EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY
We want the community to generate collective action and impact, and we want Philea to be recognised as a reference centre for collective thought leadership.
We enhance the skills and knowledge within the sector in a range of critical areas by supporting philanthropy organisations in reflecting upon and taking up impactful practices; keeping them up to date on emerging issues; and connecting them with peers around shared learning – all with the aim of making these organisations and the sector more effective, ambitious, accountable and inclusive.
Communities of Practice
CEO Retreat for Philanthropy Infrastructure Members
The CEO Retreat for Philanthropy Infrastructure Members is a recurring event bringing together the CEOs and Executive Directors of Philea’s Philanthropy Infrastructure Organisation members (PIOs). Through collaborative discussions and shared insights, this exchange inspires participants and offers practical solutions to enhance the impact of philanthropy at the national level. Online exchanges take place throughout the year and intensify during the even-numbered years where there is no in-person retreat.
Communications Professionals in Philanthropy
Through two in-person events, we explored critical issues such as the role of artificial intelligence in communication strategies and the importance of effective stakeholder management for foundations. The first event in Berlin on AI captured the ethical, regulatory and technological challenges associated with integrating AI into communication practices. This was a powerful example of how peer-learning encourages professionals to stay ahead of rapidly evolving trends, as participants shared practical insights on how to leverage AI without compromising ethical standards. In the second meeting in Brussels, we turned our attention to the importance of stakeholder management in the context of strategic communications for foundations.
Data Science Group
The Data Science Group brings together data scientists, analysts and practitioners working within the philanthropic sector. In 2024, the group advised on and supported the Philea publication “Data Science, AI and Data Philanthropy in Foundations: On the Path to Maturity” and came together for a talk on data stewardship by Stefaan Verhulst.
European Financial and Investment Officers Group
This group of philanthropy financial and investment practitioners focused on emerging trends and challenges in the investment landscape. During two in-person meetings in New York and Brussels, participants discussed strategies in the security and healthcare sectors and explored the growing importance of digital currencies in philanthropic investments. In these discussions. informed by the annual member survey results, participants shared data and analysis, allowing the group to examine investment trends, sector performance and opportunities for socially responsible investments (SRIs). By connecting with one another in this way, participants not only gained insights into the latest market developments but also refined their own investment strategies.
According to the 2024 member survey, 88% of our members agree or strongly agree that Philea brings a unique value to the broader philanthropic community in terms of fostering collaboration, driving innovation and transforming philanthropy.
Engaging in networks is the highest ranked benefit of being a Philea member, according to the 2024 Philea membership survey.
Evidence and Learning
The Evidence and Learning group focused on the essentials of strategic learning with a workshop in September that provided participants with a deep dive into their learning agendas, mainly around measuring systems change and applying equity-based lenses to monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). These encounters allowed professionals to share their insights on how to develop more inclusive MEL frameworks that measure what really matters.
Foundation CEO Exchange
CEOs hold a unique space in philanthropic foundations. From leading teams to designing strategies, they are at the centre of a web of complex relations between internal and external stakeholders. Our CEO Exchange allows for an intimate space to discuss the specificities of leading foundations in complex times. Two online meetings and one in-person gathering focused on the role of philanthropy and the specific responsibility of CEOs of foundations, who are working in increasingly polarised societies; explored what it takes to set up future-fit governances; and unpacked the specific differences between leading a foundation and running a business. The Exchange welcomes, in particular, CEOs of the core funders of Philea, as a way to thank them for the crucial investment they make in building a backbone for the sector.
Organisational Development Community
This community exemplified the power of peer learning in fostering reflection and growth. A key in-person event in Venice focused on the role of introspection in helping grantmakers better support their partners. Inspired by the ideas presented in the book "Reinventing Organisations", this event encouraged participants to reflect on their internal organisational practices and consider how they could be improved to be more aligned with their values and mission. This introspective approach allowed participants to better understand how their internal dynamics – such as organisational structure, leadership style and decision-making processes – impact their external relationships and, ultimately, the success of their philanthropic efforts.
In addition to this in-person session, several online meetings were held to discuss a variety of organisational development issues, including aligning core values and ensuring board commitment.
Operations Professionals Network
This network provides a platform for participants to exchange insights and collaborate on enhancing operational efficiency across the philanthropic ecosystem. Two key events focused on the intersection of AI and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); and improving operational efficiency to increase impact and well-being. In the first event in Brussels, we explored how AI can be harnessed to promote DEI within organisational operations while also addressing the potential risks of algorithmic bias. The second event, in London, focused on operational efficiency in the funder ecosystem, providing an opportunity for participants to learn from one another’s experiences in optimising operations for greater social impact. These peer-learning sessions empowered participants to rethink their operational strategies, adopt more efficient practices and improve the overall impact of their organisations.
Exchanges and Initiatives
TIEPOLO
The Tailor-made International Exchange Programme Offering Learning Opportunities (TIEPOLO) is a one-on-one exchange programme in which individual foundation staff can develop their skills by spending time working with a designated peer in another European foundation. In 2024, three staff members from Fundación Princesa de Asturias visited Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian to learn about education and youth programmes, as well as outreach and communications strategies.
Futures Philanthropy
Our "War and Peace Scenario Planning" series helped to equip policymakers, philanthropic leaders, academics, think tanks and civil society representatives with tools to navigate uncertainty. The series comprised three online workshops, culminating in an in-person session on 2 December in Brussels.
A series of ThinkLab sessions helped us make sense of emerging data, which we published in "Futures Philanthropy: Anticipation for the Common Good". The publication also included ten inspiring cases of futures philanthropy practices that were distilled from the ThinkLab sessions.
"Horizons of Hope: Navigating Challenges, Reimagining Philanthropy in a New Key", our Gathering of Leaders event, took place from 4-7 April in Turin. Co-hosted by Compagnia di San Paolo and the Together Foundation, we brought together philanthropic leaders to explore Europe's challenges and the evolving role of philanthropy.
Philanthropic Leadership Platform: China-Europe
Held in Beijing in 2024, this exchange programme offered an important opportunity for peer learning through cross-cultural exchange between European and Chinese philanthropic leaders. The exchange allowed participants to share perspectives on global issues and explore collaborative opportunities. It provided a platform for leaders from both regions to discuss challenges and solutions to shared global problems, fostering deeper understanding and stronger relationships.
“I will want to share the tools with my team and see how we can use them as a team, but also as a foundation to shape our response and strategies.”
Anonymous War and Peace Scenario participant
PEX
Co-hosted with Acri and Assifero, philanthropy professionals from across Europe gathered in Rome at PEXForum 2024 to explore the evolving roles of philanthropy infrastructure. The forum emphasised participatory and interactive methodologies, encouraging attendees to engage in courageous conversations, co-create shared infrastructure and co-design the future of the PEXcommunity. Throughout 2024, the PEX core team (a group of philanthropy infrastructure volunteers) designed a roadmap towards the new PEX Collective, experimenting with and creating a decentralised, multi-nodal and sustainable learning and collaboration space for infrastructure practitioners to be launched in the near future.
Winter Meeting for Philanthropy Infrastructure Members
The Winter Meeting for Philanthropy Infrastructure Members explored the theme of “Diversifying Our Repertoire: The Value of Philanthropy Infrastructure” on 24 January in Rome, co-hosted with Acri and Assifero and immediately preceding PEXForum 2024. The event looked closely into the value that philanthropy infrastructure is creating for the philanthropy ecosystem and explored how missions are evolving, how we activate our constituencies, how we can facilitate successful collaboration in our contexts, and how we can identify our levers of change.
