Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Foundations of Radical Philanthropy

  • Research Papers
  • Published:
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As an institution that often seeks to redress global inequality and poverty, philanthropy is commonly dismissed as either masking structural causes, an insufficient response, or a contribution to the problem itself. Either way, philanthropy is increasingly labelled as philanthro-capitalism because it serves the interest of capital. But what about philanthropy that engages, seeks to transcend, and tries to provide alternatives to the status quo? Such philanthropies have been highlighted in the literature, but their radical foundations could be further clarified. In seeking to do so, this article (a) engages a radical theory of poverty, (b) teases out key principles of radical philanthropy, and (c) critically highlights the need to consider radical philanthropy as an alternative to philanthro-capitalism. Radical philanthropy is quite distinct and, while it can be unrealistic for individual foundations to embody all its principles, as a collective, they can be considered as one important and concrete contribution towards realising the aphorism, popularised by the World Social Forum, that ‘another world is possible’.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The idea is that poor and struggling states can kick-start their own development by creating new cities with new rules—‘charter cities’—by leasing parts of their territory to foreign powers, which would take charge, thus attracting investment, jobs, and private capital.

  2. The case of Edge Fund reveals that there are legal implications for this model of philanthropy. They are not registered as a charity in the UK as this would limit them to only supporting ‘charitable’ projects and instead are a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

References

  • Adarkwa, K. K., & Oppong, R. A. (2007). Poverty reduction through the creation of a liveable housing environment. A case study of Habitat for Humanity International Housing Units in rural Ghana. Property Management, 25(1), 7–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, A. B. (2016). How to spread the wealth: Practical policies for reducing inequality. Foreign Affairs, 95, 29–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility. (n.d.). About us—What we do. Accessed May 19, 2019 from https://accr.org.au/what-we-do/.

  • Baggett, J. P. (2002). The irony of parachurch organizations: The case of Habitat for Humanity. In D. F. Burlingame (Ed.), Taking fundraising seriously: The spirit of faith and philanthropy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, M., & Green, M. (2010). Philanthrocapitalism: How giving can save the world. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callahan, D. (2017). The givers: Wealth, power and philanthropy in a new gilded age. New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carey, G. (2012). Recalling Clarence Jordan, Radical Disciple, Huffington Post, 3 June, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-carey/clarence-jordan-radical-disciple_b_1548373.html. Last Accessed December 10, 2018.

  • Carroll, W. K. (2015). Robust radicalism. Review of Radical Political Economics, 74(4), 663–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clough, E. (2015). Effective Altruism’s political blind spot. Boston Review, 14 July.

  • Cobb, C. (2015). Editor’s introduction: The hidden hand: How foundations shape the course of history. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 74(4), 631–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing, F. L. (2017). Clarence Jordan: A radical pilgrimage in scorn of the consequences. Macon: Mercer University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edge Fund. (2018). About. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.edgefund.org.uk/.

  • Edwards, M. (2010). Small change: Why business won’t save the world. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eikenberry, A. M. (2006). Philanthropy and governance. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 28, 586–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eikenberry, A. M., & Mirabella, R. M. (2018). Extreme philanthropy: philanthrocapitalism, effective altruism, and the discourse of neoliberalism. PS: Political Science & Politics, 51(1), 43–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faber, D., & McCarthy, D. (Eds.). (2005). Foundations for social change: Critical perspectives on philanthropy and popular movements. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fridell, G., & Konings, M. (2013). Age of icons: Exploring philanthrocapitalism in the contemporary world. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, M. (1994). The theology of the hammer. Macon: Smyth and Helwys Publishing Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, M. (2000). More than houses: How habitat for humanity is transforming lives and neighborhoods. Nashville: Word Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gates Foundation. (2003). Investment to accelerate creation of strong charter schools. Accessed May 20, 2019 from https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2003/06/Investing-in-HighQuality-Charter-Schools.

  • Gibbs, N. (2018). Bill Gates: What gives me hope about the world’s future. TIME. January 4.

  • Glynn, S. (2009). Where the other half lives: Lower income housing in a neoliberal world. New York: Pluto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habitat for Humanity Australia. (2018a). Annual report 2018. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://habitat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018_HFHA_Annual_Report-2.pdf.

