Priya Sampath

For anyone beginning a new strategic initiative or strategic planning process, this article is a wonderful resource. Congrats to Marilyn Darling and Veena Pankaj for the recently published "Seeding Impact: Shifting from Orchestration to Emergence." Full article at https://lnkd.in/eHD6QMcm #impact #strategy #strategicplanning #emergentlearning #systemschange

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The result of the #USelection is staggering and heartbreaking. Read Equality Fund's CEO Jess Tomlin's op-ed in Context Newsroom on the power of movements to protect people’s fundamental rights and drive change. "This means making sure grassroots movements have the support they need to thrive in their work protecting and defending women's rights. The new political reality in the U.S. requires other governments to step up as funders and advocates, alongside more philanthropic dollars, bringing in the innovation of the private sector and critically harnessing our power as individuals in supporting movements every day." https://lnkd.in/gwnX_gS7 #GenderEquality #MomentToMove

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Climate Justice has become a catch phrase for addressing the inequities in the climate movement. As small funders/foundations and CSR enter the space we need to insure that we meets the needs of the most vunrable communities, and not just further exasperate injustice. In the article for Alliance Magazine, I explain how focusing on a just transition and decarbonisation is in it self an injustice to millions around the world. https://lnkd.in/d8h2AbtF

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Some deep insight here re: #philanthropy, funding and #climate via excellent Alliance interview with Leslie Johnston, M.Sc. Laudes Foundation "Yes, first movers play an important role, yet even the importance of being a first mover still may not convince the board. That’s why it is critical that the measurement framework a foundation uses can show how such investment is linked to the impact it, and the board, want to see. For us at Laudes, we made a very important change in how we measure impact. Specifically, during the C&A Foundation days, I was a great enthusiast for KPIs. I loved my colourful, data-driven dashboard, which I taped to my office wall and used to track data such as number of farmers, increase in incomes, etc, every quarter. This was important. Yet, investments in infrastructure like we are talking about here had no role in such dashboards. This changed with Laudes, when we set up instead a rubrics-based measurement system. Because our measurement system focuses on outcomes – for example, the extent to which leading businesses are taking climate positive action – the role of enabling infrastructure becomes more important. In other words, enabling infrastructure becomes a means to the end, or the impact, that we want." And, YES - to Leslie's point later in the piece: "But I do think more could be done by us – and other foundations – to share our excitement and best practices in this space." If the funding leaders got a bit more visible and more strategic about their own storytelling, their successes could be massive #ClimateInfluence for their peers and peer organizations. If you are learning key insights in your processes and projects, and are not sharing those well, you are leaving the potential for expanded impact on the table. We need a lot more of you to make the time to be seen leading. https://lnkd.in/ggcpFCVv

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The urgency of the #climatecrisis and the devastating impacts it wages on #workers and communities around the world demand a more holistic perspective in how to address climate change – one that scales #adaptation funding alongside critical #mitigation efforts. Today, ClimateWorks Foundation's released their latest assessment of how #philanthropy is stepping up to deliver on this need. Their findings revealed at least $600 million in annual funding to adaptation and resilience activities in 2023, with funders on track to provide between $650 million and $700 million in funding in 2024. While these numbers seem large, there is a critical need to mobilize and deploy much more funding to ensure the #resilience of our societies to #climateshocks and events. Laudes Foundation is thrilled to support this work and we will continue to champion the important role of philanthropy to be the catalyst for the solutions and investments needed to build strong and resilient economies and societies in the face of these challenges. We invite all interested parties to join us in this effort and to engage with the findings here: https://lnkd.in/e2yNdPS8 #COP #COP29 #climateadaptation #justtransition #climatechange #climateaction

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The latest round of what I’ve been reading lately on #philanthropy, #impinv & more ⬇ 🔖 🤝 On #philanthropy and #systemschange Collectively owned strategies by the Dalberg Catalyst team of Jordan Fabyanske, Sonila Cook & Mariah Levin in the latest issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review https://lnkd.in/e3N-XNRB. They make an excellent case for collectively owned strategies by funders + grantees, calling out the shortcomings of funder-owned strategies (too-siloed, too shallow, too rigid) and they provide tools and examples to embrace collectively owned strategies and truly create systems change. “We as social innovators and funders must evolve the ways in which we collectively think and plan... This includes a willingness to yield power and to rise above incentives to compete. This also includes a mindset that asks questions such as “How are my strengths valuable from the perspective of the whole system?” and “With whom can I combine strengths and have multiplicative effects?” 💵 On impact investing Insights from Collaboration for #CatalyticCapital Workshop hosted by Toniic and The ImPact https://lnkd.in/eMSuYwPY. Full of great insights on collaboration, activating philanthropy through solutions like DAFs, additionality and more. Thanks to my friend Aunnie Patton Power who helped facilitate this convening and for sharing her main takeaways (on her page). 💙 On leadership Leading with Humility and Audacity - a conversation between Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen CEO and Hamdi Ulukaya Chobani founder (Part I) on how Hamdi’s upbringing, values, closeness to nature influenced how he does business and keeps him grounded https://lnkd.in/exTt7enw. I enjoy hearing any interview with Hamdi! Leading from the Inside Out: Why #CEOs must make time for self-reflection from McKinsey & Company partners Ramesh Srinivasan and Hans-Werner Kaas (podcast + article) on knowing yourself and soft skills to inspire https://lnkd.in/eGmWEx79 🌎 On climate Centering Smallholder Voices and Actions for Real World Climate Action by Heiner Baumann who leads the CASH Coalition. https://lnkd.in/eXieDZEA The importance of listening to and including #farmers in creating real solutions for #climateadaptation in the context of #COP29.

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Refreshing to hear Olivia Leland Co-Impact at Devex #Climate & #Gender Justice event remind us that women don't live single issue lives. The women driving real change on gender equality do not experience the world in siloes. This reflects exactly the experience of Equal Measures 2030 coalition members. This is why the #2024SDGGenderIndex we built together reflects a gender lens on all of the #SDGs. If nearly 75% of ALL SDG Targets are reliant on gender equality, and women changemakers don't recognise siloes in their lives, why are #Climate and #Gender conversations so separated during this #UNGA79 #UNClimateWeek #SOTF?? We will only live in a more equal, stable, prosperous and sustainable world when we tackle underlying unfairness, exploitation and extraction in our society. Footnote: the EM2030 Blueprint for change 👇

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In this article on Devex, CAPS Co-founder and Chief Executive Dr. Ruth Shapiro highlights the importance of #collaboration within the evergrowing Asian philanthropic sector, also a key goal of the newly established Commission on Asian Philanthropy.     CAPS’ latest report, DECODED: Collaborative Giving in Asia, confirms this need, showing that existing collaborative models in the region are relatively sparse and those that do primarily address local issues. Read the full report for further insights: https://lnkd.in/gq5tjn6H

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 Grant-writing Case Study   In seeking grants, there is so much we do NOT have control over. ❌ Whether or not we’ll be funded. ❌ What questions the funder’s application will ask.  ❌ Which hoops they will ask us to jump through.   And yet there is a ton we DO have control over. ✔ Which funders we connect with and how we approach them ✔ How we frame the project and the results we’re hoping it will achieve ✔ How we frame the “case for support” ✔ What story we choose to tell and how we tell it On October 23rd Creating the Future will apply the Catalytic Thinking framework to this side of grant proposals. Will you join us? Whether you are new to grants or you are a seasoned grants professional looking to up your game, this conversation is free and open to anyone who is interested. Info is at the link here https://lnkd.in/gg6pnvNe This will not be a theoretical discussion. We will be using Creating the Future’s own grant search as a case study you can be part of. For us, this will be the real thing. For you, it will be a way to explore a new way of thinking about these questions, without the pressure of applying it to your own work – truly a living case study in real time. I hope you’ll join us. Because the only way to get away from Crappy Funding Practices is if we are all in this together, asking better questions – of ourselves and of those funders. #fundraising #foundations #grants #nonprofitmanagement #nonprofits

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❤️ What would it look like to lead with love in philanthropy? Check out this new blog post from my Tides colleague Diana Hunter, who offers 6 reflection questions to help us explore this topic.

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I just learned about a report called #BestBets by Innovations for Poverty Action thanks to a call with Elizabeth Koshy. The report looks at the innovations that are "supported by solid evidence....and have some commitment from partners." But to take these emerging innovations forward, there is still a need to address key questions around cost-benefit, efficient delivery /distribution, targeting, long-term impacts, and so on. I was speaking to Elizabeth about the evidence linked to entrepreneurship and MSMEs. The two big bets in this report linked to that space are: 📢 Soft-skills training to boost business profits and sales 📢 Consulting services to support small and medium-sized businesses I know so many organizations working on these issues. How can we make sure that a learning agenda is integrated so that benefits can go beyond just the implementing agencies. Flagging this to colleagues at Access to Finance Rwanda and Mastercard Strive. https://lnkd.in/e-_9uxuC

