In our last episode of the year, we take a look at some of the key issues and trends affecting philanthropy and civil society right now and offer some thoughts on what to watch out for in 2023. Including:
- The impact of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and possible recession on philanthropy, everyday giving and the work of charities.
- Polarisation and political division making it harder for philanthropy to engage constructively with criticism and the need for change.
- More mainstream media focus on philanthropy. (And therefore more scepticism and critique?)
- More big donors supporting efforts to develop everyday giving.
- A new generation of celebrities (Youtubers, sports stars etc) reclaiming the word “philanthropy” for themselves? What impact might this have on wider perceptions of philanthropy?
- More ultra-wealthy people make public pledges to give the majority of their wealth away.
- Blurring the lines between individual and corporate philanthropy more than ever
- Ongoing tensions between “strategic” and “trust-based” philanthropy.
- More donors and funders experimenting with models that enable them to shift power as well as money e.g. participatory methods, funding grassroots movements etc.
- Debates about balancing urgency and patience in philanthropy.
- Division in the Effective Altruism movement in the wake of Sam Bankman-Fried’s downfall?
- Tainted donations: will more organisations reject ‘bad money’, or will they try to find ways of justifying taking it in light of pressures on finances?
- The balkanisation of social media in the wake of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.
- Is cryptophilanthropy dead in the water?
- Will nonprofits start to make use of new generative AI tools like Chat-GPT? What new possibilities and challenges will these bring?
- Will layoffs and restructuring across many tech companies open up an opportunity for nonprofits to recruit new talent and skills?
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