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Author Archives: carolinefiennes
Understanding impact of a corporate giving programme
I’m currently evaluating the ‘community projects’ programme of the Guardian News & Media group (i.e., the series of ~12 partnerships which GNM has with voluntary organisations near its London HQ). In this article in the Guardian, I explain what we’re … Continue reading
Forget business: philanthropy needs to learn from tons of other disciplines
Philanthrocapitalism, social return, social investment, Absolute Return for Kids… Business is the analogy most commonly used for philanthropic activity. Though that’s not wrong, it’s dangerously narrow for solving what Warren Buffett calls ‘problems which have already resisted great intellects and … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving, Promoting giving
Tagged behavioural economics, business, Charity, Charity performance, Charity results, comparative charity, Donation, Donor, Donors, Evaluation, Giving, Giving behaviour, hiring, philanthrocapitalism, Philanthropy, physics, psychology, Randomised control trial, Randomized control trial, recruitment, science, staff
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Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to prison?
Inspiration inside I’d have felt more at home on the moon. I mean, nothing says ‘welcome’ like a fifteen foot wall topped by razor wire. And yet, my trip to HMP Pentonville was surprisingly inspirational. I was there just before … Continue reading
Kate Middleton’s charities: a curious but quite good set for a beginner
The Duchess Formerly Known as Kate Middleton announced today her first four charity affiliations. It’s a quirky set. If she’s clever, Kate (if we’re still allowed to call her that) can add a load more value to them. The overriding … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving, Celebrity giving
Tagged Charity, Charity performance, Charity results, Donation, Donors, Duchess of Cambridge, Evaluation, Impact, Kate Middleton, Patron, Philanthropy, Prince Harry, Prince William, Randomised control trial, Randomized control trial, Royal wedding, Royal wedding charity
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Giving a goat (or similar) this Christmas? Get an extra half a goat for free
Oxfam Unwrapped is a kind of gift catalogue from which you can ‘buy a goat’ or various other items as a gift. A goat costs £25: you give Oxfam £25, which it uses to provide a goat to somebody in … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving, Promoting giving
Tagged Charity, Donation, Donors, gift, Giving, goat, Impact, Oxfam, ring-fence, ringfence, unrestricted
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How should advice on charitable giving be priced?
Answer: In a way that aligns the advisor’s incentives with those of the beneficiary. But which way does that? Along with many others, I’m often asked to advise donors about finding good charities to support and/or strategies to make their … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving, Promoting giving
Tagged advice, advisor, Donation, Giving, Impact, incentive, Philanthropy, pricing
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How do you know if your charity is making any difference? Take control
Charities need to understand which parts of their activities are working and which aren’t. But to really understand the charity’s impact, we need to know not only what did happen, but what would have happened without the charity’s work. Imagine … Continue reading
Who’s the most generous nation on Earth?
It’s not the US! According to The Economist, the rankings contain a few surprises: Australia 57% New Zealand 57% Canada 56% … Continue reading
Posted in Analysing giving
Tagged America, Charity, Country, Donors, Giving, Giving behaviour, helping, Nation, Philanthropy, US, who gives
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NatWest’s Community Force programme is crushingly awful
NatWest’s Community Force programme creates huge amounts of waste for charities and doesn’t even reward merit. It’s the worst programme for giving money to charity I’ve ever seen. Here are the larger of my concerns about it: It’s massively wasteful … Continue reading
More interesting than what charity programmes achieve is what they don’t achieve
Much effort in the charity world goes into understanding what programmes achieve. Which is fine and well and good, but doesn’t indicate anything about whether funding a particular programme was any good. Let’s take an example. In India, there is … Continue reading
Caroline Fiennes @carolinefiennes 