The Panama papers affair, just like with the previous Lux leaks or Snowden revelations, once again confirm the importance of the role of whistleblowers in defending public interest. Whistleblowers are at the centre of events as never before, holding governments and corporations to account for illegal activity, corruption, abuse in… Read More
This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post on 8 March 2016 Galicia is a peripheral region in the north-west of Spain, a coastal area and the destination for pilgrims on the route known as the Way of Saint James. Over the past eleven centuries the route has… Read More
Part Two: There is nothing so stable as change In this series of blogs, I’m considering what it means to be a European foundation today: what are the issues and concerns that worry foundation colleagues? What are the legal and fiscal trends affecting our operating environments? What’s the… Read More
Part one: On diversity, adaptability and the art of acupuncture European foundations can be encapsulated in one word: diversity. They have diverse characteristics in terms of their origin, focus, size, decision-making and funding mechanisms, aptitude for change, appetite for collaboration and governance, among many other things. Trying to typify or… Read More
“Why does the European Climate Foundation (ECF) monitor and evaluate?” This was the question that started the ECF’s M&E journey. The answers include: to help see where we are going, to see if we need to change direction, to help make better plans for the future and to make our… Read More
Do you feel like your organisation’s communications efforts are too often about “sending stuff out into the ether”? If so, you’re not alone. I recently heard this sentiment expressed during a meeting of social sector leaders, and it wasn’t for the first time. Their perception— that much of their organisations’… Read More
Small and medium-sized foundations (with assets, say, below 600 million euros) face a particular set of issues in maximising their investment returns while minimising their investment risks. Three obvious difficulties come to mind: Affording to employ an in-house investment specialist Attracting trustees/investment committee members with the necessary investment expertise Establishing… Read More
In its quest to promote deep progressive change within society, philanthropy is often blamed for addressing the symptoms rather than the roots of problems. In other words, we seem to promote short-term and single-issue strategies, transactional reforms and techno-fixes that eventually reinforce the logic of the dominant system instead of… Read More
In the current climate, crowdfunding represents a very welcome financial innovation, both for innovative companies that banks sometimes regard as too risky, and for non-profit-making enterprises and charity organisations which are having to cope with reductions in state subsidies. Supporting the charity/non-profit sector The above observation prompted BNP Paribas… Read More
Whilst academic education at private universities is recognised and has a high reputation in countries such as the United States, Great Britain or Japan the private operators in Germany permanently have to fight to justify their existence and against prejudices. The Jacobs University in Bremen, North Germany, which was founded… Read More