
Thanks you to everyone who participated in our bridging philanthropy and development forum last week, either in person or online. Here's a few highlights from @theresalliance live tweets:
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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:
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:
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:
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.
Rob Garris, Managing Director for Bellagio Programs at the Rockefeller Foundation, tells us more about the upcoming forum and introduces some of the main topics that will be discussed in Bellagio later this month:
"Last November at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center, Awkasi Aidoo of Trust Africa encouraged us not to think about doing philanthropy for development, but instead to think of “philanthropy as development.” His comment carried a lot of meaning: philanthropy should be embedded in emerging economies and build on local traditions of giving and mutuality so that new wealth is shared, and shared wisely. Philanthropy should seek to solve underlying causes of poverty. Philanthropy should, as John D. Rockefeller suggested in 1913, improve human well-being around the world.
The diverse participants from philanthropy and development at last year’s summit shared broad goals and values, but have different ways of working and different understandings, sometimes, of the worlds in which we work. We are excited to partner with Resource Alliance to continue this conversation, again at the Bellagio Center, just a few weeks from now.
Last year, we asked an experienced group how to improve human well-being through collaboration and cross-learning between philanthropy and development. This year we have invited a group of new philanthropists, primarily from Africa and Asia, to work through some of the themes that emerged last year from the perspective of their own work. On the table for discussion: how to balance risk and opportunity to maximize results; how to build trust with partners;, and how to spot and build on community-based innovations? I also expect we’ll generate new questions and hopefully offer a few answers, too.
We hope that our guests will teach and learn from each other, and sharpen our thinking on these issues. We’ll share with you here and on Twitter what we learn as the discussions unfold. Stay tuned!"
Working with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Resource Alliance is hosting a forum to convene new philanthropists from Asia and Africa and development practitioners.
The forum takes place at the Bellagio Center in Italy from 26-29 June 2012, and will explore how development issues in these regions can influence and engage philanthropists as well as systemic factors that can create opportunities and risks for philanthropists.
Neelam Makhijani, Chief Executive at the Resource Alliance, tells us more about the event -- and how you can participate, in person or online.