Bridging philanthropy and development forum: day two

Day two kicked off with a presentation by Rob Garris, Managing Director of Bellagio Programs, of key findings from the paper on risk and philanthropy commissioned following the Bellagio Summit in 2011. The group then split to discuss key areas of risk identified in the report, and to address how to reduce operational and impact risks in philanthropy. 

Anchors for philanthropic decision-making

Defining ‘anchors’ as the intrinsic biases we hold, it was agreed that anchors influencing philanthropic decision-making can be based on: 

  • Past experience 
  • Perceived outcomes
  • Karma 
  • Relationships and trust

A venture philanthropist from Singapore spoke of how his experience running a foundation shifted the anchor he had from his experience in the financial world which had made him only consider quantitative results to be important. He now also appreciates the significance of qualitative indicators when applied to development. 

Risk and return for philanthropic investors

Discussion focused on the return expected by philanthropic investors, which is social rather than financial. Philanthropists explained that they are not risk-averse but are only willing to take informed, not blind, risk. They require organisations to demonstrate that their investments will be used effectively, using business planning principles such as key performance indicators. Philanthropists also expressed that they are willing to work in partnership with organisations to support and advise them to reduce risk. 

Some development actors spoke of the difficulty of demonstrating tangible outcomes for ‘risky’ causes such as advocacy, rights and social justice. Alternative methods were discussed for measuring the change that the organisations make, such as happiness indicators. 

Business as alternative to aid for development

Some development actors admitted their mistrust of the business sector, which came as a surprise to some of the philanthropists. Suspicion exists in Africa about the ulterior motives that they may have for investing there. 

A venture philanthropist presented a case study of his work setting up a game reserve in the poorest part of South Africa and spoke of the need to focus less on the causes of poverty and more of the creation of equitable wealth, including job creation and making employees shareholders of the business. This not only expands the tax base so the government can provide more services such as healthcare and education but also provides the employees with capital they can invest to improve their and their family’s future.  

Taking it forward beyond this meeting and towards more strategic philanthropy for development

Discussions identified actions that could make future philanthropy more strategic. Takeaways from the two days included specific actions for the Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation to look at putting into practice, including:

 

  • Credible directory/knowledge bank with data on both philanthropic and development actors
  • Case studies documenting both successes and failures in philanthropy
  • Guidance for new generation philanthropists, and mentoring from those with more experience
  • Additional forums to bring together philanthropists and development actors.

 

The Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation will now set to work on ensuring that these ideas are prioritised and developed.

What changed for these philanthropists and development actors

The final session closed with a reflection from the participants on what they would do differently as a result of their experience at the forum. Some of the changes included: 

 

  • A development practitioner from Kenya sceptical of the motivations of business has become more open to the potential for enterprise solutions to development
  • A retail entrepreneur/philanthropist from India is planning to change his business model to make it more sustainable 
  • A venture philanthropist from Singapore is now more encouraged to engage in cross-border philanthropy.

 

Thank you!

We would like to thank all of the participants in this forum for their valuable contributions over the past two days, and to wish everyone a safe journey home from Bellagio.

We feel that some of the bridges this forum set out to build have already begun to take shape. We are now looking forward to working on the actions outlined for supporting more strategic philanthropy for development in Africa and Asia. 

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