THE ROLE OF PHILANTHROPY FOR THE SDGS IS NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT

Philanthropy pushes unexpected changes

These sizable private resources are tackling social issues that other private international flows, like private investment, often can't reach or aren't interested in doing so. Because of all this, many are beginning to see philanthropy as a key financing source that could help close the SDG funding gap, estimated at USD 2.5 trillion up until 2030.

However, philanthropy for development is much more than just this particular vision. Philanthropy’s role also includes pushing unexpected changes, searching for local solutions on a small scale, reaching spaces that neither government nor existing markets occupy, and empowering people to engage in a variety of social issues. It is not just about the money; at the current rate, simple algebra points to the fact that it would take more than three centuries for philanthropy to close the SDG funding gap. And with the decline of citizens’ trust in both public and private institutions, a global clampdown on civil society has accelerated in recent years.

What this means in practical terms is that even the regulation of cross-border financial flows has reduced the space for philanthropy to operate. Moreover, the global distribution of funds presents a real problem for civil society organisations, particularly those based in the Global South. According to CIVICUS, out of the 166 billion USD in official development assistance (ODA) by OECD-DAC countries in 2013, only 21 billion USD (13%) went to civil society organisations. Institutions like CAF facilitate international donations directly to grassroots civil society organisations, working to catalyse and support domestic philanthropy in the Global South, but the environment is not leaving room for philanthropy to fulfil its role.

Philanthropy’s growth and evolution are organic processes. They happen without proactive intervention. As economies develop, wealth grows and giving increases and professionalises. But it is also possible, and necessary, to accelerate and catalyse these processes to improve how private resources tackle development challenges. For this, development actors and funders should start considering philanthropy from a new perspective that underscores local giving.

Strengthening philanthropy’s ecosystem of support means creating the conditions for philanthropy to thrive. These conditions include data to build transparency and inform decisions, advocacy for an enabling environment, campaigns to grow a culture of charitable giving, technology to link donors and recipients, advice and capacity building to help make better use of existing resources, space for donor mediation and coordination, and standards that build trust within society. Networks of experts and practitioners, academic centres, advisories, and associations can have a very significant and concrete impact on boosting philanthropy’s volumes and efficiency.

Philanthropy's contribution to the 2030 agenda

This support ecosystem is an essential, although often overlooked, piece of the SDG equation. Investing in philanthropy’s development in developing countries should be included in development actors’ sustainability strategies, including international NGOs as well as multilateral and bilateral donors.

By focusing only on the financial scale of international grant making foundations - instead of the wider scope of philanthropy in development - philanthropy’s actual role will be conflated into something it is not and cannot be.

While the SDGs provide a global framework for development, they are not a blueprint. This is where philanthropy - with its comparative strengths in flexibility and innovation - can best contribute to the 2030 Agenda.

The advantage of philanthropy is discovery, not just scale. With a more enabling environment, and the rise of bottom-up cultures of giving in developing countries, philanthropy will help draw the blueprint that leads to the SDGs by fostering experimentation, supporting a risk-taking search for diverse solutions and working closely with other organisations.
 

Time to embrace philanthropy's complex potential

In the past, philanthropy through the Rockefeller and Ford foundations played a big part in fuelling the Green Revolution, one of the greatest technological successes of the 20^th century to boost food security in developing countries.

Today, the Vacine Alliance has immunised 127 million children with the help of a large donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Every day, philanthropists are working with civil society, governments and businesses to find solutions that cannot be shoehorned into one simple category.

So, it’s time to stop seeing philanthropy as just a source of money and embrace its complex potential as a champion for long-lasting development change. To expect differently is to miss the point. This time, thinking zebras, not horses, is the right course.