Giving Compass' Take:

• At the recent 'Emerging Trends in Philanthropy' conference, there were discussions around the failure to address important details of change management, according to Filiz Bikmen.

• How can the specifics of change management be incorporated into discussions of broader philanthropic trends? Why is this important? 

• Read about five ways charitable giving is likely to change in 2019.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF) decided to embark on a strategic review process and as part of this journey, invited approximately 150 guests to join in on the reflections at the ‘Emerging Trends in Philanthropy’ conference.

CGF President Ms. Isabel Mota referred to five themes influencing leadership’s discussion on defining new strategies which included:

  • Changing roles and approaches of allocating private wealth for public good
  • Making use of technology, big data and AI
  • New financing mechanisms such as impact investments and Social Impact Bonds
  • Allocations of endowment funds to new types of assets
  • Balancing act of keeping to core CGF values of inclusion, accountability and collaboration while also embracing innovation, creativity and diversity

Rien ven Gendt shared five trends and realities of institutional philanthropy, which CGF are considering as they re-evaluate the commitment, relevance, strategy, programmatic concerns and operating model. They included shifts from:

  • Donating to combination of donating and investing
  • Funding projects to funding larger programs; or in other words, from shorter term approaches to deeper engagement which also involves convening, thought leadership and advocacy
  • Identifying symptoms to root causes and using evidence based philanthropic methodologies
  • Working alone to working in partnership- with other foundations AND sectors
  • Disconnected and reactive activities to cohesive and proactive strategies

Yet one of my main observations from the event was what wasn’t being discussed. A lot of time is spent discussing and intellectualizing trends, yet much less about the process of change management experiences and lessons learned.

Read the full article about philanthropy in transition by Filiz Bikmen at Alliance Magazine.