Building philanthropic infrastructure – sexier than you think
Room: 204
Most foundations would agree that philanthropic support infrastructure is beneficial and vital to supporting the overall aims of the sector. Very few foundations, however, substantially invest in the strengthening of such institutions. This panel will consider the viewpoints of organisations that support, as well as those that do not support the building of such infrastructure. Reasons behind this hesitation to invest in support scaffolding, like hiding behind mandates and prioritising more PR friendly funding options, will be considered, with the overall aim of proving that infrastructure is in fact sexy.
Moderator: David Emerson, Association of Charitable Foundations
Speakers:
Karin Jestin, Fondation 1796
Pieter Stemerding, Adessium Foundation
Funder Collaboration: Beyond the rhetoric
Room: 213
Funders recognise the need to find new and creative ways to work together in order to effectively tackle the ever more complex and interconnected challenges our societies are facing today. However, they rarely succeed in engaging with one another beyond co-financing. A foundation’s legacy, self-sufficiency, independence, branding, perceived and real costs of working together are some of the obstacles that get in the way of real collaboration. The session will feature practical experiences as well as the key findings of a study commissioned by the EFC on incubation of collaborations with the aim to provoke an honest discussion about major obstacles to and drivers of collaboration, resistance to approaches that can break new ground, and test willingness among European foundations to go beyond the rhetoric and engage more systematically into joint ventures.
Moderator: Marc Pfitzer, FSG Social Impact Advisors
Speakers: Astrid Bonfield, The Diana Princess of Wales Fund
Franz-Karl Prüller, ERSTE Stiftung
Making it Work: Collaboration between Foundations and the EU Institutions
Room: 214
Cooperation between foundations and the European Institutions is a somewhat controversial and highly challenging issue. As new territory for many foundations, it is not easy to make it work effectively or get right. Designed around concrete experiences, the session will focus on the process and lessons learnt. Key questions include: what are some of the challenges the parties had to overcome and what ultimately allowed the collaboration to work? What were the particular strengths and assets each side brought to the table and how did the partners develop the “right mix”? How did they address institutional differences and constraints? What is the role foundations can play in bridging EU Institutions and civil society and hence contributing to increased participation in and the legitimacy of EU processes?
Moderator: Vanessa Mock, Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Speakers:
Gerrit Rauws, King Baudouin Foundation
Isabelle Schwarz, European Cultural Foundation
Xavier Troussard, Education, Training, Culture and Youth Directorate-General, European Commission