EY CEO Outlook: Rethinking Ireland’s approach to philanthropy, with Deirdre Mortell, Rethink Ireland

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From an early age, Deirdre Mortell wanted to ‘change the world’. A very active participant in student politics, Mortell left UCC with a Masters in Women’s Studies but with no clear sense of what came next and “sort of fell into the non-profit sector and particularly into fundraising”. Today, she leads one of Ireland’s largest social innovation funds, with almost €100m raised and 400 innovations backed.

Rethink Ireland was created by the Irish government following the last economic crash with the aim of restimulating philanthropy during the recession. Having built high-performance teams for non-profits such as Oxfam, Barnardos, and Headstrong, and co-founding The One Foundation with Declan Ryan, Mortell was appointed CEO of Rethink in 2014. Her mission is not just to fund the organisations tackling Ireland's critical social issues, it’s also to transform the entire culture of fundraising and philanthropy in Ireland.

They also discuss:

• The most common “demoralising” myths about the non-profit sector
• The culture of philanthropy in Ireland (‘D’ grade, must try harder) and how Rethink Ireland is helping to improve it
• Mortell’s experience in student politics and setting up the political party, The Women’s Alliance
• Creating The One Foundation with Declan Ryan and what they managed to achieve in 10 years.
• Rethink Ireland’s manifesto 2030 – a vision for the Ireland we want to live in

For your convenience, a full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.