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 STEP, Philanthropy Impact, ANSER-J, The Conversation, Alliance Magazine, Foreign Policy Association, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Social Innovation Generation, Social Finance.ca, Trico Charitable Foundation and Social Venture Partners Calgary.
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...
Enterprising Prizes
The Social EnterPrize Awards were created by the Trico Charitable Foundation in 2011 to recognize and celebrate leadership and excellence in social entrepreneurship across Canada. The awards look for the best practices, social impact and innovation of organizations...
Belief. That we are selling more than widgets.
Michele, you should go into business. Dad, I don't want to make widgets. Sell widgets. Or improve widgets. - Adamant 20-somthing Michele Belief. The theme of the 2015 Skoll World Forum. A combination of faith and pragmatism. What carries us through when things get...
The Holy Grail of Social Entrepreneurship?
We’re often asked for our definition of social entrepreneurship. In the past three years, our answers have morphed. We started purely on the non-profit side, but encountered problems whereby “everyone” was becoming a social entrepreneur. As we shifted toward the...
The trouble with transformation creep
The mantra for transformative change has become ubiquitous. After all, who would opt for treating symptoms, often derisively labelled as applying band-aids, rather than striving for a cure? While the clarion call of transformation also beckons for us, we’re concerned...
Enterprising Efforts, Calgary Foundation, Spur Fall 2014
Enterprising efforts ‘Profit’ isn't a dirty word when it helps charities accomplish their social goals. Page 17-21.
Focusing on the “how to”: emergent philanthropy debate must evolve
As a small and relatively new private foundation, we were intrigued by Kania, Kramer & Russell’s discussion of an emergent philanthropy framework. While our initial debates focused on the ‘newness’ and the key elements highlighted in their article were...