  • Habitat for Humanity Australia (HFHA). (2014). Annual report 2014. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://habitat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2014_HFHA_Annual-Report_vFINAL_SCREEN.pdf.

  • Habitat for Humanity Australia (HFHA). (2015). Annual report 2015. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://habitat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015_HFHA_Annual-Report.pdf.

  • Habitat for Humanity Australia (HFHA). (2016). Annual report 2016. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://habitat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2016_HFHA_Annual_Report-spreads-FINAL.pdf.

  • Habitat for Humanity Australia (HFHA). (2017). Financial report 2017. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://habitat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2017-HFHA-Statutory-Financial-Statements-SIGNED-Auditor-Director.pdf.

  • Harris, R., & Arku, G. (2006). Housing and economic development: The evolution of an idea since 1945. Habitat International, 30(4), 1007–1017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hermes, N., & Lensink, R. (2007). The empirics of microfinance: What do we know? The Economic Journal, 117(517), F1–F10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herro, A. (2017). The human rights of older persons: the politics and substance of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 23(1), 90–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, G. (2012). Biodiversity for billionaires: Capitalism, conservation and the role of philanthropy in saving/selling nature. Development and Change, 43(1), 185–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvath, A., & Powell, W. (2016). Contributory or disruptive: Do new forms of philanthropy erode democracy? In R. Reich, C. Cordelli, & L. Bernholz (Eds.), Philanthropy in democratic societies: History, institutions, values. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossein, C. S. (2016a). ‘Big Man’ politics in the social economy: A case study of microfinance in Kingston, Jamaica. Review of Social Economy, 74(2), 148–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossein, C. S. (2016b). Money pools in the Americas: The African diaspora’s legacy in the social economy. Forum of Social Economics., XLV(4), 309–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huddart, S. (2018). A morning with Stephen Huddart (The McConnell Foundation). Sydney: Philanthropy Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huillery, E. (2009). History matters: The long-term impact of colonial public investments in French West Africa. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(2), 176–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • INCITE!. (2017). The revolution will not be funded: Beyond the non-profit industrial complex. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. London: Jonathan Cape Thirty Bedford Square.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. C. (2011). The urban precariat, neoliberalization, and the soft power of humanitarian. Journal of Developing Societies, 27(3–4), 445–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, T. (2018). A twenty something perspective: seven ideas on leadership in philanthropy. Melbourne: Portland House Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovner Foundation. (2018a). An opportunity society. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.thekovnerfoundation.org/programs/an-opportunity-society.

  • Kovner Foundation. (2018b). Our goals & approach. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.thekovnerfoundation.org/our-goals-and-approach.

  • Kruger, C. (2018). Gina Rinehart’s wealth could fund government spending for 11 days. Sydney Morning Herald. 13 February.

  • Lawrie, M., Tonts, M., & Plummer, P. (2011). Boomtowns, resource dependence and socio-economic well-being. Australian Geographer, 42(2), 139–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, P. (2006). Music of a thousand hammers: Inside habitat for humanity. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levich, J. (2015). The Gates Foundation, Ebola, and global health imperialism. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 74(4), 704–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallaby, S. (2010). The politically incorrect guide to ending poverty. The Atlantic, July/August, 93–104.

  • Martens, J. & Seitz, K. (2015). Philanthropic power and development: Who shapes the agenda? Bischöfliches Hilfswerk Misereor.

  • McConnell Foundation. (n.d.a). New economies. Accessed December 10, 2018 from http://www.phase1.citiesforpeople.ca/new-economies/.

  • McConnell Foundation. (n.d.b). Sustainable food systems. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://mcconnellfoundation.ca/initiative/sustainable-food-systems/.

