Foundations of Success’ Post

Yesterday, our Senior Programme Manager Nina Saalismaa was invited by Cartier for Nature and SwissFoundations to participate in a roundtable focused on achieving impact at scale. This event underscored the importance of effective strategies in conservation efforts. Many foundations working in the conservation sector gathered to explore "Taking Conservation to Scale," a framework designed to help organisations meet ambitious environmental goals. This innovative framework offers strategies for scaling efforts, a decision tree for selecting the right approach, and tools to clarify roles and necessary actions. By adopting this framework, conservation teams can significantly enhance their impact. Committed to continuously learning and sharing knowledge and best practices with stakeholders, Nina stated: "As a funder, I find this tool very useful for assessing proposals from potential partners who want to scale. Everyone wants to, but we often lack the vocabulary and understanding of what it takes to build a robust scaling strategy."

Impact at Scale?. The FOS Scaling Challenge – a step-by-step method that you can use to road-test your scaling idea.

As I was reflecting on my recent #research into the #philanthropic #landscape across Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, France, and Spain, I was struck by the incredible diversity of strategies and initiatives led by key figures in each country. In Italy, we see the leadership of 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗿𝗼, Ferrero Group, investing in social development and sustainability. In Germany, 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻and the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt are transforming corporate responsibility into real community impact. 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗷ö𝗿𝗴 𝗪𝘆𝘀𝘀 in Switzerland continues to make groundbreaking contributions to environmental conservation. Meanwhile, Anastasia Soare, originally from Romania, has extended her beauty empire's success to empower women through education. In France, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻ç𝗼𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 is blending art, culture, and philanthropy to create lasting legacies. And in Spain, 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗼 𝗢𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗮 quietly leads with impactful donations to healthcare and social programs. Each of these philanthropists exemplifies the vision of strategic giving—focused on sustainable impact, transparency, and collaboration. I would be incredibly honored to interview them for our magazine, IMPACT RENACTIMENTO MAGAZINE, to explore their insights and experiences further. I believe there’s so much we can learn from these leaders as we continue to foster partnerships between corporations and NGOs to drive purposeful social investment across Europe. What lessons do you think we can take from their approaches? #StrategicPhilanthropy #ImpactLeadership #Renactimento

Let’s face it. The challenges that we currently face – climate, biodiversity, food security, geopolitics, defence – are so enormous that they cannot possibly be addressed through conventional philanthropic channels alone. Steffen Pierini Lüders, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Steen Thomsen, Copenhagen Business School write on the role of enterprise foundations in addressing our greatest challenges! Read it here! https://bit.ly/4c6dgLP

Let’s face it. The challenges that we currently face – climate, biodiversity, food security, geopolitics, defence – are so enormous that they cannot possibly be addressed through conventional philanthropic channels alone. Steffen Pierini Lüders, Novo Nordisk Foundation and Steen Thomsen, Copenhagen Business School write on the role of enterprise foundations in addressing our greatest challenges! Read it here! https://bit.ly/4c6dgLP

Get the new report on the Future of Philanthropy ⭐️ “Futures Philanthropy: Anticipation for the Common Good”, explores how and why philanthropy could play a role in fostering anticipation for the common good and what anticipation looks like when it is put in the service of society and common interests.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞    Today, the Business Case by ESSEC Business School on the Degroof Petercam Foundation was presented during Webinaire Initiative Racines.   We had the pleasure of hearing from: 👉 Arthur Gautier (Associate Professor at ESSEC Business School, Chair Holder of the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair, Associate Dean for Chairs) 👉 Xavier Van Campenhout (President of the Degroof Petercam Foundation)   Xavier Van Campenhout shared insightful details about the DPF's dual approach: "The DPF Award addresses changemakers across Europe by selecting and financing Europe’s most ambitious systemic social innovations for sustainable employment. Complementarily, the Lab program addresses beneficiaries by proactively identifying, every 2 years, a thematic issue related to employment in Belgium to develop innovative solutions."   Our convictions on impact: - Betting on talent and trust - Increasing the value of donations - Reducing the cost per supported project   Want to learn more? Watch the replay here: https://lnkd.in/enWrcKqX #DegroofPetercamFoundation #DegroofPetercam #Philanthropy #SocialInnovation

