Our world and planet are in crisis. From climate change and inequality to unchecked Artificial Intelligence and pandemic risks, we face a global polycrisis that poses existential threats to humanity. Philanthropic organisations can lead, support and enable change but to rise to the challenge we need to transform ourselves, our practices, and our institutions.
The Philanthropy Transformation Initiative (PTI) is a collaborative effort to bring together principles, resources and stories from across the globe and build a movement for transforming philanthropy so that it can achieve its full potential. The Philanthropy Transformation Initiative Report, one of the milestones of this initiative, is out now. Read it here.
From our discussions and research, three key mindset shifts for the transformation of philanthropy have emerged that apply equally at an individual, organisational and sectoral level:
1. Enable change: We need to shift the thinking of philanthropy actors from being achievers to enablers. This means enabling civil society organisations, peers, and communities, as well as other sectors, such as markets and governments, to contribute to social change at a greater scale.
2. Walk the talk: Philanthropy must be consistent with itself. Currently, there can be a disconnect between different parts of an organisation regarding how they understand and live their vision, mission, and values. Philanthropy needs to align operations, endowments, and programmes with its values and the way wealth is generated in the first place.
3. Think about and create the future: Philanthropy must keep the future of humanity in sight and act in line with that today. The need for deep reflection and transformation of philanthropy has persisted for many years, but the realities of the polycrisis mean that this is an urgent imperative transcending geography, culture or partisanship. Philanthropy needs to adopt a long-term view to better respond to these existential threats.
Philanthropy practitioners, institutions and the sector at large are questioning themselves and their practices, continuing to learn and exchange ideas on how they can do better. The transformation agenda is the result of an ongoing quest to be better and do better. To help clarify what that means in practice, we have identified ten key principles to guide philanthropy’s transformation.
In order to harness our collective intelligence, we are gathering case studies that highlight best practices, ideas, reflections and research from across the sector and that will encourage capacity-building, collaboration and support. We welcome contributions from organisations around the world.
Fundación Soymás (Soymás), founded in 2017, is a non-profit organisation located in Santiago, Chile. It runs a programme for teenage mothers living in the commune of La Pintana, which offers vocational training as well as psychological and social support.
The Foundation of Greater Montréal (FGM) is a community foundation committed to serving and listening to its community and dedicated to its collective well-being.
Since 1999, the Avon Foundation has been dedicated to defending women’s rights, promoting their health, and safeguarding their physical, social and emotional integrity.
The Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation (UICF) was established in 2018 to close the gap between the philanthropic sector and Atlantic Indigenous Communities.
The Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT) is a community foundation dedicated to fostering sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and cultural preservation in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region.
The Segal Family Foundation (SFF) is a social impact funder and advisor. It invests in visionary local leaders with bold ideas and huge potential to transform society and helps progressive donors do the same.
The Philanthropy Transformation Initiative is a collective effort that brings together philanthropy’s collective intelligence, insights and wisdom. It reflects and builds on a great number of debates, reports, guides, tools, and practices that our members and partners have developed in their respective spheres of influence.
Below you can find resources from across the world, from a variety of types of philanthropies and on a huge diversity of issues. We will constantly update these resources and welcome your contributions.
In order to harness our collective intelligence, we are gathering stories of transformation that highlight your organisation’s implementation of one or more of the 10 principles of transformation. Please share your story with us. We will review your submission and contact you to discuss it further.
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