Introduction

The involvement of community development with philanthropy offers an illustrative example of the complexities inherent in community work practice and of the possibilities for and constraints on socially transformative praxis under conditions of neoliberalism. While philanthropic funding can resource community organisations to challenge unjust state policy, philanthropy has also been promoted as a compensatory mechanism for retrenchments in state welfare provision (Daly, 2011; Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising, 2012). Furthermore, philanthropic foundations have emerged as key ‘partners’ in the development of social policy, blurring the boundaries between public and private (Ball, 2012) and raising serious questions regarding democratic accountability. Philanthropy is itself a product of unequal capitalist social relations and, by definition, depends on profound inequalities in wealth for its very existence. Finally, philanthropic organisations are key conduits for the normalisation of market and managerial rationalities (Edwards, 2008; Ball, 2012) and their engagements with grantees raise enduring questions concerning organisational independence and the cooption of political agendas (INCITE!, 2007).

While each of these interrelated themes is worthy of detailed scrutiny, this chapter critically examines the impact of philanthropy on community development through an exploration of one key question. It asks whether involvement with philanthropy inevitably moderates community development's political demands, focusing in particular on whether philanthropically-funded community development work can challenge capitalist interests. This chapter understands community development to be a democratic practice concerned with egalitarian social change, involving either paid or unpaid workers and activists. It recognises, however, that this democratic potential is bound up with, and often constrained by, the interests, perspectives and struggles of the multiple social actors – communities, workers, professionals, state institutions, funders – which give it meaning (Meade, 2012). Although the organisational forms which characterise modern philanthropy have become increasingly diverse (Daly, 2011), the main focus in this chapter is on the role of philanthropic foundations. Foundations can be defined as asset-based, private, self-governing and nonprofit-distributing entities which serve a public purpose (Anheier and Daly, 2008). Historically, foundations mainly took the form of operating institutions such as hospitals and schools. In the 19th and 20th centuries, however, a sharper division between operating and grant-making foundations emerged. Today, foundations pursue their objectives exclusively through grant making, or by implementing their own programmes and services, or through a combination of both (Anheier, 2001).