The “give a man a fish” proverb is well-known (and overused) in philanthropic circles. The idea starts off well – teaching skills produces more long-term benefits than handouts. That’s true, but the next generation of philanthropy is evolving even further.
Yesterday, I saw a blog post about the limits of foreign aid, both as directed by governments and by philanthropic organizations – GlobalGiving was cited as an example. The conclusion was that GlobalGiving (and others) provide too many fish and not enough fishermen. (more…)