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When #GenderEquity is ignored, disparities widen. To achieve equitable and lasting change, it is critical that funders take a gender equity frame to their work as we do at Global Greengrants Fund. Bridgespan's new report explores five practices that can help any funder in any field increasingly consider gender in their grantmaking. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g_umXChA

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Climate is not another issue but now context to all issues. Project Dandelion celebrates women taking bold action to lead in climate philanthropy investing in people and planet. When people have action around things that are meaningful to them collectively we give people agency to tackle the climate crisis. #worldenvironmentday

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🏗️Sustainable Development Spotlight! Last week, I kicked off a six-week series spotlighting practitioners and community leaders working in equitable and sustainable development. These testimonials, gathered by the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) team, feature inspiring stories from around the globe of changemakers working to build healthy spaces, improve infrastructure, and drive health equity. Check out our latest spotlight–it might even spark an idea for your community! Vibrant public spaces are essential for ensuring the social, physical, and economic wellbeing of residents. When designed as attractive, welcoming gathering places for people of all ages, these spaces can foster social interactions, support the local economy, improve resident health, and more. Drawing on examples from Bogotá, Colombia, Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa Penalosa of 8 80 Cities shares about the power of building equitable and inclusive spaces, like parks and public facilities, and how these spaces can transform urban areas. Learn more about equitable city planning and explore other stories on community-led health equity initiatives: https://lnkd.in/eZsuT9bf

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HOT OFF THE PRESS -- Check it out!! --> a "snapshot" or progress report, on the impacts of the U.S. Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund, two years in! Two years ago, The U.S. State Department and USAID put out the first-ever U.S. Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security. To make its Strategy real for women around the world, USAID and the State Department launched The Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund (GEEA), to advance "women’s economic security," as they say, "by increasing women’s and girls’ access to resources, services, and leadership opportunities and addressing barriers that limit their full participation in the economy." In its first two years, the GEEA Fund has already invested $200 million in direct resources, with "an additional $100 million in attributed indirect Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding," managed by the relevant units at USAID and the State Department, with oversight from a government-wide Steering Committee. "The U.S. Government has a longstanding commitment to promoting gender equality as a moral and strategic imperative," states the announcement. "The Biden-Harris Administration prioritized this issue through the development of the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which identified global women’s economic security as one of 10 strategic priorities." My own organization, WomenStrong International, has also invested in women's economic security by supporting and convening powerful non-profits from India and Bangladesh, to Uganda and El Salvador, all of them led and staffed by bold women seeking to advance labor rights, health, and safety, for women in the workplace, including in their own homes - as you can imagine, their work is tough, even sometimes life-threatening, making our partners' fearless commitment all the more impressive -- shameless shoutouts here, to Society for Labour and Development, @Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity, Action for Development (ACFODE), and Asociación Mujeres Transformando! Of course, as a non-profit ourselves, our investment is modest, and we're very grateful to the U.S. Government for stepping up, at this increasingly precarious time for women around the world, to help so MANY improve their circumstances, thereby hopefully ensuring their family's healthy housing, nutrition, and access to public goods and services and to educational and employment opportunity. Have a look at this snapshot, see how far we've come, remember how far we still need to go, to enable women and families everywhere to feel secure, and let's all pray that this noble effort on the part of the U.S. Government can continue and grow, until EVERY woman, everyWHERE, feels fully free and empowered! Montserrat Arévalo Alvarado Regina Bafaki Ashmita Sharma Kalpona Akter #womensrights #economicopportunity #globalgiving Rachel Vogelstein Melanne Verveer https://lnkd.in/eCxAXsPQ

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#Eval24 is 1 week away! Will you be there? In this month's newsletter we make it easy for you to see where the Social Finance TIG will be and when, and how to stay connected while you're at the conference. #AEASFTIG

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The Hive Fund under the leadership of Erin Rogers, Melanie Allen, and their incredible team is the best of philanthropy. Other funders should take note: ✅ Make multi-year, general operating grants; ✅ Be bold, take risks (philanthropy is society’s risk capital); ✅ Trust the leaders and communities on the ground doing the work; ✅ Use your unique position in the ecosystem to foster coalitions and networks, utilizing grants to incentivize and reward collaboration. Not rocket science, and yet, in so many places it seems philanthropy does not embrace these approaches. #philanthropy #leadership

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💡 A quick read! THREE clear areas where philanthropy can invest to play a catalytic role in building climate resilience 🌏👇🏻

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