Visualizing philanthropy: storytelling with data
Of all the groups I have worked with, those in the philanthropic sector have some of the biggest opportunities to tell compelling stories with data. Yet the strategic advantage that can be gained...
View ArticleThe narrative of impact: it’s not just the numbers
As an emerging investment strategy, impact investing has had to work hard to gain the trust of actors both in the impact sector and in traditional financial markets. Data have played an immense role in...
View ArticleSupporting data collection by the poor
Data in the sphere of development has been effectively used for big picture questions like measuring levels of poverty and malnutrition or assessing the health and educational standards of a country or...
View ArticleGlossary
Big Data A term used to describe data sets so large that they become awkward to work with using standard database management tools. (Source: Wikipedia) The 40 billion photos handled by Facebook and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It Ain't What You Give, It's The Way That You Give It
Starting with the title, Caroline Fiennes’ book is about as far away as it’s possible to get from the sometimes over-preachy, precise and precious tone of many of the ‘how to do philanthropy’ books,...
View ArticleGood data for big capital
Last month’s issue of Alliance included thoughtful pieces that discussed both the promise and the limitations of data for philanthropy. We read the contributions with great interest at the Global...
View ArticleFrom fragmentation to function?
In 2007 the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship published a working paper by Jed Emerson and Joshua Spitzer entitled From Fragmentation to Function. As I cleared my office cupboards to make way...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Measuring the Networked Nonprofit
Beth Kanter and Katie Delahaye Paine describe their new book, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, as a meal in three courses. They set the table with an introduction to measurement and the basic...
View ArticleStrategic and networked?
The special feature on ‘Networks and philanthropy’ in the December issue of Alliance was kicked off with a lively debate in London on 10 December on the question of whether philanthropy can be both...
View ArticleBenchmarking global human rights grantmaking
Can better data on global human rights funding help human rights grantmakers to collectively identify and address gaps and to promote more strategic and effective human rights grantmaking? The...
View ArticleWhy Markets For Good may go wrong
Back in June 2010 I was one of 46 self-described ‘top visionaries and practitioners’ in the broadly defined ‘markets for giving space’ who came together to explore how to create greater social impact...
View ArticleCelebrating the impact of women’s rights movements over 30 years
What kind of impact can you have by funding small organizations led by marginalized women, girls and trans people globally? This is a question we are often asked at Mama Cash. Given that we see...
View ArticleWhat about Small Data?
‘Transparency’ is the theme of October’s Grantmakers East Forum (GEF) in Belgrade. Calling it a complex topic is an understatement. There seems to be agreement among at least this set of grantmakers...
View ArticleSmall Data: where the real action is
Big Data may be getting the lion's share of attention these days, but Christopher Worman (September issue of Alliance) is absolutely right that Small Data is where the real action is as far as...
View Article2013 SIAA conference: is impact measurement the highway to hell?
The annual conference of the Social Impact Analyst Association (SIAA) took place in Paris on 10 December. SIAA was founded in 2011 to ‘build an active international community of social impact...
View ArticleImpact - not organizations – first
Monitor Deloitte’s recent Beyond the Pioneer report highlights some of the critical challenges investees face when delivering on the promise of scale. Placing the firm at the centre of its analysis,...
View ArticleGreasing the wheels
As the term ‘impact investing’ has gained prominence over the last five years, many have assumed that it describes a new approach to investing. In fact, some investors have long sought to generate...
View ArticleImpact investing in a democracy: A response to the Alliance special feature...
When I first started out in social impact investing, it was hard to find anyone writing or talking about it (apart from my boss at Venturesome, John Kingston). But the tables have turned, and in the...
View ArticleFive ways for private philanthropists to achieve greater impact
For the last ten years UBS has been advising ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals and families all around the world on how to realize their philanthropic aspirations. Philanthropy is increasing –...
View ArticleWhy we need a fair price for social value
Impact investing has come a long way towards being a recognized investment option. Although no uniform impact metrics standard has emerged yet (and possibly never will), there is increasing consensus...
View Article
