Have you been involved in any philanthropic projects? Were they successful? If so, how did you measure success and what do you think were the important factors in making it successful?
If it wasn’t, why do you think so and could you have done anything differently?
Think about “The Philanthropist’s Burden” and its relationship to Kipling’s original poem. Do
you agree with this parallel? Why or why not? Do you think it is the Global North’s duty to serve communities in the Global South?
What are your motivations for reading this book? How could the information in this book help you?
Many well-intentioned people have an applaudable desire to help others in need, but what unaddressed biases and assumptions do they also have about the Global South?
What motivated Sebastião to open the Miratus Badminton Association? How is that different from the origin of other philanthropic endeavors?
Which pillar of the Community Banking Model is more difficult to implement or practice? Why?
What are some implicit biases you've seen in your life? Think of the media you consume,
people you interact with, your childhood experiences, or your own thoughts.
What motivates people to become philanthropists? What makes a good philanthropist?
Why do global philanthropy projects so often come from outside the communities that they purport to support?
How can we become aware of any implicit biases that may impact how we practice philanthropy?
Chapter 2
Why is creating a sustainable improvement in people's lives so much harder than simple charity? Why is creating dependency harmful for recipients of philanthropy/foreign aid?
What are some examples of charity versus philanthropy in your community? Which do more people seem to support? Why might that be?
What efforts could the admissions offices of western universities/colleges take to de-incentivise voluntourism during the admissions process?
Do you think voluntourism is ethical? In what ways does social media drive voluntourism?
What are the implications that come with the increase in tourism to the developing world?
How has the attitude of "civilizing the barbarians" persisted in modern America and what
effect does that have on people in the US?
Is technological innovation the best tool to solve social problems? Does it create social problems? What does it do more of?
To what degree do you think tax incentives for philanthropy motivate people to participate?
What were philanthropists’ motivations before tax incentives were offered?
Was the idea of American Exceptionalism taught to you in school? Have your views on that shifted as you grew older?
In what ways do religion effect the global philanthropy effort? Is it largely positive or negative?
What are the positive and negative effects of the internet and social media for global philanthropy?
Chapter 3
Even when new philanthropic endeavors are accountable and well run, there is still a high probability of failure. What factors might impede an otherwise promising project? How can a project be reframed to improve its chances of success?
How does neocolonialism influence global philanthropy?
How does the legacy of the Peace Corps in Fiji expose ‘cult of leadership’ thinking?
Does helping a community necessitate a Peace Corp volunteer creating their own project; can the leadership qualities of the volunteer be developed another way? If so, in which ways?
How would you structure a foundation to resist bad actors and fraud while still being efficient?
Are the critiques of short-term mission or student group trips valid? Why or why not? How can that practice be more cost-effective?
What are the differences between having a local leader of a project from the community and an outsider coming in to a community to develop a project?
Why are simple projects more likely to succeed rather than large, elaborate projects?
Which scandal struck you the most when reading the chapter and why?
Should voluntourism be more strongly criticized for its shortcomings? In what ways can
voluntourism be changed for the better?
How can American society encourage and incentivize long-term philanthropic development that is more sustainable and effective than short-term efforts?
Chapter 4
What are the defining characteristics of a community bank? How do these features relate to their ability to positively impact communities? How do they differ from micro-lending in the context of global philanthropy models?
How did the community bank model succeed and fail in its philanthropic attempts?
Who do you know in your community who has good character and what traits make that apparent? What is their position in the community, how does their character qualify them for that role?
Discuss the harmful thinking of failing-forward and hoping for eventual success in global philanthropy.
What are additional questions that could be asked to assess the capacity of an organization’s ability to maximize the impact of additional funds?
Why do you think that is so much more difficult to start a business in the Global South than the Global North, causing the IPS time lag? Why do you think that so many obstacles are put into place before someone can bring their idea/startup/business into reality?
If there are a lot of programs focused on the youth, is this still creating dependency to some extent of the Global South on the Global North? How can you ensure that youth programs are fully supported by the parents.
What are the four factors that reduce resource effectiveness for IPS?
How can approaching global philanthropy through social entrepreneurship be harmful?
Why is “hugs capital” important? Have you ever felt love and admiration for leaders in your personal community?
