Briefing No. 42
What we’re reading
On the Greenwood Place Bedside Table
Paul Collier’s Left Behind is a brilliant, wide-ranging account of how centralised authority and economic orthodoxy have deepened the divide between well-to-do and “left behind” places, hollowing out communities and damaging life chances. It is one of the best books we’ve read in a long time. Highly recommended. Chapter 6 of our office copy is almost entirely underlined.
Pathways to Change
“Thank you for an energising, mind stretching, emotionally uplifting retreat this week. There was a spirit of kindness and a commitment to relationships, in the room as well as beyond, that made our time together a lot of fun as well as intellectually fulfilling.”
The first Pathways to Change programme is drawing to a close. We loved the opportunity to bring together a cohort of philanthropists and social entrepreneurs focused on tackling global poverty, and it was fantastic to see almost every participant at the Pathways residential a few weeks ago.
If you’d like to learn more about the programme and to consider participating in 2025/26 please let us know. In the meantime we’ve uploaded the factsheets that accompanied the programme, click the button below.
Six Inches of Soil
Six inches of soil feed 8 billion people. Soil is probably the most valuable resource on the planet. This is the inspiring story of British farmers transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, benefit our health and provide for local communities.
What3Words
what3words divided the world into 3 metre squares and gave each square a unique combination of three words. It is the easiest way to find and share exact locations. It is used now by 85% of UK emergency services to quickly locate people in need of help and by an increasing number of NGOs globally to improve response times and ensure critical aid is delivered exactly where it’s needed. Rebecca’s husband also uses it to label his landscape paintings. Add it to your phone.
Step Into the Pages
Disney veteran Glen Keane, himself son of a cartoonist, has animated some of the most compelling characters of our time. Step into his world as he uses VR to draw in 3 dimensions where, as he says, “That doorway to the imagination is a little wider”.
Child Mortality: 1751-2022
A child born into one of the poorest countries today faces a one-in-ten chance of dying within the first five years of her or his life. In rich countries, the rate of survival is as high as 99.8%. We have made tremendous progress in reducing child mortality globally, but we still have a long way to go.
The Body Keeps the Score
We came across this simple, animated summary of Dr Bessel van der Kolk’s ground-breaking book, the Body Keeps the Score. Van der Kolk is one of the world’s leading experts on trauma, exploring how mental unwellness doesn’t just take a toll on our minds; it affects our physical selves as well.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY
The Big House's crew of young people are finalists in the 2024 Lovie Awards - in the running alongside some serious heavyweights like CNN and BBC. We loved Dryden, Dyke and Wade: Britain's First Black Millionaires. Check it out here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
We’re hosting an under the hood session on grant-making, with colleagues from Greenwood Place and the Gates Foundation, on 15th October. If you are a funder in our community and haven’t signed up already please do let us know if you’d like to come along. There will be drinks afterwards as well!
HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?
Greenwood Place provides philanthropy support, advice and execution for a small group of strategic philanthropists. We take an entrepreneurial approach to tackling tough social and environmental problems. We work closely with our clients to find the places where they can make the most difference, we support their learning and we partner with them to achieve real, lasting change.
The Greenwood is the place in Shakespeare's plays where characters go to grow, change and learn.