Charities Aid Foundation's Giving Thought podcast explored the big issues, themes and news stories relating to philanthropy and the work of civil society.
Episode 6 of the Giving Thought
podcast looks at the issue of transparency of civil society
organisations and philanthropy. Rhod and Adam take a tour through
the following topics:
The case for
transparency: it has long been said that philanthropy
needs to become more transparent in order to identify gaps,
duplications drive efficiency, identify trends and increase
accountability. Furthermore, advances in technology mean that
philanthropy ‘Big Data’ could present powerful new opportunities
for strategic giving. In addition, it has been recognised that when
the powerful and the wealthy use their philanthropy to exert
influence anonymously it can lead to a democratic
deficit.
In defence of
anonymity: philanthropy is often a very personal and
emotional act and in some cultures and religions, donors are
expected to give without taking credit. In other words, to give
transparently may undermine the emotional rewards of giving. There
are also situations where transparency could put philanthropy - and
beneficiaries in particular - at risk. A trend for restricting
foreign funding to advocacy and human rights groups could mean that
calls for transparency by some governments are being used to flush
out and silence critical voices in society. Finally, some wealthy
philanthropists believe that the only way to fund grass roots
movements which are challenging the current system is to do so
anonymously in order to break the link between donor (necessarily a
beneficiary of the system) and charity.
Blockchain and radical
transparency: By ensuring that all transactions of
cryptocurrencies or other non-fungible assets are recorded on a
public ledger which is distributed across a shared global network,
blockchain technology could create a transparency so total that it
revolutionises the very concept. Such could be the impact of
blockchain on philanthropy, it might mean an end to regulation,
intermediary organisations or even the notion of charities
themselves as we currently understand them.
Charities Aid Foundation's Giving Thought explored the big issues, themes and news stories relating to philanthropy and the work of civil society.
This podcast is no longer produced.