Chapter 5
What makes philanthropy difficult in Rio de Janeiro?
How does Miratus exhibit the use of social engineering, as opposed to technical innovations?
What are ways to get children addicted to "the right things."
What are the implications of the research in Iceland on youth addictions and high-level performance for transforming neighborhoods in marginalized communities of the Global South.
Compare and contrast the benefits of providing a smaller donation over multiple years to a one-time lump sum at the beginning of a program. Which method works better, and why?
How do the local leaders discussed in the chapter embody superheroes?
This chapter mentions addictions and replacing negative addictions with positive addictions. Do you have any experience of this in your life? Do you think there is a possibility that a positive addiction can become a negative addiction?
What were the two common concerns that the community banking model poses?
How does Miratus’ relationship to its community differ from that of an IPS?
How did Brazil’s history, politics, and culture contribute to the deep-rooted problems in the favelas? Why is this so hard to change?
Chapter 6
Why is it so hard to measure the change or impact of a philanthropy donation or intervention in a single year?
How does using the cooperative division of labor circumvent Parkinson’s Law in the case of Rise Up and Care in Rio?
Although a division of labor is a powerful tool to increase productivity, what would be a situation where it could be counterproductive?
How would you design an impact assessment?
What is the relationship between the concept of the cooperative division of labor and the sidekick model discussed earlier in the book?
Why do young people in the philanthropy sector often end up feeling disjointed from their work?
When one donates to an organization, do they typically want to see action or results or do they trust the organization to do what they want with the money? Is it more of a self-satisfaction of donating money or actually wanting to make a difference with the donation and which option is more likely?
How does the Iron Law of Bureaucracy manifest in mission organizations? Who are the types of people associated with this idea?
Without formal impact assessments, how can the success of a project be judged?
In the case of Vinicius the clown, how can his impact be proven without tasking him with a very complicated and time-consuming assessment? What are the opportunity costs if Vinicius and Sebastião do complicated and time-consuming impact assessments?
Chapter 7
Have the arts and performing had a significant impact on you? How do you think the impact from the circus differs from that of playing badminton?
Who are other defining female leaders of communities you know of? Why is it so relevant and meaningful for the Global South to have female leaders?
How can lessons learned in Brazilian favelas be applied to solve problems in the US? Is the community bank model applicable here? Why or why not?
What are ways to root out philanthropic organizations that devote more resources to their growth and maintenance than their stated goals? How can we solve the tension between focusing on the organization rather than the mission?
Many of the organizations mentioned are good candidates as "local superheroes" but should the organizations with better results/a larger outcome be supported first? Or since those organizations are doing well, should smaller yet other strong candidates be supported first?
What is the significance of Crescer e Viver beyond just training? Why do people within the community rely on the circus for life?
Guti Fraga frequently says that: Our work in the favela is resistance. Small gestures produce great outcomes. What do you think he means? Is he right?
How did the different groups use their $2000-$2500 grant during the COVID-19 pandemic? Was it surprising where the money went?
Guti and Sebastião have very different innovation and leadership strategies. What are they and do you think one is superior?
Does art or dance have the same impact as sport for youth? How does the circus bring the two together? How does it contrast from Guti Fraga’s theater, Jongo’s music & dance, and Sabastião’s badminton club?
Chapter 8
How can you keep an organization like Miratus going through generations and maintain its quality of work and mission? Can you ensure that Sebastião's successor is as hard working, devoted, and intelligent as he is?
What are characteristics of organizations that can survive long term and weather upheaval? Is the permanent survival of a neighborhood social organization necessarily a negative or are there positive aspects of older organizations being replaced by newer neighborhood projects?
How do you think implicit bias from foreigners has affected the people in the communities they’ve tried to serve?
What are the benefits/drawbacks of the online platforms such as zoom/skype for the community bank model and supporting local leaders?
What are some things you personally can do in your community benefit organizations you are passionate about and respect?
You probably know some “superheroes” yourself. How can you support those leaders in your life? What are the benefits of being a sidekick?
How can people who aren't famous or rich make an impact and help implement the community bank model across the world?
Do you think awareness of implicit bias is going to change how people conduct philanthropy?
