Private Generosity and CSOs: Toward News Relationships

Private generosity and philanthropy remain inadequately studied in France in regard to their relationship with civil society.  

While private generosity is rarely analysed from the perspective of individual donors, research on philanthropy tends to focus on understanding the actors, usually within a critical framework.  

Often associated with American philanthropy and forms that may evoke mistrust and rejection, philanthropy is under-documented, much like private generosity, in its diverse forms, contextual specifities of the French domain, and societal impacts through CSOs.  

The relationship between private generosity and CSOs is therefore pivotal, prompting an exploration of these interactions that have yet to be fully studied. This exploration aims to foster improved strategic and institutional synergies between civil society and philanthropic actors.  

What are the priority knowledge needs?

What role does private generosity play in the socio-economic models of CSOs and in a context of profound shifts in public funding? What are the implications for their partnership strategies and projects? Does private generosity have a role in emancipating CSOs from a heavy reliance on public funding? Does it promote the social entrepreneurship model? Do the evaluation methods linking private generosity and CSOs address the respective challenges and needs? How do they particularly take into account the value creation processes and societal transformations?  

A workgroup on private generosity and CSOs

Launched in June 2023, our workgroup brings together around 40 civil society actors, philanthropic and public partners of the civil society sector, and researchers. Its objective is to identify the knowledge needs of CSOs and issue recommendations for future research that benefits an extended audience. It is led by several experts:  

• Brigitte Giraud, Vice-President of The French Institute for Civil Society Organisations  
• Lucile Manoury, PhD candidate/researcher at the University of Haute Alsace, and project manager for “Territories” at Centre français des Fonds et Fondations  
• Mathilde Renault-Tinacci, PhD in sociology, Head of Research at INJEP (National Institute for Youth and Popular Education), associated researcher at CERLIS-Université Paris Cité, and member of our Scientific Committee. 
• Anne Monier, Sociologist, Researcher at the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair.
• Floriant Covelli, Managing Director of the French Institute for Civil Society Organisations.

This workgroup is supported by Centre français des Fonds et Fondations, France Générosités, and the Symmachia fund of Association Française des Fundraisers. Its findings will be published early 2025. 

Next steps

A white paper summarizing and building on the discussions of the workgroup “Private Generosity and CSOs” will be published at the beginning of 2025. As part of our European webinar series on empowering the civic sector through research, the Institute also plans to host a webinar in the first semester of 2025 focused on private generosity and CSOs.

To stay updated on both the white paper and the webinar, visit our website and follow us on social media.

We thank our partners for their support