Beth Breeze – författare

The Fundraising Reader draws together essential literature establishing a one-stop body of knowledge that explains what fundraising is, and covers key concepts, principles and debates. The book shines a light on the experience of being a fundraiser and answers an urgent need to engage with the complexities of a facet of the non-profit sector that is often neglected or not properly understood.

This international compilation features extracts from key writing on fundraising, with a comprehensive contextualising introduction by the editors. Uniquely, this Reader shares conflicting positions relating to age-old and current debates on fundraising: Is fundraising marketing? Should donors or the community be front and centre in fundraising? How can fundraisers deal with ethical dilemmas such as ‘tainted’ donors and money? Best practice and future trends are also covered, including the impact of new technologies and responding to demands for greater diversity, inclusion, and equity in fundraising teams.

This Reader is for those who seek to further develop their own understanding of fundraising, and it provides an invaluable resource for academic courses and professional training.

The Fundraising Reader draws together essential literature establishing a one-stop body of knowledge that explains what fundraising is, and covers key concepts, principles and debates. The book shines a light on the experience of being a fundraiser and answers an urgent need to engage with the complexities of a facet of the non-profit sector that is often neglected or not properly understood.

This international compilation features extracts from key writing on fundraising, with a comprehensive contextualising introduction by the editors. Uniquely, this Reader shares conflicting positions relating to age-old and current debates on fundraising: Is fundraising marketing? Should donors or the community be front and centre in fundraising? How can fundraisers deal with ethical dilemmas such as ‘tainted’ donors and money? Best practice and future trends are also covered, including the impact of new technologies and responding to demands for greater diversity, inclusion, and equity in fundraising teams.

This Reader is for those who seek to further develop their own understanding of fundraising, and it provides an invaluable resource for academic courses and professional training.

What is charity? How does it operate, who does it benefit and what should we expect it to do? This important book helps to tackle the most common misunderstandings and misconceptions of charitable activity in contemporary British society, especially insofar as these affect the thinking of politicians and policymakers. The authors present and discuss over a dozen studies, including public attitudes to giving, large datasets on the geography and funding patterns of third sector organisations, and interviews with a wide range of donors, charity leaders, fundraisers and philanthropy advisers. This data enables them to explore the logic of charity in terms of the distribution of resources across causes and communities in the UK, and the processes behind philanthropic decision-making, to reveal a picture of charitable activity at odds with widespread assumptions.

Philanthropy is both timeless and timely. Ancient Romans, Medieval aristocrats, and Victorian industrialists engaged in philanthropy, as do modern-day Chinese billionaires, South African activists, and Brazilian nuns. Today, philanthropic practice is evolving faster than ever before, with donors giving their time, talents, and social capital in creative new ways and in combination with their financial resources. These developments are generating complex new debates and adding new twists to enduring questions, from "why be philanthropic?" to "what does it mean to do philanthropy ‘better’?" Addressing such questions requires greater understanding of the contested purpose and diverse practice of philanthropy.

With an international and interdisciplinary focus, The Philanthropy Reader serves as a one-stop resource that brings together essential and engaging extracts from key texts and major thinkers, and frames these in a way that captures the historical development, core concepts, perennial debates, global reach, and recent trends of this field. The book includes almost 100 seminal and illuminating writings about philanthropy, equipping readers with the guiding material they need to better grasp such a crucial yet complex and evolving topic. Additional readings and discussion questions also accompany the text as online supplements.

This text will be essential reading for students on philanthropy courses worldwide, and will also be of interest to anyone active in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors — from donors and grantmakers, to advisers and fundraisers.

Running down “do-gooders” has become a popular pastime in recent years. Journalists and academics alike have lampooned and criticized philanthropists and big donors for their charitable activities, which are often characterized as a means of self-aggrandisement or tax evasion.

Yet, it is widely acknowledged that philanthropy – from the establishment of Carnegie libraries in the nineteenth century to the recent global health interventions of the Gates Foundation – has played a critical role in both developed and developing societies.

In an impassioned defence of the role of philanthropy in society, Beth Breeze tackles the main critiques levelled at philanthropy and questions the rationale for undermining and disparaging philanthropic acts. She contends that although it might be flawed, philanthropy is a sector that ought to be celebrated and championed so that an abundance of causes and interests can flourish.