Useful Links

Philanthropy News Online

• Alliance Magazine: Leading magazine for philanthropy and social investment worldwide.
• Philanthropy UK: Great resource for UK philanthropy news, practical advice on giving, and profiles on philanthropists.
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy: The leading US publication on philanthropy news.

Academic Centres with Accessible Articles on Philanthropy

• Stanford Social Innovation Review: Excellent articles on cross sector solutions to social problems: covers philanthropy, social entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility.
• Harvard Business School Working Knowledge: Great articles from the business school on non-profit / social enterprise.
• Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy: The UK's first research centre for charitable giving and philanthropy, based in the Universities of Edinburgh, Kent, Southampton, Strathclyde and the Cass Business School.

Good Philanthropy Blogs

• Philanthrocapitalism: Matthew Bishop's insightful blog on business-like approaches to giving.
• Philanthropy 2173: Lucy Bernholz's excellent comment on key trends in the philanthropic sector.
• New Philanthropy Capital: Lively blog on non-profit issues of the day with UK focus.
• Center for Effective Philanthropy: Great blog, often with a focus on foundation performance.

Venture Philanthropy Organisations

Venture philanthropy organisations give funds and management support to non-profits and social enterprises to help them grow. 

• Impetus Trust:UK pioneer of venture philanthropy - working to break the cycle of poverty in the UK.
• Venture Partnership Foundation: Focused on supporting social entrepreneurs in the UK and internationally.

Crowd-Funding Organisations

• The Funding Network: Brings donors together to fund and collaborate in giving to a variety of different projects.
• We Fund: The UK's largest crowd-funding online platform for creative projects.

National and International Philanthropy Membership Associations

• The National Council for Voluntary Organisations: largest umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England, aiming to give voice to civil society.
• Council on Foundations US: A membership organisation in the US for foundations. 
• European Foundation Centre: A membership organisation in Europe for large foundations.
• The Association of Charitable Foundations: Membership organisation in the UK for foundations.
• Philanthropic Foundations Canada: Membership organisation in Canada for foundations.
• The Italian Association of Foundations and Grantmaking Organizations: a membership organisation for all funders in Italy.
• Philanthropy Ireland: A support organisation in Ireland for foundations.

Networks and Affinity Groups

• Grant-makers Without Borders: Convene donors on funding international development in the Southern hemisphere.
• Africa Grant makers Affinity Group: New York based network for those funding in Africa.
• The Global Philanthropy Forum: An excellent annual conference on global philanthropy.
  

Community Foundations

• Community Foundation Network UK: The UK network of community foundations.
• Community Foundation Network Canada: The Canadian network of community foundations.
• Community Foundation Network US: The US Network of community foundations.
• WINGS: The world network of community foundations.

Social Entrepreneurship Networks

Each organisation below has broad, networks of social entrepreneurs whom they have funded. Their websites are user-friendly and can direct you to leading innovators in a number of fields and geographies.

• Ashoka: International network of social entrepreneurs.
• Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: Geneva based international network of social entrepreneurs.
• Skoll Foundation: International network of social entrepreneurs, with an excellent annual gathering in Oxford, UK (Skoll World Forum).
• School for Social Entrepreneurs: UK-based school for social entrepreneurs.
• UnLtd: UK based support for start up support.

Useful Databases / Research on Non-profits and Social Enterprises

• New Philanthropy Capital: Useful sector-focused reports on non-profit performance.
• Guidestar: Featuring information from annual reports, the Charity Commission extract, and scanned images of every Trustees' Annual Return filed, GuideStar UK is a great resource for researching registered charities.
• Local Giving: An excellent and easily searchable database of charitable initiatives, that helps funders seek out the best UK grassroots social change initiatives in the UK.