💭 🎇 Almost two weeks ago, our team members Kylie Charlton, Neeraj Aggarwal and Caitlin James attended the Philanthropy Australia Conference in Adelaide, along with 1,000+ other delegates. It was a wonderful opportunity to shift focus for a few days and learn from the incredible talent that had gathered to share their experiences, all with the goal of increasing the level and impact of philanthropy in Australia. A few standouts in the program from our team include: - Site visit to Ngutu College with Andrew Plastow and Catherine Baldwin - Panel discussion on the role of First Nations people within philanthropy, moderated by Leah Armstrong with Michelle Steele, Leeroy Bilney and Brian Wyborn - Stacey Thomas' truth telling of the history of The Wyatt Trust - Keynotes from James Chen on 'moonshot philanthropy', Sara Lomelin on collective giving and Danny Kennedy on climate philanthropy - Breakfast gathering on Australia's COP31 opportunity It was great to see breakfast and breakout sessions on 'Shared Capital' touching on how foundations can be catalysts for impact and climate investing. In line with Aii's philosophy, these sessions challenged delegates to think holistically about the capital over which they steward, and how the impact they have is the sum of both their granting and investing activities. We were delighted to see some of our clients - The Snow Foundation and Ingrid Albert from The Tony Foundation (Alberts ) - participating in these sessions. Looking forward, integrating impact alongside risk and reward in investing activities will be crucial to aligning the >$50 billion in philanthropic vehicles in Australia with more positive social and environmental outcomes. Our Investment Director, speaks to this in the video below. If you want to hear more about aligning your portfolio with your philanthropic initiatives, reach out to the team for a conversation! #philanthropy #impact #paconference2024

I disagree. This article by Philanthropy Asia Alliance claims: “Giving today is moving towards catalytic philanthropy, away from traditional cheque-book giving, mostly as a result of the desire for more evidence-based outcomes.” I never knew a donor who wrote a cheque without evidence-based outcomes.  I prefer to celebrate ‘traditional cheque-book giving’, for that is how many important institutions, such as Nanyang Technological University Singapore and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, were founded. Donor cheques continue to fuel excellence in universities and hospitals. ‘Traditional cheque-book giving’ also funds a huge range of arts organisations and vital social care causes, especially through Community Chest Singapore, with catalytic philanthropic impact. Philanthropic public private partnerships have a long pedigree in Singapore too. Philanthropist Tan Kim Seng partnered with the authorities to fund the first public water works in 1857. Singapore government has for years partnered with philanthropists by matching gifts to education dollar for dollar. However, where this article makes an important point is the scale of climate change and I commend the efforts of Philanthropy Asia Alliance in creating partnerships to meet this challenge.

Webinar on the new report on the future of philanthropy 🤝 The report “Futures Philanthropy: Anticipation for the Common Good”, is the first collaborative endeavour to translate foresight into the context of European philanthropy. The report is created in proud collaboration with Philea - Philanthropy Europe Association and we look forward to sharing it on May 2nd. Sign up to the webinar here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHfZJerR The future is unfolding all around and we are in touch with it every day, whether through the ideas we generate, the strategies and programmes we design, the partnerships and collaborations we embark on, or through the aspirations, emotions, and goals we nurture within ourselves. The future is not a distant void detached from the current moment and the journey to better anticipate and imagine it begins now. But no single approach to the future holds all the answers. The event will not only see the launch of the Futures Philanthropy publication, but an inclusive conversation on the aspirations of philanthropy in Europe, with a particular focus on practical applications and strategies that participants can implement within their own communities. If you have any questions or want to take part in the discussion around the future of philanthropy, please reach to Hanna Stähle 👋 Head of Foresight and Innovation at Philea or Nicklas Larsen 👋 Senior Advisor and Futurist at the Institute. Also a thanks to the team 💪 Alina S. - Delphine Moralis - Daria (Dasha) Krivonos #philanthropy #foresight #futuresthinking Jonas Gissel Mikkelsen - Toke Hanghøj - Thor Svanholm Gustavfson