A moving memoir from a woman who made a fortune in a man's world and then gave it all away...soon to be turned into a film In 1962, Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley created a software company when the concept of software barely existed. Freelance Programmers employed women to work on complex projects such as Concorde's black box recorder from the comfort of their own home. Shirley empowered a generation of women in technology, giving them unheard of freedom to choose their own hours and manage their own workloads. The business thrived and Shirley gradually transferred ownership to her staff, creating 70 millionaires in the process. Let It Go explores Shirley's trail blazing career as an entrepreneur but it also charts her incredible personal story - her dramatic arrival in England as an unaccompanied Kindertransport refugee during World War Two and the tragic loss of her only child who suffered severely from Autism. Today, Dame Stephanie Shirley is one of Britain's leading philanthropists, devoting most of her time, energy and wealth to charities that are close to her heart. In Let It Go, Shirley tells her inspirational story and explains why giving her wealth away - letting it go - has brought her infinitely more happiness and fulfilment than acquiring it in the first place. Co-written with Richard Askwith, the former Executive Editor of The Independent and the award-winning author of seven books in his own name, including biographies of Emil Zatopek and Lata Brandisova. 'An extraordinary tale of creativity and resilience' - Guardian 'This engrossing story of an extraordinary life is filled with lessons in what it means to be human' - Financial Times

Increasingly, it is not just the state that determines the content, delivery, and governance of education. The influence of external actors has been growing, but the boundaries between internal and external have become blurred and their partnerships have become more complex. This book considers how schooling systems are being influenced by the rise of external actors, including private companies, non-governmental organisations, parent organisations, philanthropies, and international assessment frameworks. It explores how the public, private, and third sectors are becoming increasingly intertwined. Introducing new theoretical frameworks, it examines diverse sites - including Cambodia, Israel, Poland, Chile, Australia, Brazil, and the United States - to study the role of policies, institutions, and contextual factors shaping the changing relationships between those seeking to influence schooling.

What motivates someone to become a social entrepreneur? What are the competencies needed to be effective social advocates and agents for change? This book answers these questions in an accessible and practical way, providing comprehensive guidelines, numerous examples, and sources of information and training for anyone who wants to start a community-based social advocacy and change initiative or for employees who want to start a corporate social responsibility initiative.

Features include the following:

• examples of individuals and organizations who have learned from successes and failures in social entrepreneurship
• self-assessments to help readers evaluate their own talents and proclivity to be social entrepreneurs
• steps and strategies, competency-building activities, and assessments to evaluate and facilitate initiatives
• resources available from foundations, government agencies, and other sources for the budding social entrepreneur

The first book of its kind, this volume brings together a range of experts to review key methodological issues in the study of voluntary action, charitable behaviour and participation in voluntary organisations. Using case studies from around the world - from ethnography to media analysis and surveys to peer research - chapters illustrate the challenges of researching altruistic actions and our conceptualisations of them. Across different fields and methods, authors unpick the methodological innovations and challenges in their own research to help guide future study. Demystifying research and deepening our ability to understand the role of the third sector, this accessible book is suitable for social researchers at all levels.

Tony froze to death in the garden of the house he used to own. Aisha dreams of becoming a nurse, but spends night after night seeking a place to sleep. Jon is an expert at squatting, using his skills to keep others off the street. Jim turned a bus he bought on eBay into a portable shelter. David was a homeless army veteran on the verge of taking his own life when he was saved by Gavin's kindness, now he's a successful artist and activist.

Maeve McClenaghan has spent years investigating the crisis on Britain's streets. These are only some of the stories of struggle, loss, survival and courage she has heard. No Fixed Abode will change how you think about homelessness and show you that this crisis is not impossible to solve.

This paperback edition includes a new preface covering the impact of Covid-19.

Although volunteer recruitment can be difficult for nonprofit organizations, volunteer retention is often even more difficult. Originally published by Stevenson, Inc., this practical resource provides nonprofit organizations and professionals with strategies for nurturing long-term relationships with volunteers and examples of what various organizations have done to retain new volunteers. Important topics covered include: * Welcome kits * Volunteer assignments * Goal setting * Volunteer motivation * Risk management measures * Volunteer handbooks * Volunteer incentives * Volunteer communication * Retention approaches * Volunteer training * Engaging volunteers * Volunteer recognition Please note that some content featured in the original version of this title has been removed in this published version due to permissions issues.

