Reinventing Social Change, with Nell Edgington

<p>In this episode we talk to Nell Edgington, President of non-profit consultancy Social Velocity, about her new book “Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World”. We discuss:</p> <ul> <li>What is the book about, who should read it and what should they do as a result?</li> <li>Why does a scarcity mind-set affect so many donors and funders? Is this particular to philanthropy?</li> <li>Why is the “overhead myth” so prevalent, and why is it so problematic?</li> <li>Are there signs that funders are changing their behaviour during the current crisis? (Moving to unrestricted funding, trust-based grantmaking etc.) Is this likely to lead to longer-term changes?</li> <li>What misconceptions are there about what makes for a sustainable non-profit, and why do these misunderstandings persist?</li> <li>How many donors are willing to give away power as well as money? (And will the current crisis put even more focus on approaches such as participatory grantmaking?)</li> <li>Do we need to redefine what counts as success and failure in philanthropy?</li> <li>How should we rate philanthropy’s response to the current crisis?</li> <li>What is the core role of philanthropy within society which differentiates it from either state or market provision?</li> <li>Why has the idea that non-profits need to be “more business-like” become so widespread? What is wrong with it?</li> <li>Should we seek to measure impact better? What challenges might this bring in terms of distorting activity or creating power imbalances?</li> <li>How can donors and funders use philanthropy to challenge or transform the very systems in which wealth has been created?</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Related Links</strong></p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <ul> <li>Nell’s book <em><a href= "https://www.socialvelocity.net/book/">Reinventing Social Change</a></em></li> <li><a href="https://www.socialvelocity.net/blog/">Nell’s <em>Social Velocity</em> blog</a></li> <li>Rhod’s WEF article “<a href= "https://www.weforu