Collin, Jeff

Mackay, Fiona

Cary, Tatiana

2024-02-01T14:32:01Z

2024-02-01T14:32:01Z

2024-02-01

Over the past 15 years, philanthropy advisors (PhAds) have grown in prominence within financial institutions, family offices and independent consultancies (Beeston and Breeze 2023; Harrington 2016; Ostrander 2007; Sklair and Glucksberg 2021). More recently, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened awareness of the significance of philanthropic advisory services within elite philanthropy. Yet the roles and contributions of PhAds remain under-researched, notwithstanding the long-standing interest in unpacking the “black box” of elite philanthropy (Odendahl 1990; Ostrander 2007; Ostrower 1995), particularly in relation to donor-centred philanthropy (Ostrander and Schervish 1990; Ostrander 2007) and elite power, and increased scrutiny of the role of philanthropic intermediaries (Kumar and Brooks 2021) and professional advisors (Harrington 2016) in elite philanthropy. The thesis explores the roles of PhAds by asking three questions: What are the roles of PhAds in elite philanthropy? How do PhAds shape narratives of legitimacy within elite philanthropic practices? And what can analysing the roles of PhAds, in the context of pandemic responses, add to existing understandings of elite philanthropy? To address these questions, the thesis took the form of a multi-method qualitative study, based on 34 interviews with philanthropy practitioners, participant and non-participant observation, and document analysis. The study drew on industry grey literature, comprising online materials that include websites, training materials, handbooks, reports and webinars produced by philanthropy advisors. Data was collected between 2019 and 2021. By incorporating insights from critical elite studies, philanthropic research and examining how philanthropy advisors enable donor-control and elite agency, this thesis advances understanding of the meaning-making processes of philanthropy advisors, by integrating concepts and domains of research on elite identities (Khan 2012; Sherman 2017; Maclean et. al. 2015) and the broader role of philanthropy in legitimising elites and wealth accumulation (Kantola and Kuusela 2019; Harrington 2016; McGoey and Thiel 2018; Sklair and Glucksberg 2021). The research finds that PhAds form part of an emergent industry, acting as brokers, intermediaries and boundary spanners within elite philanthropy. It examines the legitimising accounts (Creed et al. 2002) used by PhAds, to understand how they relate to and shape systems of meaning for the role of philanthropists, philanthropy and themselves (philanthropy advice services). The findings emphasise the central role of social impact claims, with philanthropy advice understood as a way of increasing social impact of philanthropy and with PhAds characterising their roles as enabling clients to “give better and give more”. The thesis discusses PhAds’ understanding of their roles in the identity formation of their clients through a “philanthropic learning journey” – an affective and experiential process that aims at the self-realisation of the philanthropist. This contributes to studies on identity and meaning making in elite philanthropy, highlighting the roles of advisors in the formation of positive wealth identities (Harrington 2016; Maclean et. al 2015; Sklair and Glucksberg 2021). The thesis also explores the ways in which PhAds and philanthropy advice services legitimised the role of elite philanthropy in philanthropic responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. In summary, the project offers two key contributions in building on existing studies of philanthropy advice services and practitioners. Firstly, it provides rich qualitative evidence on under-researched philanthropy advisors and demonstrates their roles as professional enablers of elite philanthropy; and secondly, it expands debates on the legitimising practices of elite philanthropy (McGoey and Thiel 2018; McGoey 2021; Sklair and Glucksberg 2021) by evidencing how donor-centred practices are justified by PhAds as a means to an end.

https://hdl.handle.net/1842/41404

http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/4138

en

The University of Edinburgh

Philanthropy

Elites

Advisors

“Giving better and giving more”? Examining the roles of philanthropy advisors in elite philanthropy

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy