The latest issue of Alliance is out – the final edition of an eventful 25^th anniversary year. 

Special feature on food systems philanthropy

Our centrepiece is a 30 page feature looking at the intersection of food and philanthropy. Published in the aftermath of the UN Food Systems Summit and COP26, our guest editor, Ruth Richardson of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, argues that philanthropy should take a far more systemic approach ‘situating food systems transformation centrally in climate, biodiversity, hunger and health agendas’. As such, the feature challenges funders to explicitly connect food systems to substantial funding in cause adjacent areas. This is an issue which has been bubbling up for some time so we hope you find our stock take of key questions as well as perspectives from India, Brazil and other countries helpful. Our coverage of food systems will continue until early February before we switch to the focus of our March 2022 issue – the agenda for mental health philanthropy.

Elsewhere in our new issue we discuss…

Hobson’s choice – more tax, more philanthropy

The Patriotic Millionaires movement in the US and its international counterpart, Partners in Progress, is calling on those with the broadest shoulders to pay more tax on income derived from wealth. These calls are challenging claims in some quarters that there is a binary choice between asking multimillionaires to give more philanthropically or requiring them to pay more tax. In our new issue, Graham Hobson – a philanthropist who made his fortune through the sale of online photo printing company Photobox– explains why he’s joined a campaign demanding people like him should pay more and give more.

The Bridgespan Group

We also interview Bridgespan’s co-founder, Jeff Bradach about big issues facing philanthropy, proposals to reform laws around giving, diversifying boards, work in India and South Africa and why Bradach thinks that ending racial disparities is the route to social justice in the US and beyond. What Bridgespan says matters: they advise some of the world’s leading philanthropists, including one MacKenzie Scott.

There were two other notable moments for Alliance during this period:

Alliance at COP26

The first was reporting direct from the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow – the only philanthropy publication to do so as far as I’m aware. You can read all our climate coverage here including our interview with the Hewlett’s Foundation’s Larry Kramer and the Clean Air Fund’s, Jane Burston.

Does philanthropy get the media it deserves?

700 people registered for an online gathering to discuss the future of the philanthropy media. In partnership with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, we brought together leading philanthropy editors to discuss key issues facing philanthropy, how these issues are covered and how we’re funded. It was a lively discussion which you can listen to here.