Five years at Philea (and learning every day)

It’s been, to the day, exactly five years since I joined the world of philanthropy. I had, until then, only courted the sector from behind a veil, as a grantee of philanthropic foundations who had generously supported my work in protecting children and their rights. I had looked at them with fascination and curiosity: they had the means to do so much of what I knew was needed for the children I was working to support – yet they seemed so difficult to engage with. I knew very little of what I know now (and I am still learning so much every single day).

Back then, endowments were not something I had come across in my life, as most of the organisations I ran until then had – at best – a few months of reserves to make ends meet, which is indeed still the case for most NGOs today. The concept of spend-down foundations was not something I was familiar with, nor did I know a lot about impact investing. I was unaware of the depth of history and diversity of the sector and had not expected the wealth of passion and wisdom of the people behind it, which I have now learned to appreciate. I came in with an aspiration to make sure the resources available would be used in a way that best serves those they intend to support. To help build organisations’ longer-term resilience. To move away from fragmented approaches and bring down barriers for impact. To stimulate collaboration around societal aspirations, rather than competition for funding.

Five years down the line, I think these aspirations still hold. I entered the philanthropic sector amid a crisis that touched every community in different ways. In that moment, philanthropy in many ways rose to meet the challenge. Back then, on a rather sunny Monday morning in September 2020, a first day on the job meant searching for the unmute button on Teams, as we were adjusting to the new ways of working that came with the pandemic. While deeply concerned with the tragic losses and setbacks that accompanied it, I also remember a glimmering ray of hope. We suffered from ‘zoom-fatigue’ but were in this together, getting ready for a ‘new normal.’ We would use the cracks to let the light come in. We had learned so much and would use it to ‘build back better.’

But then, new phrasings and challenges emerged. While not new in itself, ‘polycrisis’ made it front and central on every stage. With the dust of the pandemic not yet settled, a raging war emerged in Europe, followed by a cost-of-living crisis, in the midst of an existential climate emergency, all eclipsing a fractured social contract that percolated through echo chambers and deeply affects the health of democracies worldwide. We moved from building back better to building up walls. Somehow “in it together” became “us and them”. Twitter became X. Brainpower was reduced (not yet replaced) by AI. The Green Deal got derailed. Competitiveness became the new headline. Genocides unfolded. USAID was dismantled.

Looking back, I can’t help wondering what we could have done differently. Should we not have seen some of this coming? Despite our best intentions, were we perhaps a little too settled in our sense of moral certainty to truly listen with compassion to those who felt left behind? I think it all requires some honest introspection.

And yet, I still feel that my aspirations from back then continue to hold.

Five years down the line, this is how I see it:

1. Philanthropy has historically been a catalyst for good and in the current context, it is more needed than ever. Despite legitimate concerns about how wealth is accumulated – and has been accumulated even faster over the past 40 years – the fact that funds can be deployed which are supplementary to those at the disposal of states is a welcome buffer in times of political radicalisation and shrinking public funding. For me, philanthropy today is a valuable diversifier. It is one of the players to appreciate in a pluralistic society. While modest in size, it holds abilities and capabilities no other sector holds. It showcases its value, every day, through concrete support we all benefit from – from breakthrough medical research to educational programmes and investments in the arts. And though its relationship with democracy is one to guard cautiously, philanthropy can play a valuable role in upholding it.
2. At times of decreased public funding and confronted with huge global challenges, we need more, not less, philanthropy. Institutional donors only account for a minority of the total giving, and everyday generosity by regular citizens is a force to be reckoned with. Generosity and solidarity towards past and future generations should be cultivated, as has traditionally been the case in many indigenous traditions. More philanthropy also means bringing in new actors, who have means that can be invested in the common good. Although distributed unevenly, total global wealth is at its highest level in history. As we enter an unprecedented era of intergenerational wealth transfer, it will be crucial for these new wealth holders to reflect upon their giving and consider ways in which they can help address the great challenges of our times.

3. For more philanthropy to occur, we need a more enabling environment. Many of us have been deeply concerned with the threats to the sector issued by the US administration. In Europe, too, chilling measures make it increasingly difficult for philanthropy to do what it is meant to do: use its private resources for the common good. On top of existing barriers to philanthropy, we’re witnessing efforts to cut tax incentives for giving, impose foreign funding restrictions and delegitimise the sector – particularly when it dares to raise its voice. For philanthropy to play its role, to partner with the public, to invest in issues we all care about, we need policies, laws and frameworks that help rather than hinder.
4. Philanthropy itself needs to do better too. At the last Philea Forum, one of the participants shared that she had attended at least a decade of gatherings like these, and that in many ways, we were still talking about the same things. About how we must take more risks, fund more flexibly and on the long term, use our power of innovation, be humble yet bold, create more participatory approaches, embrace complexity, build more bridges, collaborate with each other as well as with other sectors. I sighed, and while for me it has only been five years by now, I do agree. I don’t think we have the luxury to wait another decade. If five years – or a decade for her – of not acting upon these promises was a risk for the communities we serve, then today our own existence as a sector may be more at stake than ever.

Five years does at times feel like a lifetime. I joined the sector when we were still the EFC. Today I am proud of what our governance, our members and my absolutely brilliant team have achieved in becoming Philea. I am convinced that, as Philea, we are better equipped to be the backbone needed for the sector to navigate these complicated times. I feel incredibly privileged to be part of the journey so far, and grateful for every lesson I learned along the way.

So – as a very modest way of giving back – let me end with a few random bits of wisdom that have generously been shared with me by others:

• If you’re very strong, you also have to be very kind (yes, this is from Pippi Longstocking, but it works also for philanthropy)
• Trust is the best governance model in the world (from Jane Wei-Skillern – I so agree)
• We need constellations, not stars (also from Jane Wei-Skillern)
• The situation is shit, but it shall be our fertilizer for the future (this one is from Lennart Meri – overheard from one of our members and have been sharing it ever since)
• Do not obey in advance (Tim Snyder’s ‘On Tyranny’ – while easier said than done, I find it quite relevant today).
• Our focus will be our resistance (also shared by a member – and hanging on to it amid the madness around me when I can)

I came to the sector as an optimist and inspired by so many kind and committed people around me I stubbornly remain an optimist. Thank you to all of you who have walked alongside me on this journey.