Charitable Giving and Philanthropy

Iain Wilkinson is Senior Lecturer in Sociologyin the University of Kent. His general research interests include social theory, sociology of risk, sociology of health and sociology of mass media. A great deal of Iain’s work concerns the ways people experience and respond to their knowledge of risk, crisis and disaster, a programme of research that can be referred to as a 'sociology of suffering'. He is particularly interested in how individuals and societies make the lived reality of human suffering productive for thought and action, how 'the problem of suffering' in its own terms amounts to a force of cultural innovation and social change. Current research is exploring the cultural politics of compassion in relation to the rise of global humanitarianism, and how the institutional formation and practices of Aid organisations are dynamically related to the ways in which societies represent and respond to 'the problem of suffering'. Recent publications include: Wilkinson , I and Petersen, A. (eds) (forthcoming) Health, Risk and Vulnerability, London: Routledge, and Wilkinson, I (forthcoming) Risk, Vulnerability and Everyday Life, London: Routledge. I.M.Wilkinson@kent.ac.uk

Balihar Sanghera is  Director of Studies for Social Sciences and Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent. His main research interests are lay normativity, political economy and studies on Kyrgyzstan. His current research examines how moral sentiments and everyday moralities are socially constituted in markets, professions, families and everyday politics in Kyrgyzstan. Using the term the 'moral economy', Balihar is exploring how economic activities are influenced and structured by moral dispositions, values and norms, and how in turn these are reinforced, shaped, compromised or overridden by economic pressures. By drawing upon different disciplines, he aims to contribute to an emerging field on human well-being, capabilities and everyday practices of moral judgements, sentiments and responsibilities. Balihar completed his doctoral thesis at Lancaster University, and then became research fellow at the University of Central England. Recent publications include: Theorising Social Change in Post-Soviet Countries: Critical Approaches, Peter Lang, Oxford. (2007).SBN: 978-3-03910-329-4. Balihar Sanghera (leading editor and organiser), Sarah Amsler and Tatiana Yarkova (other editors).  B.S.Sanghera@kent.ac.uk

Beth Breeze began her career as a fundraiser for a youth homelessness charity, and has spent a decade working in a variety of fundraising, research and charity management roles, most recently as deputy director at the Institute for Philanthropy.

Beth has written a wide range of research reports on issues related to charitable giving and philanthropy, including ‘The Coutts Million Pound Donors Report’, ‘Natural Philanthropists: Findings of the Family Business Philanthropy Inquiry’, 'The Blueprint for Giving', the final report of the Giving Campaign co-written with Professor Adrian Sargeant; 'Investment Matters', a study of charity asset management; and 'Raising a Giving Nation', a report on the impact of efforts to encourage giving amongst schoolchildren.

Since moving into academia Beth continues to be heavily involved in the charity sector: she has served as trustee for the Cardinal Hume Centre, is publications editor of Philanthropy UK, is a member of the president's advisory council at NCVO, is a mentor for the Kent Refugee Action Network and provides voluntary fundraising support to a range of charities. Beth is keen to take ideas and research findings to a wide audience. She frequently speaks at voluntary sector events around the country and has written about philanthropy and charitable giving in a range of media outlets including the Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Prospect magazine, New Statesman, BBC online and all the charity sector publications.
b.breeze@kent.ac.uk

Matthew Bond is a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent. He is currently writing up the results of a study on directors of large British corporations, completed with Siana Glouharova and Nicholas Harrigan.  The project was funded by the ESRC.  Research interests include the relation between capitalists’ organisational and personal interests, and covers political donations and pressure group affiliations. Matthew also has an interest, and has published on, the delivery and organisation of health care services, has a research focus on social network analysis.  Recent Publications include: 2007 ‘Elite Social Relations and Corporate Political Donations in Britain’ Political

Studies. M.Bond@kent.ac.uk

John Mohan is Professor of Social Policy, University of Southampton, and Deputy Director of the recently-established ESRC-OTS-Barrow Cadbury Trust - Third Sector Research Centre. He is principal investigator on the ‘charity and social redistribution’ spoke of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, in conjunction with colleagues at Kent University. John’s research interests include the importance of spatial differentiation, the impact of an uneven socieconomic landscape on the formulation and implementation of policies, and the effect that local context has on the development of services. He is also working on studies of voluntarism (both voluntary organisations and volunteering). He is the author of several books on health and social policy, including Mutualism and health care: hospital contributory schemes in 20th century Britain (with M Gorsky; Manchester UP, 2006), Social capital, place and health (with S Barnard, K Jones, L Twigg: Health Development Agency, 2004), and Planning, markets and hospitals (Routledge, 2002). Recent projects have included work on: the role of hospital contributory schemes in health care finance and governance before and after 1948; the role of nonprofit providers in health care delivery (NHS Service Delivery and Organisation programme); the influence of social capital on health inequalities; and the pattern of pre-NHS hospital finance, provision and utilization. jfm1@soton.ac.uk