Many foundations would probably claim that the work they are doing is good – but how many would say it’s great? In order to make this leap, are there certain ingredients which must be present in order to position a foundation in a way that allows for greatness to be possible? In the interest of understanding European foundations’ thoughts on these matters, we are requesting your time to take this 10-minute survey!

The survey results and more will be explored during the session “From Good to Great Philanthropy”">, organised as part of the forthcoming EFC Annual General Assembly and Conference in Copenhagen. This interactive workshop will also bridge two previous EFC AGA and Conference sessions, namely: “Impact Island” which considered impact assessment (Cascais, 2011), and ”Risky Business” which explored risk in programming (Belfast, 2012).

The Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace (PSJP) is committed to building a self-sustaining, fluid, flexible, inclusive philanthropic community of practice in different regions in order to improve and broaden the practice of PSJP.

In Latin America and the Caribbean there is a lack of information and knowledge about the state of philanthropy that takes a social justice lens and long term approach to supporting social change. Therefore, as a first step to building a regional philanthropic network that is informed by local contexts and needs, we are mapping the field to gather information.

You can help us in this process by taking a 5 minutes survey to answer a few questions.

The purpose of the survey is:
- To establish a baseline for the field of PSJP in Latin America and the Caribbean
- To use the collated information to promote the development of a common platform for peer learning and support

Please fill out the survey by March 8, 2013. Click on the language of your preference to take the survey now:
English
Spanish

Should endowed foundations with a commitment to social justice be as concerned about how they make their money as how they spend it?

At one time, the Trustees of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust didn't have to worry too much about this because all their endowment was invested in the founder's confectionary business. But after the business was taken over in 1988, finding the right ways to invest the funds has taken a considerable effort. The Trust has always been interested in issues of corporate accountability through its grant-making programmes and investing the funds in businesses that, at least, do no harm in the world has been a strong interest of the Trust. We have learnt that this is more of an art than a science. We still struggle to get this right. In terms of our grant-making we have described ourselves as being idealistic but with a recognition that pragmatism is sometimes more effective than purity. This also applies to our investments.

Over the last year we have reviewed our investment strategy and come up with the attached statement. It describes where we are at this point in time.