In her powerful memoir "His Bright Light," #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Danielle Steel opened her heart to share the devastating story of the loss of her beloved son. In "A Gift of Hope, " she shows us how she transformed that pain into a campaign of service that enriched her life beyond what she could imagine.
For eleven years, Danielle Steel took to the streets with a small team to help the homeless of San Francisco. She worked anonymously, visiting the "cribs" of the city's most vulnerable citizens under cover of darkness, distributing food, clothing, bedding, tools, and toiletries. She sought no publicity for her efforts and remained anonymous throughout. Now she is speaking to bring attention to their plight.
In this unflinchingly honest and deeply moving memoir, the famously private author speaks out publicly for the first time about her work among the most desperate members of our society. She offers achingly acute portraits of the people she met along the way--and issues a heartfelt call for more effective action to aid this vast, deprived population. Determined to supply the homeless with the basic necessities to keep them alive, she ends up giving them something far more powerful: a voice.
By turns candid and inspirational, Danielle Steel's "A Gift of Hope" is a true act of advocacy and love.
Praise for "A Gift of Hope"
" A] moving call for action.""--Kirkus Reviews"
"Moving . . . The mega-selling, notoriously private author . . . is candid and honest about her own private life in a way we've never seen before."--Books for Better Living
"Most assume that Steel's life is as glamorous as her fiction. . . . The real Steel is a bit more complicated.""--San Francisco Chronicle"

"From the Hardcover edition."

In the late 1990s, there was a distinct rise in interest in the non-profit sector, and in retailing and consumption. Drawing together these two concerns this book provides a comprehensive and international account of the retail charity sector. Charity shops are now significant occupiers of the UK high street, and are becoming familiar sites of consumption in the USA, Australia, Canada and Ireland. This volume provides the first overview of the history and development of the charity shop, incorporating material from a variety of disciplines, including marketing, retailing, cultural studies and social geography. Presenting recent research from the UK, Europe, Australia and North America, this book fills gap in the literature of the field, and will be of great interest to all practitioners, researchers and students wishing to study the charity shop phenomenon.

In the past decade community groups have been portrayed as the solution to many social problems. Yet the role of 'below the regulatory radar' community action has received little research attention and thus is poorly understood in terms of both policy and practice. Focusing on self-organised community activity, this book offers the first collection of papers developing theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge of the informal, unregistered, yet largest, part of the voluntary sector. The collection includes work from leading academics, activists, policy makers and practitioners offering a new and coherent understanding of community action 'below the radar'. The book is part of the Third Sector Research Series which is informed by research undertaken at the Third Sector Research Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Barrow Cadbury Trust.

Collaboration for voluntary organisations should be an obvious and good idea. However, often collaboration is perceived to be a threat - a way of cutting costs, or a feeling of being taken over, losing identity and relevance. It needn't be that way. This book is an unique and complete guide to how voluntary organisations can find effective and creative ways of collaborating and working together, from partnerships to joint agreements to mergers, to increase the gains for users and communities. For CEOs, managers and charity professionals who want to consider new working methods and take advantage of creative opportunities.

Recent years have seen an explosion in research on tourism volunteering. Volunteers are an essential part of tourism, whether they are volunteering in their local museum, at a sporting mega-event, as an airport ambassador, or travelling the global as a volunteer tourist.

Managing Volunteers in Tourism reviews the latest research to highlight the key management issues and relate them to the tourism volunteering context. It includes previously under-researched forms of tourism volunteering such as meet-and-greeters, surf life-savers, conservation, festival, and information centre volunteers and volunTourists.

The book develops through three distinct sections, the first of which begins by introducing the concept of volunteering and considering the variety of volunteer forms and settings within tourism. The next part picks up the organisational approach and examines volunteer program design and planning, volunteer motivation, recruitment and selection, training and development, reward and retention, and diversity management. The final part consists of ten case studies from leading international researchers and practitioners identifying best practice and key management challenges.

