Click here to read Albert Ruesga's article from the December issue of Alliance Magazine, the social justice philanthropy issue.

The Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace takes an unapologetically normative approach to the question, "What is good social justice philanthropy?" Here we describe the values and practices we believe are imperative for social justice grantmaking. Our aim is not to cut off debate but to encourage it, to create a space in which our differences can be aired and we can all find ways to improve our work.

Take a look. What do you think?

A paper by Albert Ruesga and Deborah Puntenney discussing eight different (and overlapping) traditions of social justice on which philanthropic practitioners base their practice.

Philanthropy
Philanthropy has been defined as the act of giving and for the most part, it assumes that such act is the privilege of the rich or of few individuals and/or institutions. Other less common definitions of philanthropy mention that anybody, independently of their giving capacity (wealth), can participate in this act. As a growing number of local funds outside of the United States show, philanthropy can happen in the poorest countries of the world or in countries where little or no tradition of philanthropy exists, such as in Nepal and Mongolia, where individual donors –independently of their means— are choosing to contribute to local funds/philanthropic institutions that work for social change. These notions of giving in countries where regulatory environments and traditions are actually deterrents and obstacles for donor giving, are putting forward a notion of philanthropy that is purposeful (for social justice) and altruistic.