Reimagining Philanthropy for Systemic Change
A Better Giving Blueprint from the 2024 Skoll World Forum
Explore additional insights from our comprehensive conference coverage of the 2024 Skoll World Forum.
A key theme that emerged from this year’s Skoll World Forum discussions was the need for a fundamental shift in how philanthropy approaches systems change. In a powerful panel discussion, three leading voices in the field — Bernadette Moffat of ELMA Philanthropies Services (Africa), Celia Cruz of Instituto Beja, and Hilary Pennington of the Ford Foundation — shared their insights on how funders can more effectively support long-term, equitable social transformation.
Key Takeaways
The Challenges of Systems Change
The panelists began by acknowledging the profound complexity of systems change work. “We’ve had so many discussions across so many rooms about no matter what the issue, whether it’s climate change, whether it’s democracy, education, healthcare, you name it,” noted moderator Nidhi Sahni, Partner and Head of US Advisory at the Bridgespan Group. “The reason we are working on the outcomes that are so horrendous in so many cases today is because the systems that are in place today have been set up to create the outcomes that we have today.”
Pennington shared that even the Ford Foundation, with its 80-year history and vast resources, has not fully solved a single problem it has sought to address. Research by the Bridgespan Group suggests the median time to achieve durable change is 45 years — far longer than most funders conceive. Rising polarization and misinformation only make the broad collaboration needed even harder.
From Projects to People Power
So what can funders do differently? The panelists pointed to the need to move from narrow, short-term, technocratic approaches to more patient, trust-based practices that invest in the agency and leadership of grantees. “The single most important thing that any society needs as issues change is organizations that have enough stability in their funding and predictability in that funding to be themselves the first movers and the innovators,” argued Pennington. She highlighted Ford Foundation’s Building Institutions and Networks (BUILD) initiative, which provides five-year general operating support, as an example of this shift.
Moffat of ELMA Philanthropies Services emphasized the importance of deferring to the expertise of local leaders and organizations closest to the issues. In South Africa, rather than building new childcare centers, ELMA invested in the largely women-led community-based providers already meeting the need. “I think the one thing we need to teach funders, particularly Global North funders, is really to work with local partners,” she said. “And understand that the people at the local level are the people who are closest to the problem. And now on a daily basis, struggling with the solution. And your money can help them accelerate what they are doing.”
Embracing Collaboration and Intersectionality
The speakers also stressed the value of broad collaboration across sectors and siloes, even in the face of disagreement. Cruz shared how her organization, Instituto Beja, successfully built a 10-year cross-sector coalition in Brazil to strengthen the impact investing ecosystem nationally and regionally.
Applying an intersectional lens to see the connections between issues like racial equity, democracy, and climate change is also vital. In addition to removing the often rigid issue siloes in philanthropy, the sector must also address the stark inequities between the Global North and South in terms of where funding and power is concentrated.
Reckoning with Power and Possibility
Perhaps most fundamentally, the philanthropic sector must reckon with and reform its own inequitable power dynamics. “Foundations do love to be criticized by their grantees,” observed Pennington wryly. “They just don’t do anything as a result of the criticism.” She and the other panelists urged funders to invite grantees to constructively challenge them and to diversify their decision-making tables, including bringing grantee voices onto boards.
Despite the daunting complexities, the speakers also sounded notes of hope. Investing in next generation leadership offers exciting potential. “What gives me hope is young people,” said Moffat. “I think we too often kind of invest in people who are similar to us, whether they have our same culture or our age, or our gender. We have to invest in young people. And the thoughts that we are getting from some of the young leaders that have emerged are just so exciting.”
Upcoming convenings like the G20 and Climate COP in Brazil also present opportunities to model more inclusive, participatory approaches. As Cruz noted, “Brazil is giving the much more space for like, from the racial issues from gender issues, LGBT, Amazon people to bring their voice before the G20 to design the recommendations.”
Call to Action
For the social entrepreneurs and impact investors in the audience, the panel’s insights offer both inspiration and a powerful call to action. They emphasized the importance of enabling the next generation of more diverse leaders. The discussions around providing patient, flexible capital and empowering local innovators are highly relevant for impact investors looking to catalyze long-term change. And the emphasis on cultivating next generation talent is an invitation for entrepreneurs to help build that pipeline.
Ultimately, realizing the full potential of philanthropy to drive equitable systems change will require all of us to stretch beyond business as usual. We must overturn the systemic imbalances and injustices not just in the world around us, but within our own organizations and networks. It is a daunting undertaking, but one filled with possibility when we join together with humility, trust, and an unwavering commitment to the long-term work of transformation.
Featured Speakers
- Celia Cruz, CEO, Instituto Beja
- Bernadette Moffat, Executive Director, ELMA Philanthropies Services (Africa)
- Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President, The Ford Foundation
- Nidhi Sahni, Partner and Head of US Advisory, Bridgespan Group
Learn More
Watch this session in its entirety and explore additional #SkollWF 2024 sessions on the organization’s YouTube channel.
Our StartingUpGood team believes that events and conferences are great places to learn, share ideas, and innovate. We are committed to using our innovative tech tools to share key insights and learnings from top conferences. This article uses Otter.ai to create transcripts and various LLMs to generate content summaries. All work is hand-checked for quality.
StartingUpGood supports fresh entrepreneurial approaches to social impact. FOLLOW US on social media:
Check out SDGCounting for the latest news on tracking the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals. #SDGs #GlobalGoals