Real-life examples and case studies throughout this book provide an in-depth examination of the challenges facing those managing tourism volunteers, making this book indispensible for current and future managers in the tourism industry.

This is the first book-length study of the contributions of religious leaders to the War on Poverty, and it demonstrates their centrality to that effort, both in supporting OEO director Sargent Shriver through their public testimony and lobbying efforts, and in co-funding and sponsoring community action programs that realized the ideal of maximum feasible participation of the poor, one of the key tenets of the War on Poverty.

In Remarkable People, Dan Walker, the host of BBC1's Breakfast, recounts inspiring stories of the courage and selflessness of people he has met throughout his career. An uplifting tonic for the darkness and negativity of recent times. We live in an age of anxiety, besieged by bad news and uncertainty. But Dan Walker, the host of BBC1's Breakfast and Football Focus, is determined to shine a light onto stories of selflessness and compassion that seldom make the headlines. In the course of his professional life, Dan has encountered many inspiring stories of bravery and kindness. In Remarkable People, he recounts tales of incredible humanity, empathy, compassion, and a steely determination to transform lives, restore trust, renew hope. Remarkable People is the perfect book for these challenging times; an escape from the negativity of our everyday news cycle, and a tribute to courage and positivity.

From food banks to migrant welcome committees, and community organisers to internet based campaigners, civil society is central to the North Atlantic social landscape. Theology and Civil Society advances our understanding of what civil society is and offers a theologically informed re-imagining of our shared social life. Prefaced by a foreword by the Rev. Dr Rowan Williams, this book explores contemporary manifestations of the kind of collective action observed in civil society since the 1800s. It then examines civil society as the sum of modern associations which mediate our relationships to the market and the state, but which cannot be identified fully with either the market or the state. Finally, three different perspectives on civil society are presented using insights from theologians such as John Milbank and Georg Hegel. This is a pertinent topic for contemporary society, and it is explored expertly here by an international panel of contributors. As such, it is an important volume for any scholar of Theology and Religious Studies and their interactions with Sociology and Politics.

This book offers all the advice you need to help your charity create successful and long-lasting partnerships with corporates. With charity-corporate partnerships now more high profile than ever, the number of charity and corporate players working fruitfully together is on the increase. For a successful partnership to help improve your charity's finances and reputation, you will need to understand how to develop a robust strategy, follow best practice and get your voice heard by the right people. This guide shows you how to achieve this using the best methods and techniques in the field, all with the ultimate aim of helping your beneficiaries. In association with the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at Plymouth University and the Institute of Fundraising. Who should buy this book? The diverse range of topics covered in this book provides a solid background for anyone involved in corporate fundraising, whether you are new to the field or a practised professional. What does it cover? This fifth edition combines chapter contributions and case studies from leading experts in both charity and corporate sectors, including how to: *Develop a strategic approach to corporate fundraising and take *advantage of research and data *Find new partners, carry out due diligence and choose a corporate *partnership portfolio *Pitch for partnerships and negotiate the best value for your charity *Manage the corporate account and recruit and structure a team *Forewarn and forearm yourself with crucial legal and regulatory issues

Sometimes you get tired, doing this thing we call justice. Making the case, fighting the fight, having to explain again and again why it matters. You feel burned out or disillusioned. Sometimes you just need a word from the Lord. In these daily devotions, Donna Barber offers life-giving words of renewal and hope for those engaged in the resistance to injustice. When you face adversity, you can take courage. When you grapple with discouragement, you can find hope. When your legs are tired from marching and your knees are bruised from kneeling, you can experience rest and healing. Find here bread for the resistance.

