Just Another Emperor?: The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism

Business involvement in philanthropy is increasing day by day, but is it a blessing, a curse, or somewhere in between? "Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism" takes a comprehensive and critical look at this vital new phenomenon. The movement in the nonprofit world to make charities more like businesses and create new markets for goods and services that benefit society has been nicknamed "philanthrocapitalism." There is no doubt that this is an important phenomenon. Very large sums of money have been generated for philanthropy, particularly in the finance and IT industries. Michael Edwards argues that despite its great potential, this movement is oversold in both its proposed means and its promised ends because it sees business methods as the answer to social problems, but offers little rigorous evidence or analysis to support this claim, and ignores strong evidence pointing in the opposite direction. "Just Another Emperor?" looks at the rise of major new philanthropic funds and actors, and asks if they represent a genuinely new kind of philanthropy. "Just Another Emperor?" examines the evidence for applying business models in the social sector, and makes a series of recommendations on how they could best contribute to lasting social change. "Just Another Emperor?" was edited and published by Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action in the U.S. (demos.org) and The Young Foundation in the U.K.