Philanthropy as ‘war’
Today’s image of philanthropy provides another critical voice levelled at prominent ideas around philanthropic effectiveness and impact. It comes from a chapter by Peter Frumkin entitled Central Problems in Philanthropy: Effectiveness, Accountability and Legitimacy. Citing a prominent philanthropist, Frumkin writes:
“‘Philanthropy is like war. We’re continuously fighting with somebody else who thinks that their sense of good is better than our sense of good.’ This construction of effectiveness does not emphasize a rational search for ways to collaborate and cooperate. Instead, it looks at who wins and assigns a judgement about effectiveness based on the nasty, brutish, and unattractive reality of which a donor is able to emerge victorious from the battle for impact.”
Frumkin, P. (2006). Strategic Giving: the art and science of philanthropy. Chicago: Chicago University Press. p.65
Drawing on some of the findings from our ‘Images of Philanthropy’ Initiative, each entry in this accompanying blog series introduces one image that has been put forward in an academic or non-academic context to depict or characterise an aspect of philanthropy in its different forms and expressions.
For further information about the ‘Images of Philanthropy’ Initiative, please contact Dr Tobias Jung.