Published in The Chronicle Of Philanthropy

By Hilary Pennington and Mark Freeman

Much discussion of late has focused on how the rise of polarization around the globe is affecting politics, democracy, and culture. Very little, however, has been said about its destructive effects on philanthropy — specifically, how increasing polarization threatens to undermine the essential role that philanthropy plays in society.

Polarization, like Covid-19 or systemic racism, has the potential to alter much about how philanthropy is conceived and practiced. The question for societies, as well as for grant makers, is whether we can disrupt polarization before it seriously disrupts us.