  • McGoey, L. (2012). Philanthrocapitalism and its critics. Poetics, 40(2), 185–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGovern, A. (2009). Liberation theology and its critics: Toward an assessment. Eugene: Wipf and Stock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minsky, H. (2013). Jobs; not welfare. New York: Levy Economics Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moody, M. (2008). Building a culture: The construction and evolution of venture philanthropy as a new organizational field. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 37(2), 324–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morvaridi, B. (2012). Capitalist philanthropy and the new green revolution for food security. International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 19(2), 243–256.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morvaridi, B. (2016). Does sub-Saharan Africa need capitalist philanthropy to reduce poverty and achieve food security? Review of African Political Economy, 43(147), 151–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neslen, A. (2015). Dutch government ordered to cut carbon emissions in landmark ruling. The Guardian, 14 July.

  • Nickel, P. M., & Eikenberry, A. M. (2009). A critique of the discourse of marketized philanthropy. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(7), 974–989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, J. (1973). The fiscal crisis of the state. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Obeng-Odoom, F. (2008). Has the Habitat for Humanity Housing scheme achieved its goals? A Ghanaian case study. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 24(1), 67–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obeng-Odoom, F., & Bockarie, M. M. B. (2018). The political economy of the Ebola Virus Disease. Social Change, 48(1), 18–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obeng-Odoom, F., & Gyampo, R. E. V. (2017). Land grabbing, land rights, and the role of the courts. Geography Research Forum, 37, 127–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrander, S. A. (2005). Legacy and promise for social justice funding: charitable foundations and progressive social movements, past and present. In D. Faber & D. McCarthy (Eds.), Foundations for social change: Critical perspectives on philanthropy and popular movements. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrander, S. A., Silver, I., & McCarthy, D. (2005). Mobilizing money strategically: Opportunities for grantees to be active agents in social movement philanthropy. In D. Faber & D. McCarthy (Eds.), Foundations for social change: Critical perspectives on philanthropy and popular movements. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Philanthropy Australia. (n.d.). Stories in philanthropy. Accessed May 20, 2019 from: http://www.philanthropy.org.au/static-content/stories-in-philanthropy/.

  • Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Reichstein Foundation. (n.d.a). About us. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.reichstein.org.au/about-us/.

  • Reichstein Foundation. (n.d.b). Featured projects. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.reichstein.org.au/featured-projects-2/.

  • Roelofs, J. (2005). Liberal foundations: impediments or supports for social change? In D. Faber & D. McCarthy (Eds.), Foundations for social change: Critical perspectives on philanthropy and popular movements. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sizer, L. (2010). Hand-ups, not hand-outs: Habitat for humanity. Australia’s Paydirt, 1(178), 82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skocpol, T. (2016). Why political scientists should study organized philanthropy. PS-Political Science & Politics, 49(3), 433–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, C. A. (2013). The rise of Habitat for Humanity subdivisions. Focus on Geography, 56(3), 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Social Change Initiative. (2018). Welcome to the social change initiative. Accessed December 10, 2018 from https://www.thesocialchangeinitiative.org/.

  • Stilwell, F. (2012). Political economy: The contest of economic ideas (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suárez, D. F. (2012). Grant making as advocacy: The emergence of social justice philanthropy. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 22(3), 259–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tibaijuka, A. K. (2009). Building prosperity: Housing and economic development. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations General Assembly. (1966). International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. New York: United Nations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wainwright, H. (2013). Reclaim the state: Experiments in popular democracy (3rd ed.). Greenford: Seagull.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watchel, H. W. (1971). Looking at poverty from a radical perspective. Review of Radical Political Economics, 3(3), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. (2015). The village that turned to gold: A parable of philanthrocapitalism. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 47(1), 3–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2001). World Development Report, 2000/1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people who reviewed and commented on previous drafts of this article: Chris Budhan, Katrina Moore, Jenik Radon, James Wadham, Bob Zuber, and the anonymous reviewers. We would also like to thank Ben Courtenay and Will McManus for their research assistance.

Funding

This study was partly funded by Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowships (RG152479).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Science, University of New South Wales, Room 126, Morven Brown Building, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Annie Herro

  2. Development Studies Research Group, Faculty of Social Sciences, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 18, Room 206, Unioninkatu 35, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Franklin Obeng-Odoom

Authors
  1. Annie Herro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Franklin Obeng-Odoom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Annie Herro.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Herro, A., Obeng-Odoom, F. Foundations of Radical Philanthropy. Voluntas 30, 881–890 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00136-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-019-00136-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation