As the aid system crashes, a strand of opinion has suggested that philanthropy could step in to compensate for the cuts to funding that this has caused.  It is finally dawning on the sector that the cuts are permanent and no substitute is waiting in the wings, demonstrating the importance of reimagining philanthropy for a post-aid world.

In 'Foreign waters', an article published in the June 2025 issue of Alliance magazine, Elaine Stabler reviews reimagining philanthropy's role in a post-aid world. She concludes that the scale of the amounts means that comparing philanthropy’s resources with aid budgets is akin to comparing the weight of a swimming pool with the weight of the sea.

Nevertheless, philanthropy is occasionally prone to bursts of hubris. Remember how, in 2008, Matthew Bishop and Michael Green introduced Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World. This involved a new generation of billionaires reshaping the way they give based on how they invest in business. These ‘social investors’ employ big-business strategies and expect results and accountability to match. This movement generated much attention with the backing of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and George Soros, among others, who formed a ‘web of wealthy, motivated donors set on changing the world’.

Philanthrocapitalism came nowhere near saving the world and now lies on the floor among an array of past magic bullets that missed their targets. Philanthropy constantly invents fads and fashions so its members can congregate to discuss the next big thing.

Yet, it is remarkable how philanthropy continues to overlook the one thing that can potentially change the world – at least it did until this month when Stella Voutta from the Robert Bosch Foundation offered some clarity. When asked if philanthropy will step in to fill the financial gap left by public funding, she responded:

My answer is: that’s not where our greatest value lies. Philanthropy’s most important contribution is not to patch holes – but to support those who are imagining what a better system could look like.

Stella goes on to explain how philanthropy is best placed to back visionary actors, create protected spaces for dissent and dialogue, and take risks that public institutions often cannot. Neil McInroy from Community Wealth Building shared his thoughts on LinkedIn:

The best philanthropic funders are wide open to new ideas for powerful action that delivers real outcomes that seek to undermine establishment values and centrist sensibilities…[they will] have clearly rejected gradualist ‘reform’ measures under prevailing system and establishment rules.

This approach gives non-profit and community leaders the funding regime they want.  If there is one constant in the civil society sector, it is the demand for long-term unrestricted funding so that people can build the societies they want.  And yet, funders think they know best and want to track their money to claim impact for what they did.  It has been known for almost 30 years that this approach doesn’t work and splinters civil society and their efforts.

Read the full article about philanthropy in a post-aid world by Barry Knight at Alliance Magazine.