Lessons in Philanthropy: The Legacy of Barb McInnes This book’s 36 lessons on trust, humility, and collaboration are from the heart and a very engaging read for anyone who wishes to build community.
Community foundations across the U.K. are navigating growing complexity in a time of rising community need, shifting donor expectations, place-based inequality, and pressure to demonstrate impact. Lessons in Philanthropy offers something rare and deeply practical: a values-led, field-tested guide to how community foundations work at their best.
This is not a theoretical or personal text. It is a practitioner’s book drawn from three decades of leadership at the Ottawa Community Foundation. Each chapter distils a lesson—trust-building, governance, donor engagement, risk-taking, youth participation, community power, and systems change—that U.K. community foundation professionals will immediately be able to apply.
Immediate Professional Utility
- Practical guidance on building trust as an asset.
- Real-world examples of funding small, grassroots organisations.
- Real-world lessons on donor-advised funds “where they are”.
- Actionable insights on governance and leadership at senior levels,.
- Models for youth-led and community-led philanthropy.
Each chapter can be used in staff discussions, board development sessions, or peer learning.
Contribution to the Field
The book reinforces a place-based philosophy:
- Community foundations as convenors, not just grant makers
- Philanthropy as a long-term civic endeavour, not a series of projects
- Leadership rooted in shared ownership of outcomes
Why UKCF Members Should Read This Book
For trustees, CEOs, and staff across the UKCF network, this book serves as:
- A mirror, reflecting the best of what community foundations already do
- A compass, helping leaders stay oriented to purpose amid operational pressure
- A toolkit, offering concrete approaches that can be adapted to UK places and communities
In capturing the legacy of one remarkable leader, Lessons in Philanthropy ultimately does something bigger: it affirms the enduring relevance—and quiet power—of the community foundation model itself.
About Barb McInnes, Order of Canada: Lessons in Philanthropy: The Legacy of Barb McInnes distills the wisdom of one of Canada’s most respected philanthropic leaders – into practical, human lessons on trust, humility, and collaboration.
Barb helped shape the community foundation movement in Canada and beyond. As President and CEO of the Ottawa Community Foundation for 27 years, Barb championed local action while forging national and international connections that strengthened philanthropy everywhere. Her influence extended far beyond Ottawa-she helped build Community Foundations of Canada, the Transatlantic Community Foundation Network, supported the creation of new foundations across Canada and Europe, and sat on the strategic planning committee of the Council on Foundations in Washington D.C.