Advertise on podcast: Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship

Neither of them ever studied at Oxford or Cambridge. Now they each run a college there. In this milestone 400th episode, Alberto sits down with Professor Beth Breeze, Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, and Girish Menon, President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, to find out how their two colleges have become genuine engines of social mobility inside Oxbridge — as Brits refer to Oxford and Cambridge — institutions many people still assume were only ever built to welcome one particular kind of applicant. How does one Cambridge college end up with one of the highest proportions of state-school students in the university’s history, without lowering its entry grades? What happens to a bright student who’s told, after a single open day, that he should probably just “settle” for somewhere closer to home? Why did it take a teacher noticing “a spark” — not a family connection — to get one student through the gates at all? What’s actually covered, and what isn’t, once a scholarship pays for tuition but a student still needs a bike, a set of academic robes, or rent? Can two heads of college who never earned an Oxford or Cambridge degree themselves see something the system’s own insiders can’t? Press play to hear exactly how two unlikely college heads are rewriting who gets to belong at two of the world’s best universities. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 400 case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

In 1714, Britain's Parliament passed the Longitude Act, offering a cash prize of up to £20,000, worth well over £2 million today, to anyone who could solve a problem that had defeated Galileo and Isaac Newton: how to measure longitude accurately at sea. Tris Dyson, Founder and Executive Director of Challenge Works, runs an organisation built on that same core idea, using big incentive competitions to accelerate breakthroughs in fields ranging from space exploration and agri-tech to urban innovation. But as Tris explains, a modern challenge prize is rarely just about the money: getting the incentives right can mean building in access to data, accelerated regulatory pathways, and new partnerships alongside any financial reward. One of the problems Challenge Works is currently taking on is also deeply personal for Tris. Three and a half years ago, he was diagnosed with ALS and told he had three to five years to live. In this episode, he joins Alberto Lidji to talk about challenge prizes more broadly, and about the prize he's helping build that could change the odds, for himself and for millions of others living with neurodegenerative disease. Tris explains what it actually takes to design a challenge prize that works, drawing on examples from the original Longitude Prize to today's hunt for solutions to antimicrobial resistance and even extracting drinking water from lunar rock, and what has to be in place, the right target, the right incentives, the right enabling environment, before a single team ever starts competing. Neural implants are already restoring movement in people with Parkinson's, and showing early promise for memory too. Tris also talks about "brain twins" that could let scientists test new treatments without ever touching a real brain, and why he believes the biggest obstacle standing in the way of curing these diseases isn't the science, but the bureaucracy sitting on top of it. This episode is for anyone who believes in the power of ambitious thinking to drive breakthroughs. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Every year, the International Rescue Committee publishes an Emergency Watchlist predicting the twenty countries most likely to face a major humanitarian crisis in the year ahead. For the past three years, the country at the top of that list, Sudan, has received comparatively modest media coverage next to crises like Ukraine, despite being, by the numbers, the world's largest humanitarian emergency. In this episode, Flora Alexander, Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee UK (IRC UK), joins Alberto Lidji to explore why some of the world's most severe conflicts struggle to make the headlines, and how donors can be confident that the money they give actually reaches the people who need it. Founded in 1933 at Albert Einstein's urging to help Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, the IRC today works across the full arc of crisis — from Ukraine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and from resettlement programmes in the UK to frontline health clinics around the world. What determines whether a humanitarian emergency becomes a story the world can't look away from, rather than one that quietly falls off the agenda? And if you wanted to help the people of a country whose leadership you have every reason to distrust, without a penny of that money ever touching the regime itself, what would it actually take to ensure your donation got to where it was needed? Flora succeeds David Miliband, the IRC's global President and Chief Executive, who was a guest on the Do One Better Podcast in 2021, and Laura Kyrke-Smith, her predecessor as IRC UK's Executive Director, who appeared on the show in 2023 before being elected as a Member of Parliament in the UK. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Charles Li spent over a decade running one of the world's major stock exchanges and chairing JP Morgan China before turning his attention to an entirely different challenge: bringing institutional capital to small businesses — franchise owners, landlords, and local shopkeepers — that Wall Street has traditionally struggled to reach. In this episode, Charles, Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect, joins Alberto Lidji to explore how institutional capital might finally find its way to the small businesses that need it most. This conversation was recorded at the PBC 2026 Forum — Philanthropy for Better Cities 2026 — in Hong Kong, and forms part of a special series made possible by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, marking the forum's 10th anniversary, convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, in association with the Institute of Philanthropy. What does it take to convince Wall Street investors to back a business model built on the transparency of everyday transactions rather than traditional balance sheets? How does artificial intelligence change what's possible when it comes to assessing risk at that scale? And what can decades spent inside the world's biggest financial institutions teach us about building something entirely new for the world's smallest ones? Charles also reflects on his own path, from working on an oil rig, to Columbia Law School, to the top of Hong Kong's stock exchange — and what that journey tells us about reinventing yourself as the world around you changes. About Charles Li: He was appointed Chairman of JP Morgan China from 2003 to 2009. He joined Merrill Lynch in 1994, where he served as President of Merrill Lynch China from 1999 to 2003. He holds a BA in English Literature from Xiamen University, an MA in Journalism from the University of Alabama, and a JD from Columbia Law School. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Across Asia, philanthropy takes markedly different forms — from mass individual and faith-based giving to corporate mandates and state-led funds. Brian San, Secretary General of the Institute of Philanthropy in Hong Kong, sheds light on twelve playbooks the Commission on Asian Philanthropy has identified as proven models: built in one market and ready to travel to others. In this episode, Brian joins Alberto Lidji to unpack what's actually working in Asian philanthropy, and why. This conversation was recorded at the PBC 2026 Forum — Philanthropy for Better Cities 2026 — in Hong Kong, and forms part of a special series made possible by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, marking the forum's 10th anniversary, convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, in association with the Institute of Philanthropy. Brian discusses the Institute of Philanthropy's work co-convening the Commission on Asian Philanthropy alongside the Asia Philanthropy Congress, set up by the Nippon Foundation, bringing together thirteen of Asia's most influential foundations, and their interim report, published in September 2026, "Strengthening Asia's Philanthropic Ecosystems for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth by 2050," with a final report due in Tokyo in December 2027. Brian explains why each giving model's real value lies beyond the money itself, in the technology, supply chains, and community trust that different actors bring to bear, and why understanding a model's underlying objectives and constraints matters more than assuming a single shared goal across the sector. Useful link: Commission on Asian Philanthropy Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Helen Clark served as Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms and went on to become Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme for two terms, one of the most senior roles in the entire UN system. In this episode of Do One Better Podcast, Alberto Lidji sits down with Helen for a wide ranging conversation covering her grassroots political beginnings in New Zealand's anti-apartheid movement, the state of global progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the fragile state of the international order. Helen and Alberto discuss the importance of building pragmatic coalitions and cross sector collaboration, the role philanthropy can play amid shrinking development aid, the future of Asian philanthropy on the world stage, and her work chairing Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. They also explore the powerful role sport and volunteering play at grassroots level in building stronger communities. This conversation was recorded at the PBC 2026 Forum (Philanthropy for Better Cities 2026) in Hong Kong, and forms part of a special series made possible by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, marking the forum's 10th anniversary, convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, in association with the Institute of Philanthropy. It is a candid and ultimately hopeful conversation about how each of us, whatever our platform, can choose to do good. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

James Cowan, CEO of the HALO Trust, joins Alberto Lidji on the Do One Better Podcast to explore what happens when the fighting stops, but the dangers of war remain. The HALO Trust has been working since 1988 to save lives and restore livelihoods in communities affected by conflict. Today, it operates across 32 countries with around 10,000 staff, clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war, while also tackling small arms and light weapons. James shares his perspective on the lasting impact of conflict and why landmines can continue to threaten civilians, often children, decades after a war has ended. He explains how HALO is using new technologies, including AI, satellite imagery, drones, robotics, ground penetrating radar, and magnetic resonance, to make clearance faster and safer. The conversation also looks at the people behind the work, the importance of employing and empowering local communities, and the role of governments and philanthropy in addressing the enormous scale of the challenge. They discuss mine risk education, the changing nature of conflict, the growing use of drones, and how humanitarian action can contribute not only to saving lives, but also to restoring livelihoods and helping countries move towards greater stability. And despite the sobering realities of today's conflicts, James leaves listeners with a powerful message: there is hope. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Aunnie Patton Power, Founder of the Innovative Finance Initiative, joins Alberto Lidji on the Do One Better Podcast as she shares her views on how finance can be redesigned to better serve people, communities, and the planet. The Innovative Finance Initiative brings together more than 2,000 funders, intermediaries, and changemakers exploring what is possible beyond traditional approaches to finance. Aunnie explains why she believes the goal should not simply be to shift the existing system, but to build credible alternatives to it. The conversation explores some fundamental questions. What does it really mean to invest for impact? Who should decide where capital goes? Does “market rate” actually mean what we think it means? And how should asset owners think about their responsibilities to the communities and people ultimately affected by their investments? Aunnie also shares examples of alternative approaches to fund design, governance, ownership, and capital allocation, while challenging some of the assumptions that have come to underpin modern impact investing. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Doris Macharia, President of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), joins Alberto Lidji on the Do One Better Podcast for a conversation about the global effort to end pediatric HIV and the challenge of reaching the children and families who remain underserved. EGPAF has been working for more than three decades to improve outcomes for children and mothers affected by HIV. Today, its work spans 12 countries in Africa, working alongside governments and communities to strengthen HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care. In this conversation, Dr. Macharia explains what she means by reaching the “last mile” and why the final stretch toward ending pediatric HIV can be among the most difficult. Alberto and Doris explore the barriers that continue to stand in the way, from poverty, stigma, and conflict to gaps in healthcare systems, diagnostics, treatment access, and follow-up. They also discuss how African health systems can become more resilient and sustainable, why reducing families’ out-of-pocket healthcare costs matters, and how philanthropy can help sustain hard-won progress. In this episode: Why children continue to lag behind adults in knowing their HIV status What it really means to reach the “last mile” The importance of strong primary healthcare systems How diagnostics, treatment, and community-based care can improve outcomes The challenges created by poverty, stigma, conflict, and limited resources Why sustaining progress may be as important as achieving it The distinctive role philanthropy can play in addressing complex global health challenges Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Nearly 48 million Americans lived in food-insecure households in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and close to a third of the food produced in the United States goes to waste. Last year alone, roughly 15,000 American farms went out of business. Farmlink exists in the gap between those numbers. It started in April 2020, when college junior Aidan Reilly and his co-founder James Kanoff were sent home at the start of the pandemic and learned their local food bank had gone from serving 300 families a week to 1,000, almost overnight. Around the same time, they read about farmers dumping millions of gallons of milk and burying truckloads of potatoes because the contracts that normally moved their produce to schools, stadiums, and restaurants had disappeared. With no experience in farming or logistics, they started cold-calling farmers, rented a U-Haul, and made their first delivery: 60,000 eggs to a food bank. Ten days later they had 200 volunteers. Three weeks later they had moved a million pounds of food. Six years on, Farmlink is a fully remote, asset-light organization that, according to its founders, works with a network of more than 1,000 charity partners across every state. In this conversation, Aidan and CEO Eliza Blank explain what it actually takes to move perishable food fast, at scale, with no warehouses and no trucks of their own, and why they consider themselves the last call a farmer makes, not the first. As Eliza puts it, Farmlink exists to make sure "logistics is not the reason, and cost of transportation never is the reason why people aren't getting fed." In this episode, you'll learn: Why two 21-year-olds with zero farming experience became the people U.S. farmers call when they have nowhere left to turn How Farmlink moves perishable surplus into the hands of families in need within 24 to 72 hours, with no warehouses or trucks of its own Why the organization covers both coordination and freight costs, and how that decision unlocked supply that would otherwise rot in the field What is actually driving the wave of American farm closures, and why Farmlink wants to help farmers get paid, not just donate for free How a growing database of charity partners is helping Farmlink understand real-time capacity across a national network Why human relationships and trust, built over six years, remain the one thing technology cannot replace, even as data plays a bigger role What it would take to responsibly adapt the Farmlink model beyond the United States, and why the founders insist local ownership has to come first About the guests Aidan Reilly is co-founder of Farmlink, which he started in 2020 as a college student to connect farm surplus with communities facing food insecurity across the United States. Eliza Blank is Chief Executive Officer of Farmlink, leading the organization's work coordinating logistics, cost, and a nationwide network of charity partners to reduce food waste and hunger. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Justin Steele spent a decade as a funder at Google.org, giving away hundreds of millions of dollars before leaving at the end of 2024 to co-found Outdoorithm Collective, a nonprofit focused on connecting families with public lands and campgrounds in the United States. Finding himself on the other side of the funding table for the first time, he quickly discovered how broken and fragmented the grant-prospecting process really is. That frustration, combined with a self-taught crash course in coding with AI tools, led him to build a simple matching tool for his own nonprofit. That tool became Kindora, a public benefit corporation he co-founded with Karibu Nayaga to serve as an AI-driven fundraising intelligence layer for the nonprofit and social enterprise sector. In this conversation, Justin explains how Kindora crawls tens of thousands of funder websites and PDFs to build a searchable, continuously updated database of open grant opportunities, funder histories, program officers, and trustees, going back three years and covering the United States, Canada, and Europe, including the United Kingdom. He describes how organizations can access this intelligence for free through a simple AI chat interface, including as a connector inside Claude, and how paid credits unlock deeper research and evaluation tools. He also shares an early data finding from Kindora's own query logs: a striking gap between how much nonprofits are searching for technology and AI-related funding and how little of that funding is actually available. Beyond the platform itself, Justin makes the case for why proximity to a problem, paired with AI-assisted building, may matter more right now than traditional academic pedigree. He talks candidly about the environmental and bias-related tradeoffs of AI, why he believes the people closest to social problems are best positioned to solve them, and where he sees Kindora heading next, from helping organizations find collaborators for joint grant applications to eventually helping funders discover trust-based connections to potential grantees. In this episode, you'll learn: How Justin Steele's own fundraising struggles at a brand-new nonprofit led him to build what became Kindora How Kindora aggregates and structures grant and funder data from over 80,000 funder websites, including PDF-based disclosures Why open grant opportunities, not just mission-fit matching, became the platform's core early product How organizations can access Kindora for free through an AI chat interface, including as a connector inside Claude What Kindora's own query data reveals about the mismatch between demand for AI and technology funding and its actual availability Why Justin believes proximity to a problem and creative "taste," rather than formal engineering or business credentials, are becoming the real differentiators in building useful technology How data transparency around philanthropic giving varies across the United States, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Europe Where Kindora is headed next, including efforts to help organizations find collaborators for joint applications and to surface trust-based connections between funders and grantees Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Peter Singer co-founded Grand Challenges Canada and served as its CEO before joining its board, where he still sits today. Over 15 years, the organisation has backed roughly 1,700 innovations across more than 100 countries, deployed over a billion dollars in funding — more than half from the Government of Canada — and reached 85 million people, improved 28 million lives, and saved an estimated 120,000 lives. Peter shares vivid examples: a small grant that helped seed Mylab, now a billion-dollar Indian diagnostics unicorn; an early investment that led to Ubiologics' cholera vaccine now entering the global stockpile; and Tanzania's M-Mama, an Uber-style maternal transport service now operating at national scale within government. Peter traces his path through four distinct careers: as a physician and professor of medicine focused on end-of-life care, sparked by a formative experience with a dying patient in 1984; as co-founder of a bioethics centre; as co-founder and CEO of Grand Challenges Canada; and later at the World Health Organization under Tedros, where he worked to embed a results-driven culture through the "triple billion" targets. He reflects candidly on what worked and what didn't — the tools for measuring outcomes and outputs were built, but institutionalising accountability within a large multilateral bureaucracy proved far harder. The conversation covers the state of philanthropy in Canada, contrasting its concentrated, strategic style with the greater density of giving in the US. Peter also discusses integrated innovation — blending technological, social, financial, and now digital and AI-driven approaches — and makes the case for social and service-delivery innovation being undervalued relative to flashier technological bets, using a comparison between a Gates Foundation toilet technology challenge and Grand Challenges Canada's portfolio of water and sanitation social enterprises. On the Sustainable Development Goals, Peter is blunt: progress is weak, and he argues real success would come first from intellectual honesty about where things stand, and the accountability and data work needed to understand why. He closes with advice for young people: find a problem that genuinely bothers you and solve it, seek out the right mentors, recognise a "rocket ship" opportunity when it appears, and let character and integrity anchor everything else. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