During the next twenty years, as part of the largest transfer of wealth in history, more than $500 billion is expected to pour into the philanthropic sector. Some of it will come from retiring baby boomers, but even more will come from newly rich Silicon Valley billionaires. Since 2006, the appeal of "giving while living" has grown, so much so that many philanthropic donors now expect not just to give money during their lifetimes, but to create organizations or ventures-some for profit, others not for profit-whose missions are expected to be completed within the lifetime of the donors. The combination of these two trends has transformed the not-for-profit sector in scale and dynamism, attracting some skeptical scrutiny along the way. Philanthrocapitalism has acquired some of the trappings of financialization, and has the potential to deliver ever greater impact. But will it? And will the demand that the impact be quickly realized mean that longer-term institution-building missions will be neglected? Joel L. Fleishman is one of the wisest of wise men in philanthropy whose advice is routinely sought by organizations and individuals across the country. In Putting Wealth to Work, he tells the story of a uniquely American financial sector, all but created by Andrew Carnegie's example, that since 1995 has become more dynamic with every passing year. Staggering personal fortunes are made and given away, from Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg, as in no previous era since the golden age of American capitalism. America currently leads the world in this trend-of the 138 signers of the giving-while-living pledge, 110 were American-but the world is following in its footsteps. This movement of socially motivated capital is unprecedented and its consequences are potentially transformative for the American economy and the world at large.

This book addresses urban ecology, green technology, problems with climate change prediction, groundwater contamination, invasive species and many others topics, and offers a guardedly optimistic interpretation of humanity's place in nature and our unique caretaker role. Drawing upon scholarly and media sources, the author presents a common-sense analysis of environmental science, debunking eco-apocalyptic thinking along the way. Compromised science masquerading as authoritative is revealed as a fundraising and policy-influencing crusade by the environmental elite, overshadowing unambiguous problems like environmental racism.

Diversity and Philanthropy at African American Museums is the first scholarly book to analyze contemporary African American museums from a multifaceted perspective. While it puts a spotlight on the issues and challenges related to racial politics that black museums collectively face in the 21st century, it also shines a light on how they intersect with corporate culture, youth culture, and the broader cultural world. Turning the lens to philanthropy in the contemporary era, Banks throws light on the establishment side of African American museums and demonstrates how this contrasts with their grassroots foundations. Drawing on over 80 in-depth interviews with trustees and other supporters of African American museums across the United States, this book offers an inside look at the world of cultural philanthropy. While patrons are bound together by being among the distinct group of cultural philanthropists who support black museums, the motivations and meanings underlying their giving depart in both subtle and considerable ways depending on race and ethnicity, profession, generation, and lifestyle. Revealing not only why black museums matter in the eyes of supporters, the book also complicates the conventional view that social class drives giving to cultural nonprofits. It also paints a vivid portrait of how diversity colors cultural philanthropy, and philanthropy more broadly, in the 21st century. Diversity and Philanthropy at African American Museums will be a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners engaged with African American heritage. It will also offer important insights for academics, as well as cultural administrators, nonprofit leaders, and fundraisers who are concerned with philanthropy and diversity.

The Development of Community Engagement from Infancy to Adulthood uses a developmental perspective to trace how individuals develop the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and moral capacity to be actively engaged in their communities. It also provides an analysis of the role of volunteerism and civic engagement in an era of social division, shrinking budgets, and shrinking services. In order to support childhood and adolescent volunteerism, we must understand how children become adults who volunteer a lot, sometimes, or not at all. This book describes the development of volunteerism from theoretical, empirical, and practical viewpoints, starting from the earliest development of empathy, through the social institutions that help shape us, to adolescence and young adulthood. It concludes with an analysis of modern ways to engage young citizens in social action. In doing so it addresses the key question - how can we encourage and support the development of the behaviors, belief systems, and ecologies that will lead to volunteerism and community involvement in our citizens? With fresh and thought-provoking arguments and insights, this book will be of interest to all academics and students working within the fields of social work, social services, volunteer management, applied social psychology, community psychology, service learning, and sociology, as well as non-profit personnel and activists.

Across the world the Western dominated international aid system is being challenged. The rise of right-wing populism, de-globalisation, the advance of illiberal democracy and the emergence of non-Western donors onto the international stage are cutting right to the heart of the entrenched neoliberal aid paradigm. Foreign Aid in the Age of Populism explores the impact of these challenges on development aid, arguing that there is a need to bring politics back into development aid; not just the politics of economics, but power relations internally in aid organisations, in recipient nations, and between donor and recipient. In particular, the book examines how aid agencies are using Political Economy Analysis (PEA) to inform their decision making and to push aid projects through, whilst failing to engage meaningfully with wider politics. The book provides an in-depth critical analysis of the Washington Consensus model of political economy analysis, contrasting it with the emerging Beijing Consensus, and suggesting that PEA has to be recast in order to accommodate new and emerging paradigms. A range of alternative theoretical frameworks are suggested, demonstrating how PEA could be used to provide a deeper and richer understanding of development aid interventions, and their impact and effectiveness. This book is perfect for students and researchers of development, global politics and international relations, as well as also being useful for practitioners and policy makers within government, development aid organisations, and global institutions.

