The world is changing at breakneck speed, creating the urgent need for philanthropy’s rapid transformation. We can remain reactive funders responding to escalating change or we can actively embrace, and more importantly, shape this change – transforming philanthropy to one that is more collaborative, locally-driven and innovation focused. The choice we make will determine whether philanthropy becomes increasingly irrelevant—or more essential than ever.
In this newsletter the featured articles show how new forms of collaboration, innovation and locally led change are transforming philanthropy.
We look at collective social innovation as an alternate way to tackle complex social challenges as the problems we are addressing – from climate adaptation to youth unemployment – are simply too interconnected and too complex for any one organization to solve alone. IPASA’s unique positioning makes it possible for us to convene, collaborate, and catalyse a range of stakeholders in ways others cannot, and it allows us to facilitate and lead innovation in philanthropy.
Philanthropy’s participation in the JET Funding Platform has also demonstrated a positive development in independent funders’ involvement in effective multi-sector collaboration to support the Just Energy Transition.
We delve into the need for philanthropy to think more innovatively about how we fund with impact investing demonstrating one of the ways how financial innovation can accelerate solutions in clean energy, entrepreneurship, and food security amongst other areas we seek to address.
We feature how innovation in technology such as EdTech innovations can harness philanthropy’s unique capacity to nurture breakthrough solutions. We also show how our innovation advantage extends beyond technology – exploring how funders can innovate in measurement, moving beyond narrow metrics to systems-thinking approaches that communities help define. Our evaluation approaches must evolve to centre communities’ voices in defining impact and how we account for the complex, non-linear nature of systems change.
We highlight how philanthropy can back civil society in creating alternative spaces where different voices can be heard and different solutions can emerge, shown through the People’s Summit planned as part of the G20 events in November. South Africa’s G20 presidency has also offered an unprecedented opportunity to amplify the voices of those most affected by climate change. As the global climate debate shifts from mitigation to adaptation and resilience, philanthropy can champion community-led adaptation solutions that promote local knowledge and indigenous innovation
In this newsletter we also show how, for transformation to progress successfully, we need to invest in the people and organisations doing the work. As the development sector faces increasing pressure and complexity, supporting the wellbeing and adaptive capacity of our implementation partners isn’t just good practice—it’s strategic necessity.
Philanthropy can transform to be the sector that takes risks others won’t take; funds innovation others can’t back; and champions voices others don’t hear – transformation to a collaborative ecosystem where innovation thrives, local voices lead, and systemic change becomes possible. What emerges from the articles in this newsletter is a clear picture of philanthropy in transition—not just responding to change but catalysing change and actively creating the conditions for transformation.