Sithie Subanhaniya Tiruchelvam, the founder of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust (NTT), an indigenous philanthropic organization based in Sri Lanka, passed away in Colombo on 22 March at the age of 69 following a brief illness.  Writing a tribute to Sithie Tiruchelvam is not an easy task as Sithie was an intensely private person.  Yet her public achievements, particularly her numerous contributions to social justice causes in her role as the founder of NTT, have to be shared.

We were very sad to learn that Sri Lankan rights activist, and noted member of the Foundations for Peace Network and the Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace Network passed away.  Learn more here.

Barry Knight and Jenny Hodgson have written an excellent framing article for the current issue of Alliance Magazine, describing the important role of grantmaking as a tool for social change. They open by saying, "Increasingly, the practice of grantmaking as a tool for bringing about social change has fallen out of favour, replaced by newer, snappier-sounding forms of philanthropy. In laying out their wares, venture philanthropy, strategic philanthropy, philanthrocapitalism and, most recently, ‘catalytic philanthropy’ have all made claims for greater effectiveness." The full text of the article is available on the Alliance Magazine website here.

by Mónica Enríquez-Enríquez

Arts and cultural activism is a key tool to transform attitudes in society and cultivate acceptance for marginalized communities. Creative in nature, arts and cultural activism often enables policy changes that seed new realities and lived experiences, and provides sustainable long-term solutions to human rights challenges.

I with my colleague Meera, I have been running a 3-year fund-raising campaign named the “Sampanna (fulfilling) Campaign” (April 2011 – March 2014) for Tewa - Nepal Women’s Fund which has a goal to raise US $ 900000. Within this campaign, we built an equally ambitious plan of raising at least a US $ 100000 from fellow Nepalis living in Nepal. Besides raising money, the campaign has many other facets of infrastructure building, promoting, and managing. Soon coming to a close, we can say that the Sampanna Camppaign will meet more than what we initially set out to do.

We are excited to share this interview with Halima Mahomed from the latest edition of WINGS Dispatch.

Halima talks to Chris de la Torre about the importance of including women's voices in setting development and philanthropy agendas.

Read the full interview with Halima here.

Join Alliance Maagzine for a Webinar on January 14 from 10:30AM-12PM EST
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/656456326

Increasingly, grantmaking is being dismissed as a serious strategy for achieving social change, with the real business being done by venture philanthropy, strategic philanthropy, and most recently catalytic philanthropy. This webinar roundtable will bring together proponents/practitioners of different approaches to philanthropy to look at grantmaking as a strategy for achieving social change – not as the strategy, the truth, but as one of a number of approaches that funders can use.

Taking part will be:
• Matthew Bishop, co-author of Philanthrocapitalism
• Kathleen Cravero, Oak Foundation, Switzerland
• Stephen Heintz, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, US
• Avila Kilmurray, Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, UK
• Rana Kotan, Sabanci Foundation, Turkey
• Mark Kramer, FSG, US
• Bongi Mkhabela, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, South Africa

By Rita Thapa

In my last blog I argued that philanthropy has no direct relation with wealth.

Now, I want to recognize and emphasize how wealth has, can be, and needs to be used to leverage for societal transformation – for social justice, equity, and for peace. All over the world, the discerning good among the endowed have used their wealth for the well being of the larger good depending on their then felt/seen needs grounded in their own contexts.

Too few foundations support human rights in the Global South, and many of those northern funders who do support rights continue to make old mistakes. There are new players in unexpected places, however, who offer promising examples.

The next generation of foundations in the Global South will likely be the vanguard of experimentation and learning. A look across the current funding landscape for human rights and justice in the Global South suggests reason for both disappointment and for optimism. For the sake of this review, I put aside official government aid—there is plenty there to discuss—and only look at the smaller world of private philanthropic giving.

Most past criticisms of foundation support for human rights and justice are still relevant. These critiques—apart from the very real problem of simply not enough money—include concern over weak funder strategies, timidity, short attention span, evaluation fetish, poor or no accountability and the absence of centres of research and learning committed to funding rights and justice.

By Rita Thapa

During heightened civil war in Nepal, I went to visit an abandoned village burned to ashes by the Maoists (for the government had armed local civilians to retaliate with the Maoists). The lurking smell of death was strong enough to keep neighbours at bay even on the 13th day I arrived there. The remaining grief stricken and fearful villagers ate early and went off to sleep with nearby communities in fear of another attack. We arrived at dusk and needed to eat and sleep for the night. A family preparing to leave that evening chose to stay back and cook for us. They fed us with great hospitality and gave us shelter. Today how many of us can overcome personal trauma and grief, and risk our own lives to ensure the wellbeing and comfort of strangers who knock on our doors? I have witnessed and seen more philanthropic acts closer to the grounds than those, which are thus labeled.