Funder Opinions on Philanthrocapitalism in the UK

Philanthrocapitalism, defined as the application of market-based logics and tools to philanthropic practice, has become increasingly prominent in the United Kingdom. While existing scholarship has largely examined philanthrocapitalism as an ideology, relatively little attention has been paid to how funders themselves understand and engage with these approaches. This paper addresses this gap through an exploratory qualitative study of 28 UK funders. Using written interviews, sentiment analysis, and thematic coding, the study identifies four recurring themes in funder perspectives: pragmatic adoption, loyalty to traditional grantmaking, contextual constraints, and resistance to the term “philanthrocapitalism” itself. By foregrounding funder perspectives, this paper provides a first exploration of how philanthrocapitalism is operationalised in the UK context and highlights implications for philanthrocapitalists and sector practitioners regarding opportunities for sector training necessary for effective adoption of philanthrocapitalist approaches.