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Analysis, Interviews, and Reviews
ArchiveArchive
Jul 21, 2008
Interview: United Way of America CEO Brian Gallagher
Recently we discussed United Way’s refocusing, the meaning of accountability, and the state of philanthropy in general with CEO Brian Gallagher.
May 20, 2008
Interview: AIDS Journalist Helen Epstein on The Invisible Cure
Philanthropy Action sat down with Helen Epstein, author of The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West and the Fight Against AIDS, to discuss her book, Uganda, and how Western dollars could best make a difference in the African AIDS crisis.
Apr 23, 2008
Paying Parents to Keep Kids in School
For families living in poverty, the cost of sending a child to school can involve more than just educational fees. The “opportunity cost” of attending class—generally measured in potential wages lost as a consequence of having a child who’s in school rather than taking care of younger siblings so parents can work, or working himself—can be too great to justify the expense and delayed benefit of a formal education. To deal with this conflict governments are experimenting with conditional cash transfer programs which, in the case of education, provide incentive payments to poor families that send their kids to school.
Mar 27, 2008
Are they Venture Philanthropists, Philantropreneurs or Philanthropcapitalists? Ask the Times
The debate about how business thinking should be applied to philanthropy has been circulating in the nonprofit sector for nearly a decade.
Mar 26, 2008
What is Philanthropy Action?
Does the world need a publication about poverty-focused philanthropy? We thought it did two years ago when we launched Beyond Philanthropy under the umbrella of Geneva Global. And we still think so now that we are independent.
Mar 17, 2008
Top Five: Books on Foreign Aid
The listed books provide a complete picture of the good and bad of foreign aid. They are readable and contradictory, alternately scathing in their reprobation and hopeful in the possibility of improvement. Though some are shriller than others, the collective take-away is that foreign aid is simultaneously necessary and deeply needful of improvement.
Feb 13, 2008
Top Five: Books on Development
The following books represent some of the most compelling explanations of how our world got this way, as well as theories of what is needed to stimulate economic development in the impoverished world. Though the ideas are at times incompatible, together these books provide a readable overview of current thinking.
Jan 03, 2008
Top Five: Books about Africa
With so much on offer, and so little of it high quality, how can one learn about the real Africa? The following books represent some of the most readable and instructive we know of covering the African continent. They are certainly not the only good books out there – for one they are all non-fiction. Still, they offer history, context and insight into the continent and its variety and can function as a Master Class in Africa for anyone who wants to learn.
Dec 12, 2007
How Business Can Aid in the Fight Against Global Poverty
There are no easy answers to the eradication of poverty. There is no ‘one size fits all’ or a single solution. Poverty will ultimately be solved when good governments are installed that will create the environment for vibrant economic activity to take place. It will not be solved by grand projects run by governments but which offer poor returns on their investments. An enterprise-based strategy will lay the groundwork for a better educated and resourced next generation, to transform their nations and make poverty history.
Oct 10, 2007
Tipping the Balance on Food Aid
US agriculture is intimately linked with food scarcity around the world. The impact is personal for the subsistence farmer: not only has her product been devalued by the flooding of her market with US-farmed commodities, but if she lives in or near a community that is the recipient of in-kind food aid she might find she doesn’t have any local buyers at all, since all her potential customers are now receiving their food for free. Thus she gets hit twice by US farm practices, a dynamic which is effectively putting her – and millions like her – out of business.