Submission Guidelines
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At Philanthrope Internationale, Building the Business of Benevolence is our mission. We believe that improvements in the philanthropic sector at the meso level make all work in philanthropy stronger, more efficient, and more effective. By sharing collective knowledge and best practices from some of the foremost experts in the field of philanthropy, we create a compendium of theory and management that benefits all constituencies.
“Our readers are smart and extremely busy; they want to work smarter, not harder.”
If you have new research, a fresh perspective on a current event or perennial challenges, or data that can be shared across multiple disciplines and fields of practice, we want to know about it and we want to share that knowledge with other philanthropists.
To support the philanthropic industry, [PI] has several holdings. Our portfolio is diverse and it’s always expanding. Here’s a list of current initiatives where your submissions may be included.
PHILANTHROPOLOGY Magazine
Society, Culture, Wealth & Philanthropy
@ThePhilanthrope
Official blog of Philanthropology Magazine & purveyor of curated content
Philanthropologist
Professional Journal of Philanthropy
PhilanthroKids Labs
Little minds taking on big challenges
TEDxPhilanthropy
Global Incubator & Salon. We put ideas into action
Article Submission Query (opens a new window)
We receive many more submissions than we can possibly publish. We do have to say no to a lot of pieces, including a lot of good ones. However, if we’ve previously passed on something you’ve submitted, please feel free to try again with another idea or angle. If one of our editors has said no multiple times, it probably means your work just isn’t a good fit for our audience.
All submissions are made on spec. It’s helpful if you send us a short pitch first so that we can give you early feedback, but we want to see a full draft before officially accepting a piece for publication. This is true even if we’ve asked you to write it, and even if you’ve written for us before. Because we value your time and that of our editors and staff, we recommend all submissions are pitched to our editors first. Send your pitch here.
“Bring us your message, then trust us to amplify it.”
Like the field of philanthropy our subject matter is broad in scope, yet our editorial process is quite thorough. An editor may ask for revisions of your original piece to better suit our readers’ needs and expectations; every piece submitted is reviewed at least twice before publishing, and peer reviews are encouraged for each piece published. Trust that the care and attention to detail each piece receives benefits our writers and our readers exponentially.
We retain final decision rights on headlines for all [PI] submissions. Our analytics help determine which headlines will have the best chance of being read, found in search, and shared both on social media and in offices around the world. Your submission to one publication is likely to be cross-pollinated with other [PI] holdings and affiliates to achieve the broadest reach possible. Bring us your message, then trust us to amplify it.
If you are a research fellow or organization and have published white papers or reports that you would like to submit, we will consider allowing you to share your work with our constituency. Of course, you retain all rights to your work product, but we do not offer a revenue generating platform for our contributors at this time. Summaries with links to reports that exist behind a paywall are not accepted. Your submissions must be available to and openly accessible by the general public.
We welcome ideas based on research papers and related to books, too, but we don’t publish pieces that have appeared elsewhere or that come across as promotional. Please don’t submit something written by your PR representative or a ghostwriter. We want you to write your article yourself, in your own voice.
Submissions to [PI] are considered as follows:
Does the work have an authoritative voice?
You don’t have to be well known or previously published to be a contributor to our publications, but you must know a lot about the subject you’re writing about and be able to convey that knowledge to others.
Is the work well supported and easily understood?
It’s not enough to know your subject deeply; you have to demonstrate your subject knowledge to the reader. Referring to supporting research is one good way to do this; describing relevant examples is another. If you have data, let us know — we can help you create charts that will make your ideas more sharable. Our audience is keen for new research, and [PI] offers a great platform for sharing it.
Does it offer a fresh perspective or paradigm shift?
Best practices are always a great asset to our profession. But if you’re writing about a well-worn topic, you need to find a fresh approach. The best way to do this is to be very specific and to rely on your own research, observations, and experience.
What’s the learning curve?
Our readers come to us not just to stay on top of new developments in philanthropic thinking and practicums, but also to get help changing the way they and their organizations actually do things. If you can explain your thinking so that the reader understands how to begin to apply it in a real situation, that will make it a lot more powerful. If your idea would be more useful as an interactive graphic, assessment, checklist, or tool, we are happy to work with you on those, too — we recognize that not everything is best expressed as an article.
Is the topic balanced with clarity, brevity and interest?
Our readers are smart and extremely busy; they want to work smarter, not harder. If you don’t capture their interest right away, they will not hesitate before moving on to something else. Don’t bury the lead. Get straight to the point in the first paragraph, avoid jargon to the extent possible, and devote time to making your language sharp and your voice compelling throughout. Remember, all facts are friendly so be sure to cite your evidence and references properly.
If you want to share your research with our audience but you don’t have the time or you don’t think you can do justice to it in writing yourself, let us know — we might interview you about it instead.
Thanks for considering working with us. We look forward to working with you.
[PI] Philanthrope Internationale
