Where is philanthropy in pop culture?

It’s closer than you think.  

Dear philanthropy professional, allow me to paint you a picture. One that I think you’ll recognise distinctly (even painfully).  

You’re at a dinner party or a social event where you don’t know many people. Your friend/partner/sibling has abandoned you gleefully – ‘so and so’ has appeared, and they just ‘had’ to say a quick hello. And now you are alone in a room full of acquaintances. Inevitably, you’ll find yourself stuck in a corner with an equally socially awkward guest, or someone at the dinner table will take pity on you. It’s probably your partner’s friend’s partner’s brother’s dog trainer. In any case, they are a person whose name you’ve already forgotten. If you’re agonisingly British, like me, the small talk will be nauseating. You’re praying the question doesn’t come up, even though you know that it will. What else can you expect from someone you barely know? It will come some time shortly after you’ve both sipped your drinks to avoid talking, and then one of you will ask, ‘so what do you do?’  

If you’re the person asking the question, congratulations, you’ve bought yourself between 2-5 minutes. But I’m sorry to say, it’s only a matter of time before the question will be turned back on you.