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Travel, conversations and learning – How being part of conversations can shape your educational/ professional future
We often think of travel as movement. Physical movement to see people, places or attend events. But have you ever considered travel as a conversation? A conversation to enter a new space, a new way of thinking and new way of experiencing life? This is what I realized during my recent trips with my students.…
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Removing bottlenecks to flow of remittances should be a top priority during COVID-19: Policy Brief
Summary With close to $500 billion of remittances flowing around the world, the phenomenon of remittances as a force for community development and individual empowerment cannot be ignored. Remittances impact the lives of almost a billion people, worldwide. While the flow of money during the best of times is constrained by various policy initiatives and…
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Giving in unprecedented times in the Middle East
Saif Khan Charities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses are providing financial aid, distributing medical supplies, and raising awareness in unprecedented times in the Middle East in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Outlined below are some important initiatives in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia The Saudi Food Bank “Eta’am,” the first of its kind…
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Is Philanthropy losing its ‘meaning’?
There are various conceptions of philanthropy in American society. While some view philanthropy as a religious obligation, giving their time, treasure and talent to the Church or religious institution, others view it as a ‘social relation’, one that binds people to one another says Paul Schervish, in his paper Philanthropy as a Social Relation. Increasingly,…
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Not everything that can be Counted Counts, and Not Everything that Counts can be Counted: Notes from ARNOVA, 2013
I left Hartford, CT on Saturday after three grueling days of intense thinking and engagement at the 42nd Annual Association for Research on Non-profit and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), the Mecca for nonprofit theorists and practitioners. For over four decades the organization has been the meeting ground for anyone interested and engaged in this sphere.…
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Khalil Gibran on Giving
Giving chapter V , from “The Prophet,” Khalil Gibran Then said a rich man, “Speak to us of Giving.” And he answered: You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for…
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Innovations in Philanthropy: Community Foundations and Faith-based organizations undergoing a radical shift
“There hasn’t been any ‘innovation’ in Islamic philanthropy in the last 1400 years,” said Reza Aslan, a scholar of religion and founder of ‘Zakatability,’ a startup that is aiming at efficient zakat distribution through online technologies. His organization is all set to change this, using a combination of traditional norms and modern technologies. While one…
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” Jamsetji Tata established his philanthropic foundation in India before even that of Carnegie,” – John Godfrey.
John Godfrey is a PhD Candidate at the Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, exploring High Net Worth Philanthropy in India. In this short interview, he explains how he got interested in studying Philanthropy in India, its dimensions – social, cultural and religions and how, if at all, it differs from Western notions of giving. …
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Studying Muslim Philanthropy in America – Conversations in Philanthropy #4
As a student of philanthropy and specifically, Muslim/ Arab American giving, I am constantly struck by how little information there is, on the various aspects of giving. Despite a formidable 1400 years of history, there are not even 14 books that deal with the social, cultural, economic aspects of giving among Muslims, in a scholarly…
