Since 2007, I’ve been writing on civil society, philanthropy, social enterprise, and public diplomacy.
The writing included on this site has been previously published through a variety of networks, including The Conversation, Alliance Magazine, Trico Charitable Foundation, Foreign Policy Association, Social Venture Partners Calgary, Social Innovation Generation, Social Finance.ca, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Problem Solvers: Charity & Philanthropy
Each month, the Museums at University of St. Andrews help kids to meet problem solvers to explore big ideas and to solve a challenge. Inspired by something at the Wardlaw Museum, kids meet an expert from the University of St Andrews and try to solve a problem we face...
Giving Reflection: A Letter to My Younger Self
Your giving is as unique as you are. At the beginning of the London Lockdown in April 2020, I was contacted by The Big Issue to take out a magazine subscription. Their vendors were losing the opportunity to sell at their pitches. The subscription would help with...
Book Review: Hugh Cunningham: the reputation of philanthropy since 1750: Britain and beyond, Manchester University Press, Manchester, UK, 2020, 232 pp.
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations (2020) 22 July 2020 (Online first) https://js.sagamorepub.com/jnel/article/view/9730
What is the Advisor’s Responsibility? STEP Journal (Issue 5, 2020)
Excerpt: HOW TO BRING THE NEXT GENERATION INTO THESE DISCUSSIONS AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSIt is expected that the next generation, whether through wealth transfer or wealth creation, will usher in a ‘golden age’ of philanthropy. Research has shown that...
Book Review: American Philanthropic Foundations: Regional Difference and Change David C. Hammack and Steven Rathgeb Smith (Eds.) Indiana University Press (2018)
Journal of NonProfit Education and Leadership January 2020, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp 114-116 https://js.sagamorepub.com/jnel/article/view/9730
Book Review: The New Fundraisers: Who Organises Charitable Giving in Contemporary Society? (Beth Breeze)
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations August 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4, pp 895–896 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11266-018-9963-4#citeas
The invisible infrastructure of giving – and why it matters
Charitable giving may seem like a fairly straightforward exchange: from donor to charity. But it is actually made up of many layers and multiple dynamics, many of which are invisible. This – the giving infrastructure – is what connects donors, charities, and social...
Professionalizing Foundations
My research at the Centre for the Study of Philanthropy & Public Good, St Andrews University, focuses on foundation staff, reflecting on their roles as professionals within foundations and exploring relationships inherent in the development of a foundation....
Remote working: Bringing us closer
Remote working is not just for technology companies, outsourcing or freelancers. Even after Melissa Mayer’s highly publicized 2013 decision to axe remote working at Yahoo!, the 2014 American Community Survey cited that 3.7 million Americans were working remotely, on...
Foundations’ overreliance on management may obscure social justice goals
The conversation that defines civil society is unique to each country, to the role of the state, to the role of the family and community, and to the role of the market. In North America we tend to mute this conversation and focus instead on our managerial style of...
