We’re looking to hear from you, and are welcoming proposals for WINGSForum 2017. To find out more, be sure to visit the official WINGSForum website here, and apply today! Looking forward to hearing from you, and be sure to follow the #WF2017 hashtag on Twitter to keep up to date with the latest news!
“Turkey is usually described as a bridge between different cultures and people, like WINGS, which has diverse members all around the world. This resemblance between Turkey and WINGS contributed to the Forum in a way that the many participants interactively participated to the sessions by acknowledging the importance of voicing and sharing diverse ideas at…
News An Interview with Avila Kilmurray Interested in how you can encourage your organization, and those around you, to practice philanthropy with a deeper impact? Are organizations in your network struggling to make grantmaking decisions that engage with the root cause of the injustice they are trying to address? PSJP just published Grantmaking for Social…
Maria Chertok (CAF) will take the role of WINGS Chairperson in January 2016, succeeding Dr. Atallah Kuttab of SAANED. We asked them to reflect on the evolution of WINGS and to share what’s in store for the network.
This WINGSForum 2014 concurrent session introduced WINGS’ work in elaborating the Global Philanthropy Data Charter—a set of principles and a framework to improve the use of data. This first version came out of a meeting in Rio de Janeiro and three webinars involving more than 60 people. The findings were consolidated in a second meeting and will be reviewed next year.
In this recap of WINGSForum 2014, Jane Mayer of WINGS reflects on how collaboration and diversity contributed to a successful event, and we share for the first time our comprehensive conference evaluation.
Beulah Fredericks of SACGLF shares grantmaking lessons in a “network” context, from this year’s WINGSForum in Istanbul. “Ownership and sustainability, critical components in the DNA of grantmaking, are being embraced with longevity beyond funding and the grant cycle. Although grantmaking is not easily understood, it remains an important tool.”
“The fact that the Forum was held in Istanbul was a powerful reminder that foundations are part of civil society rather than standing aloof from it. The notorious decision of the Turkish president to ban tweeting made tweeters of the most Luddite of us, to make clear that we don’t like being banned even from those freedoms that ordinarily we don’t value very much, such as speaking truth to power in 140 characters or fewer.”
Fiona Budd, business development manager for Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa, looks back at WINGSForum in Istanbul. “CAF is the oldest member organization of WINGS, and it is rare to have an opportunity to connect with those whose work is so connected to my own.”
In our latest WINGSForum 2014 reaction piece, Ansis Bērziņš of the Community Foundation Movement in Latvia emphasises the role of data in strengthening community identity. “Reliable data is a tool that explains what philanthropy is, what grantmakers do, and how these concepts can contribute to local communities. Data can and does show that we are not alone.”
Lourdes Sanz-Moguel of CEMEFI reflects on WINGSForum 2014 and the importance of communicating the benefits of networking. “Understanding the network and its power is especially important for WINGS members that are membership associations, because it provides a set of insights they can pass down to their own membership, in order to continue the work and inspire new levels of commitment.”
Heba Abou Shnief, Research Advisor for the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, considers a growing movement towards community-inspired solutions. “Looking back at the Arab transitions, there are lessons to be learned by institutionalised grantmaking, where social movements and innovative solutions to crises and pressing social problems did not happen in the institutionalised sector, but rather did so in the informal space.”
Ambika Satkunanathan (Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust) responds to Avila Kilmurray’s WINGSForum 2014 presentation, The Role of Philanthropy in Difficult Times. “As the only indigenous philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting social justice and peace initiatives in Sri Lanka, NTT has occupied a position that while being unique has also required us to deal with a number of challenges.”
Esther Tan, assistant director for NVPC, makes the case for foundations to contribute their data for public good. “Data as a public good brings many benefits to the civic sector, according to proponents of open data; it promotes transparency, enhances visibility of the sector’s work, and gives a clearer picture of foundations’ work and how it fits into the existing philanthropic development landscape.”
Agata Tomaszewska, project coordinator for the Polish Donors Forum, looks at philanthropy recruitment following a concurrent session on talent management at WINGSForum 2014 in Istanbul. “I agree that from all assets, people matter the most. But I know how we in fact pay little attention to people in our everyday work. Foundations and grantmaking are about money. However, it’s high time to start realising that it’s not all about this.”
The Foundation Center’s PhilanTopic blog caught up with Joan Spero, author of a new report that looks at philanthropy in the BRIC countries, to get her take on the spread of Western-style philanthropy to other parts of the globe. Written and researched in collaboration with WINGS, the report identifies the cultural, economic, social, and political forces that are shaping giving in the BRICs and examines the growth of the philanthropic sector in each of the four countries.
Christen Dobson, program director for International Human Rights Funders Group, asks grantmaker associations if they are acting in line with their missions. “Many associations aim to support progressive social change, yet how have we contributed to addressing the most acute problems plaguing our societies? How have we contributed to creating a more just and equitable world?”
Chandrika Sahai, network coordinator for the Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace, asks how foundations can collectively ensure transformational impact in the sector, bringing attention to the critical role associations play in building trust and driving innovation. “I’m hoping that, through WINGS, discussions about a network approach in philanthropy will include the role of associations as leaders of innovation, and as the glue that binds the field together.”
Jenny Hodgson (GFCF) unveils the recently-established collaborative aimed at advancing the practice of community philanthropy worldwide. “We will be drawing on our experiences of using our grantmaking to develop an evidence base for the global community philanthropy field, drawn from a diversity of circumstances, institutions and contexts. There is certainly a need for some radical new thinking about what the future architecture for civil society funding might look like.”
He Daofeng, executive president of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and chair of the China Foundation Center, was chosen as the winner of the Olga Alexeeva Memorial Prize on 27 March at WINGSForum in Istanbul. Following the announcement, Doafeng talked to Alliance magazine’s Caroline Hartnell about philanthropy in China and his own role in its development.
Philanthropy in Focus 