropy equation. Topics covered include:

-Is there actually a crisis of public trust in charities?

-What has the impact of a number of fundraising scandals been on the charity world?

-How do fundraisers balance the short term appeal of using techniques that work in terms of raising money against the danger of longer-term damage to the relationship with supporters?

-Is fundraising supposed to make us feel uncomfortable?

-How are fundraisers using new technology like virtual reality (VR)?

-What impact might new approaches like crowdfunding have on traditional charity fundraising?

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