A recent reception at the House of Lords, in London celebrated Skylark becoming part of the Kinetic family.

I set up Skylark, a social venture spin-out from Oxford University, in 2020 with two colleagues and so, whilst I’m not someone prone to make public utterances, this felt like a moment to reflect and share.

Thought #1 is about the importance of keeping an open mind.
If you’d asked me when I was 50 what I would be doing when I reached official pensionable age in the UK, I can confidently say that I wouldn’t have anticipated that I would have been embarking on a new role to help Kinetic build its profile and business in the UK.

So, the good news is that life can still serve up surprises as we get older – and some of them can actually be exciting!
My main thought, however, is about relationships and how they still power philanthropy despite the changing nature of the world we live in.

It’s hard to read or listen to any news output these days which doesn’t feature something about AI. That begs the huge question about how human interaction will fit in an AI world.

Answering that is well above my pay grade, but two recent reports have given me some cause for optimism that my belief in the power of relationships still has its part to play.

The two reports, published independently on either side of the Atlantic, looked at the changing nature of the next generation of philanthropists.

As you might imagine, there are many differences with what’s gone before – from the causes supported, through to a greater emphasis on impact and transparency. But both reports, even if in slightly different ways, referenced the centrality of relationships in the philanthropic arena, whether that’s directly with nonprofits or advisors.

As someone who has spent a lifetime doing his best to build meaningful and authentic relationships, this has given me hope and reassurance that, even in the fast-moving 21^st century, the human heart is still a central driver of the power philanthropy.