Philanthropy features widely in both the media and ongoing discussions across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Coverage ranges from the local to the global as organisations review their ethical policies, grants, reporting practices and due diligence re donors. Add to this the ongoing conversations about national strategies for philanthropy, such as the recent strategy in Ireland, and there is a rich tapestry of issues for discussion in the Q&A after presentations from our speakers.
Speakers
Professor Beth Breeze OBE becomes Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford in October 2025, after 20 years at the University of Kent where she founded the Centre for Philanthropy and taught courses to practitioners including philanthropy advisers, grant-makers, charity leaders and fundraisers. The first decade of her career was spent working as a fundraiser and charity manager. Her research and writing include the annual Coutts Million Pound Donors Report (2008-2017); The Philanthropy Reader (2016, co-edited with Michael Moody); The New Fundraisers (2017); In Defence of Philanthropy (2021); Advising Philanthropists: Principles and Practice (2013, co-authored with Emma Beeston). Her latest book is Rich Expectations: why rich people give (published 1st September 2025) was co-authored with Rhodri Davies and Theresa Lloyd and published by the Directory of Social Change. Beth shares knowledge and evidence-based insights with the global philanthropy community through keynote speeches, media comment and meetings with policymakers. In recognition of her services to philanthropic research and fundraising, Beth was awarded the OBE in 2022.
Rhodri Davies is a widely-respected expert and commentator on philanthropy and civil society issues. He is the Founder and Director of the think-tank Why Philanthropy Matters and the host of the “Philanthropisms” podcast. He is also a Pears Research Fellow in the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent and the Philanthropy Expert in Residence at the Pears Foundation. He has published widely, including three books, Rich Expectations: Why Rich People Give (2025, with Beth Breeze and Theresa Lloyd), What is Philanthropy for? (2023) and Public Good by Private Means: How philanthropy shapes Britain (2016); and a chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy (2024). Rhodri graduated from the University of Oxford with a first-class degree in Mathematics and Philosophy and embarked upon an academic career before migrating into public policy work, where he has spent nearly 20 years specialising in philanthropy and civil society issues, including as Head of Policy at the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
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