Giving Now Accelerating Human Rights for All

Dirty dollars, tainted donors and "poverty porn" have caused a social backlash against philanthropy. As more wealth is concentrated in the hands of a rising number of billionaires, it is clear that the same system that created their wealth also perpetuates deep inequality, social injustice, and human suffering. Philanthropists often give with strings attached. They want to make the world a better place, but insist on their own vision of what constitutes a better world. Some donors also pay with tainted money, give to hate groups, or use their money to launder their reputations. Nonprofits that ignore the warning signs are often complicit in the fallout that comes with "dark dollars". Using case studies, Patricia Illingworth shows how to address this problem. She argues that approaching philanthropy through a human rights lens can improve the quality of giving, resolve urgent quandaries, and mitigate the social injustice that philanthropy can perpetuate. A philosopher and lawyer, Illingworth makes the case that people and organizations have human rights responsibilities that should guide philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. When philanthropy begins to acknowledge, respect, and protect human rights it will regain its social license and help to make the world a better place.

Patricia Illingworth is an author, philosopher, and lawyer who works on some of the most urgent social, ethical, and human rights problems that face people and their communities. She has been a Fellow at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and most recently, Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is Professor of Philosophy and Business at Northeastern University. She lives in Cambridge, MA. Her website is https://www.patriciaillingworth.com/