Women and Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World
Debra Mesch, Andrea Pactor, Sondra Shaw-Hardy, Martha A. Taylor, Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz
San Francisco: Jossey Bass, September 2010. 304pp. Hardcover. ISBN 978-0470460665. £28.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0470460660

This book argues that women have led the way in virtually reinventing the world of fundraising and ways of giving. Based on interviews and the authors′ own experiences, this book covers key topics in women’s philanthropy, including: the modern movement, women as prospects, how and why women give, overcoming barriers, developing gender–sensitive fundraising programmes, communicating with women, women as leaders and donors, couples and family giving, and how women can and are changing philanthropy. It also contains advice for women seeking to become philanthropic leaders.

The Essence of Strategic Giving: A Practical Guide for Donors and Fundraisers
Peter Frumkin
Chicago: Chicago University Press, September 2010. 192pp. Paperback. ISBN 978-0226266275. £9.50. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0226266273/ref=pe_3421_21668461_snp_dp

This book is a distillation of the lessons contained in Frumkin’s well-received book,Strategic Giving (reviewed in Philanthropy UK newsletter, March 2007). This version is designed to be a practical guide for all those involved in private philanthropy, including donors, fund-raisers and charity leaders. Five critical challenges are described, which must be addressed to ensure that philanthropy amounts to more than indiscriminate charity. These include: being aware of the time frame that guides a gift, specifying the intended impact being pursued, and recognising how a donation fits with a donor’s own identity and style. This book argues that acknowledging and understanding these fundamental, strategic aspects of giving will help ensure philanthropy more effectively achieves its aims, and at the same time will help to build a lasting relationship between donors and the institutions they support.

The World That Changes the World: How Philanthropy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship are Transforming the Social System
Willie Cheng and Sharifah Mohamed (eds)
John Wiley & Sons, October 2010. 408pp. Hardback. ISBN 978-0470827154. £19.99 http://www.worldthatchangestheworld.com/

Launched at the global Social Innovation Exchange annual conference, held in Singapore in September 2010, this book sets out to describe the ‘social eco-system’, which is described as “a pulsating, thriving community of very diverse, at times divisive players, all driven by a common mission: to change the world for the better”.

This ecosystem is said to be organised around several million civil society groups with a presence in every country in the world, which is equivalent in size to the world’s fifth-largest country, spending more than $1.9 trillion a year, and providing more than 4.8 million full-time equivalent jobs. The book contains contributions by 21 international authors, who share their perspectives and insights on various facets of the social ecosystem, the change drivers and the macro–trends, including the UK’s Geoff Mulgan and Rob John, writing respectively onStepping on the Accelerator of Social Change and Venturing into Entrepreneurial Philanthropy.

It is endorsed by Matthew Bishop who says, “The philanthrocapitalism movement - in which the winners in our capitalistic society make doing good a core part of their personal and business strategies - now needs to effectively mobilise and impact the non-profits, social activists, capacity builders, regulator, and broader community. The World that Changes the World puts together the pieces of this puzzle by explaining how these varied actors of the social ecosystem function and interact with each other, and how philanthrocapitalism and other forces of change can bring about a better world."

Talking about results
Sarah Hedley, Sarah Keen, Tris Lumley, Eibhlín Ní Ógáin, Jane Thomas and Mathilde Williams
London: New Philanthropy Capital. September 2010. 25pp. Free to download http://www.philanthropycapital.org/publications/improving_the_sector/imp...

The latest report from NPC is based on analysis of the annual reports, annual reviews, impact reports and websites of 20 of the top 100 UK fundraising charities. The purpose of this research is to explore how well charities are communicating their impact, given the general and widespread consensus that impact matters to funders, and is a crucial factor behind giving decisions. The authors find that nearly all the charities were good at describing outputs (what they actually do) but less than half communicate clearly about their outcomes (what changes they achieved in people's lives). NPC therefore concludes that charities are missing an opportunity to communicate to potential supporters what they need and want to know. As usual in NPC’s publications, this report has many useful pragmatic aspects - it highlights examples of good practice, and offers advice for charities wishing to take the findings on board, and take practical steps towards communicating what matters, in the most effective way possible.

Social Return on Investment (SROI) for Funders
Lucy Heady
London: New Philanthropy Capital. September 2010. 22pp. Free to download http://www.philanthropycapital.org/publications/improving_the_sector/cha...

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a type of economic analysis that provides a framework for measuring social value. NPC believes that SROI has an important role to play in encouraging the collection and analysis of evidence, which enables charities to be judged by what they achieve for their beneficiaries. The SROI ratio represents the social value created for each £1 invested. Integral to this is the process of listening to stakeholders and understanding and valuing outcomes, either using evidence that a charity has already collected, or forecasting potential future returns. In this paper, written specifically for funders, NPC seeks to offer a starting point for discussion about how and when SROI is best used.