This book is intended to inspire people to make a difference in their work. Told through the experiences of those who "do good" as a vocation, the book reflects the realities of helping others through those who are successful and flourishing in their work.
Unlike more traditional texts that concentrate exclusively on content, this work is focused on helping beginners to feel good about their commitment to service. It is thus appropriate as a text in both under-graduate and graduate courses such as Introduction to Counseling, Introduction to Human Services, Social Work I, Introduction to Education, and similar survey courses. It is equally useful to both professionals and those involved in volunteer helping efforts.

Related link: Free Email Alerting

The first in-depth biography of the American actress and humanitarian campaigner who will marry Prince Harry in May 2018, written by the world's best-known royal biographer. _________________________ When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up by a mutual friend on a blind date in June 2016, little could they know that just sixteen months later the resulting whirlwind romance would lead to their engagement in November 2017 and marriage in May 2018. Since then, our fascination with the woman who has smashed the royal mould has rocketed. So different to those coy brides of recent history, Meghan is confident, charismatic and poised, her warm and affectionate engagement interview a stark contrast to the stilted and cold exchange between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. In this first-ever biography of the duchess-to-be, acclaimed royal biographer Andrew Morton goes back to Meghan's roots, interviewing those closest to her to uncover the story of her childhood: growing up in The Valley in LA, studying at an all-girls Catholic school and her breakout into acting. We also delve into her previous marriage and divorce in 2013, her struggles in Hollywood, as her mixed heritage was time and again used against her, and her work as a humanitarian ambassador - so redolent of Princess Diana's passions. Finishing with an account of her romance with Prince Harry, Morton reflects on the impact that Meghan has already made on the rigid traditions of the House of Windsor - not even Kate Middleton was invited to Christmas with the Queen before she had married her prince - and what the future might hold.

Philanthropy has long been a distinctive feature of American culture, but its crucial role in the economic well-being of the nation--and the world--has remained largely unexplored. Why Philanthropy Matters takes an in-depth look at philanthropy as an underappreciated force in capitalism, measures its critical influence on the free-market system, and demonstrates how American philanthropy could serve as a model for the productive reinvestment of wealth in other countries. Factoring in philanthropic cycles that help balance the economy, Zoltan Acs offers a richer picture of capitalism, and a more accurate backdrop for considering policies that would promote the capitalist system for the good of all. Examining the dynamics of American-style capitalism since the eighteenth century, Acs argues that philanthropy achieves three critical outcomes. It deals with the question of what to do with wealth--keep it, tax it, or give it away. It complements government in creating public goods. And, by focusing on education, science, and medicine, philanthropy has a positive effect on economic growth and productivity. Acs describes how individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey have used their wealth to establish institutions and promote knowledge, and Acs shows how philanthropy has given an edge to capitalism by promoting vital forces--like university research--necessary for technological innovation, economic equality, and economic security. Philanthropy also serves as a guide for countries with less flexible capitalist institutions, and Acs makes the case for a larger, global philanthropic culture. Providing a new perspective on the development of capitalism, Why Philanthropy Matters highlights philanthropy's critical links to the economic progress, health, and future of the United States--and beyond.

A book that will challenge, delight and encourage in equal measure, this uncompromising book bemoans the madness of poor donor stewardship that besets the charitable sector and sets to put it right. A no nonsense book and refreshing look at achieving the real worth of charitable donors. Mining the depths of his extensive knowledge from 30 years of fundraising campaigns and giving countless examples of good and bad, Pidgeon, author and world renowned public speaker, describes the highs and lows of minor donor fundraising and decries the crass attitude of many non-fundraising colleagues to these essential donors. Fundraisers' attitudes to their donors will be changed forever.