It's a pleasure to welcome Michael Thatcher back onto the Do One Better Podcast. Michael is President and Chief Executive Officer of Charity Navigator, the largest independent evaluator of nonprofits in the United States, now marking its 25th year and covering roughly 245,000 charities as a free public service to donors. Michael last joined the show in 2022, and returns with a comprehensive update on how Charity Navigator has evolved since then — including a major overhaul to its rating methodology, a new partnership bringing cost-per-outcome impact data into the platform, and candid reflections on some of the biggest structural challenges facing the charitable sector today. In this conversation, Michael and Alberto discuss: A 25-year milestone. How Charity Navigator evaluates nearly 245,000 charities with a team of just 35 people, largely by processing publicly available IRS tax filings. The April 2026 ratings overhaul. A new methodology spanning 49 metrics across 10 evaluation areas — financial health, governance, leadership and impact measurement among them — plus a new partnership with True Impact to bring cost-per-outcome scoring to the platform. How curated lists get built. Why a complete, high-quality data set and demonstrated effectiveness are required for an organisation to appear on one of Charity Navigator's roughly 50 curated lists — and how "whimsical" lists (most popular charities, celebrity-favoured causes) sit alongside more rigorously vetted ones. Giving funds, explained. How Charity Navigator's roughly dozen thematic funds work as pooled, pass-through vehicles (not donor-advised funds), how allocations across organisations are rebalanced, and why full transparency into fund composition matters to donors. Two unexpected donor demographics. Why younger donors are drawn to cause-based giving over brand loyalty, and why older donors are increasingly using Charity Navigator's funds as a dependable vehicle within estate and legacy planning. The AI disintermediation challenge. How Charity Navigator's open, free data is increasingly being surfaced directly by large language models — reducing website traffic and, with it, the donation asks that fund the organisation's own operations. A troubling giving trend. New research showing a steady, multi-year decline in the number of individual donors in the US even as total dollars given continues to rise — and why Charity Navigator's own research points to a "connection" problem rather than a trust problem. Staying above the fray. How Charity Navigator has maintained credibility with donors across a polarised political landscape by consistently avoiding partisan positioning. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

Martin Burt, Founder and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya (Paraguay Development Foundation) and former Mayor of Asunción, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss a fundamentally different approach to eliminating poverty. Rather than focusing solely on income or government interventions, Burt argues that lasting change begins with families, dignity, and the entrepreneurial spirit. The conversation explores the Poverty Stoplight, a framework now used in 62 countries that enables families to assess their own multidimensional poverty across objective measures such as housing and income, alongside subjective factors including motivation, self-esteem, and aspirations. By identifying their own priorities and connecting with practical solutions, families become active agents in their journey out of poverty. Martin explains why empowerment matters as much as economics, why families should define what it means to be "not poor," and how this locally developed methodology from Paraguay is reshaping poverty alleviation across the Global South and the Global North. He also reflects on lessons from four decades in economic development, public service, and social innovation, offering a compelling vision for putting human flourishing at the heart of development. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

What does it take to change systems rather than simply address symptoms? In this episode of the Do One Better Podcast, Alberto Lidji speaks with Don Gips, CEO Emeritus of the Skoll Foundation, about the evolution of social entrepreneurship and the enduring role it plays in tackling the world's most complex challenges. Drawing on a career spanning the private sector, government, diplomacy, and philanthropy, Don reflects on the Skoll Foundation's pioneering efforts to help establish social entrepreneurship as a global field. He discusses Jeff Skoll's founding vision, the creation of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Oxford, and the growth of the Skoll World Forum into one of the world's foremost gatherings of social innovators. The conversation explores what distinguishes social entrepreneurship from traditional charitable approaches, emphasizing the pursuit of systems change through innovative models that reshape incentives, institutions, and outcomes. Don explains why successful social entrepreneurs increasingly build enduring organizations rather than relying on individual leadership, and why adaptability is essential when navigating resistance to systemic reform. A central theme is the growing importance of "systems orchestrators": trusted leaders who convene diverse stakeholders, align incentives, and enable collective action across sectors. Don argues that these often overlooked actors play a critical role in advancing large-scale social change, even when their contributions resist conventional methods of attribution and measurement. The discussion also examines philanthropy's relationship with risk, the challenges of funding systems change, and the need to move beyond linear models of impact toward collaborative approaches that recognize shared contribution. Don shares practical insights into how foundations can better support both social entrepreneurs and the broader ecosystems that enable transformational change. Reflecting on his own career, Don recounts lessons from leadership roles including U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, domestic policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore, and CEO of the Skoll Foundation.  The episode concludes with a simple but powerful principle that has shaped both the Skoll Foundation and Don's own career: bet on good people doing good things, then use your resources, relationships, and influence to help them succeed. This conversation will appeal to anyone interested in philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, systems change, impact investing, leadership, and the future of social innovation. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 350+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.