Beth Breeze, PhD
Principal and Professor
Harris Manchester College
University of Oxford

Philanthropy is facing accusations of being undemocratic, ineffective, self-interested, and an exercise of power that perpetuates inequality. Whilst the essence of such critique is long-standing, concerns about the purpose, motivation, and impact of large monetary gifts have recently become more prominent and call into question the fundamental legitimacy of philanthropy within modern welfare democracies. In response, this chapter notes the distinctive role that philanthropy plays in defining and meeting social needs in a way that complements, co-exists with, and challenges both state and market activity. Responses to the main critiques are offered and Social Policy scholars and practitioners are invited to take a more balanced and nuanced approach that avoids overstating the problematic nature and consequences of philanthropy, and understating – or disregarding – its positive benefits. The chapter concludes that philanthropy is improvable but not illegitimate, and that it has value that urgently needs articulating and defending.

Professor Breeze is Principal of Harris Manchester College. She began her career in the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser, researcher and manager. In 2011, as a mature student, she completed a PhD on contemporary UK philanthropy and has since specialised in researching, teaching, and advancing public understanding of the role and impact of private giving.

Beth has written and edited eight books: Richer Lives: Why Rich People Give (2013, co-authored with Theresa Lloyd), The Logic of Charity: Great Expectations in Hard Times (2015, co-authored with John Mohan) and The Philanthropy Reader (2016, co-edited with Michael Moody). Her book, The New Fundraisers: who organises charitable giving in contemporary society? (2017) won the AFP Skystone Research Partners book prize, as did In Defence of Philanthropy (2021), which is a timely response to growing critiques of private giving. In 2023 she published both: Advising Philanthropists: Principles and Practice (co-authored with Emma Beeston), and The Fundraising Reader (co-edited with Donna Day Lafferty and Pamala Wiepking). In September 2025 she published Rich Expectations: Why Rich People Give, the 3rd decennial update of the Why Rich People Give study.

Beth has also written a wide range of research reports including ten editions of the annual ‘Coutts Million Pound Donors Report’ as well as studies of giving circles, fundraising for ‘unpopular’ causes, philanthropy across the life-course, corporate philanthropy, and the nature, challenges and opportunities of Moonshot Philanthropy.

Beth is chair of the Data and Research sub-group implementing the Irish government’s first National Policy on Philanthropy. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for both the Center on Philanthropy at Geneva University and the ESSEC Chair in Philanthropy, Paris. She is on the review board for the Pan-African International Review on Philanthropy and Social Investment Journal and is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute research committee at the Lilly School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, USA. She has served as trustee for the Cardinal Hume Centre in London for young homeless people, as a Commissioner on the Commission for the Donor Experience, on the Advisory group for the Charity Tax Commission, as publications editor of Philanthropy UK, and as a member of the President’s advisory council at NCVO.

In recognition of her services to philanthropic research and fundraising, Beth was awarded the OBE at Windsor Castle in 2022.