Giving Back

Part memoir and part manifesto, Derek Bardowell presents a thoroughly-argued case for how charitable giving can be redesigned to make the difference it should be making. Raw, honest and beautifully written, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to make the world a better place. – Angela Saini
Giving Back expands the concept of philanthropy by presenting a rich and complex mix of impressive personal testimony, expansive cultural knowledge and analysis of systemic inequality, while challenging the deep-rooted economic order that continues to underpin today’s philanthropic structures. Intellectual and passionate, brave and radical, it offers us new and improved routes forward. – Bernardine Evaristo
Derek’s new book is a game changer in terms of how we need to look differently how we approach philanthropy in the context of Black Lives Matter and Covid 19. The legacies of the past and failure to tackle racism since the murder of Stephen Lawrence in society requires new leadership insights and actions a clear commitment for change. Giving Back provides a framework and mantra for policy makers, funders and wider voluntary and community sector. – Patrick Vernon
Derek Bardowell masterly exposes everything which is wrong about charities today but gives us hope and a roadmap l reimagining how charity and giving can work to create a better society for all. The book you didn’t realise you wanted but desperately need! I will never think about charities in the same way again. Charities beyond inequality, giving without the ‘saviour complex’. Bardowell shows how we can reimagine our idea of charities and giving without entrenching the very inequality that is inherent in the idea of the “rich” giving to the “poor”. – Marcus Ryder
In Giving Back, Derek Bardowell delivers a delicious yet essential rallying call of a read that will do an enormous amount to help us all understand how we can enhance society. – Nels Abbey
Equal parts poetic, heart-wrenching and actionable; Bardowell provides the system-level framework needed to change our world. – Charlotte Cramer, Author, The Purpose Myth, Founder, Plastic—Studio
Derek Bardowell is a criminally underrated writer. This book is an indictment of the world of philanthropy and charity through an unapologetic Black lens. A Trojan horse of a book that is as much about class, race and music as it is about giving, by a writer who has been at the heart of Black Britain for decades and knows what he is talking about. – Symeon Brown

Derek A. Bardowell is the author of No Win Race, on racial identity and sport, and Giving Back, which reimagines philanthropy. His work has been longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, shortlisted for an Indie Book Award, and named a ‘Book of the Year’ by The Sunday Times and Financial Times. Derek has contributed to the anthology Black British Lives Matter and has written for publications including the Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Source, and British GQ.

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