Philanthropy to defend democracy?
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Podcast "Philanthropy in question(s)" - Episode 37
Philanthropy to defend democracy? - Jeffrey Berry & Kristin A. Goss
With many countries seeing their democracies being threatened or faltering, is philanthropy mobilizing to defend democracy?
In this 37th episode, Anne Monier presents an article by Jeffrey Berry and Kristin A. Goss published in 2018 and entitled “Donors for democracy? Philanthropy and the challenges facing America in the twenty-first century”.
With Donald Trump's re-election as President of the United States, this article deserves a close look. The authors examine how wealthy individual donors and large foundations took a stance in the first year of Donald Trump's first term, as the President's actions were threatening the causes they supported.
These analyses help develop a more informed view of the current situation, and offer valuable lessons for the Western philanthropic sector as a whole.
The three parts of the study presented in this episode:
In this episode, Anne Monier presents the four main parts of the book:
In terms of representation, the response from foundations and individual donors was relatively weak and slow.
Foundations' strategic reorientation to Donald Trump's rise to power was limited.
Philanthropic players have not shown great responsiveness to these landmark political changes.
Philanthropists have not taken a leadership role in political communities.
➡️ Listen to the episode above to find out more!
Other resources on the topic
🔹 Lefèvre S.A. et Monier A.(dir.) (2021). Philanthropes en démocratie, coll. La vie des idées, Puf
🔹 Pierson L. & Pierson E. (2025). Philanthropic foundations must step in to shield sciences from Trump’s cuts, Nature
🔹 Reich R. Cordelli C. & Bernholz L. (2016). Philanthropy in Democratic Societies, University of Chicago Press
🔹 Reich R. (2018). Just Giving. Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How it Can Do Better, Princeton, Princeton University Press
🔹 Bergère J.-M., Gorge S. (2022). « Quel rôle et quelle place pour la philanthropie dans une démocratie aujourd’hui ? », Rapport Terra Nova
🔹 Duvoux N. & Lefèvre S. (2023). « Philanthropie et démocratie : enjeux et perspectives pour les fondations au XXIe siècle », Obs. de la Philanthropie de la Fondation de France
🔹 « Philanthropes et démocratie : un entretien avec Anne Monier », Chroniques philanthropiques par Francis Charhon, Juillet 2023
Other episodes with related themes
Fundraising in times of crisis (John Godfrey, Alexandra Williamson)
Philanthropy and democracy (Sylvain A. Lefèvre, Anne Monier)
The plutocratic drift of philanthropy in the US as an insurance (Rob Reich)
Listen to all episodes of our podcast "Philanthropy in Question(s)"
Every last Wednesday of the month, in an episode of about 10 minutes, we share the discoveries of a researcher on philanthropy in France or internationally, all disciplines included. The goal? To give research a place in everyday life, to contribute to critical thinking and to shed light on societal issues through the prism of philanthropy. Dive with us into the heart of research on giving!
Also to be discovered: "Towards Strategic Philanthropy"
Based on interviews with philanthropists and professionals in the philanthropy sector, this podcast from the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair introduces you to the 5 key dimensions of philanthropy strategy: value, logical framework, style, time horizon and vehicle. The embodiment of the learnings from the book Towards Strategic Philanthropy published by Peter Frumkin, Anne-Claire Pache and Arthur Gautier at Odile Jacob in 2020. To your headphones!
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