Philea

21/10/2026

Strategic focus is not the problem. Funders need clarity about what they are trying to achieve, where they can add value, and how they exercise responsible stewardship. The problem begins when coherence inside an institution becomes more important than responsiveness outside it.

A strategy can remain perfectly coherent and still become wrong because the world around it has changed.

Political conditions shift. Civic space narrows. Climate impacts intensify. Communities adapt in real time because they have to. Philanthropic strategies rarely move at the same speed.

What if philanthropy’s biggest risk is being late? Joshua Amponsen, the Youth Climate Justice Fund, makes the case in a recent Opinion.

Read it in full here!

Strategy itself has a shelf life. When philanthropy cannot adapt at the speed of the world it seeks to change, responsible stewardship can inadvertently become strategic lag.

21/10/2026

Data on European philanthropy is currently scattered across different systems, formats and languages, making it difficult to build an accurate, comparable picture of the sector as a whole.

Philea will host a webinar, “Data Commons for Philanthropy” on 28 October, to explore the ongoing data harmonisation work being undertaken by Philea, the University of Geneva Centre for Philanthropy and philanthropy infrastructure organisations (PIOs) across Europe.

If you're interested in finding out about efforts to build a shared evidence base for the sector, get involved here!

Philea will host a webinar, “Data Commons for Philanthropy” on 28 October, to explore the ongoing data harmonisation work being undertaken by Philea, the University of Geneva Centre for Philanthropy and philanthropy infrastructure organisations (PIOs) across Europe. Data on European philanthropy...

20/10/2026

What role can philanthropy play in protecting open, democratic societies and civic space?

Across Europe, civil society and also philanthropic organisations increasingly face obstacles ranging from burdensome regulations and funding restrictions to limits on advocacy and cross-border grantmaking.

Philea, Ariadne and Civitates will host “The Rule of Law and Philanthropy” online next week on 27 October to discuss how philanthropy can help strengthen democracy, civic space and the rule of law across Europe.

If you're interested in finding out what the 2026 Rule of Law Report tell us about the state of democracy in Europe, register here!

Philea, Ariadne and Civitates will host “The Rule of Law and Philanthropy” online on 27 October to discuss how philanthropy can help strengthen democracy, civic space and the rule of law across Europe. Across Europe, civil society and also philanthropic organisations increasingly face obstacles ...

20/10/2026

Recent reports from civil society organisations, media outlets and international observers point to worrying developments around civic space in Türkiye and the Philea’s Legal Affairs Committee calls on responsible actors to restore civic space and fundamental rights.

When governments begin to restrict the work of civil society organisations, it is often an early warning sign of declining democratic freedoms and weaker accountability and rule of law.

Read the full story here!

Recent reports from civil society organisations, media outlets and international observers point to worrying developments around civic space in Türkiye and the Philea’s Legal Affairs Committee calls on responsible actors to restore civic space and fundamental rights. When governments begin to res...

19/10/2026

What does it really mean for Organisational Development (OD) to be locally-led? How can funders work with local actors and intermediaries in ways that draw on contextual knowledge, strengthen locally rooted capacity and avoid imposing externally defined approaches?

The Organisational Development Community of Practice will host “Locally-led Organisational Development: Lessons from Actors on the Ground” on 17 November, bringing together practitioners and funders to explore different models of localised OD in practice.

Find out more here!

The Organisational Development Community of Practice will host “Locally-led Organisational Development: Lessons from Actors on the Ground” on 17 November, bringing together practitioners and funders to explore different models of localised Organisational Development (OD) in practice. As highligh...

19/10/2026

As climate-related disasters become more frequent and humanitarian resources scarcer, philanthropy faces a choice: wait until a crisis is fully visible before acting, or use what we already know to act earlier, reduce suffering and make limited humanitarian funds go further.

Jessica Anderen and Hayley Kornblum, IKEA Foundation explain why the question is no longer whether we can anticipate some crises, but whether we are prepared to act on that knowledge and that for philanthropy, this requires a shift in mindset.

Read the full Opinion here!

Anticipatory action can protect lives and livelihoods, help scarce humanitarian funds go further, and move decisions closer to communities that understand the risks. As climate shocks become more frequent and more predictable, philanthropy has a responsibility to act before crises peak.

16/10/2026

After numerous discussions examining how authoritarianism takes hold, Konektor 2026 closed with a focus on what comes next.

Authoritarianism rarely arrives all at once. It works through the words people no longer use, the information they no longer trust, and the spaces where they no longer gather. Yet across the region, communities continue to adapt, create and resist.

This morning, participants looked at how to move from diagnosis to action, explored how philanthropy can respond to authoritarianism, and the threats posed by AI to democracy.

Konektor 2026 may be over, but the conversations and the work behind them, continue.

15/10/2026

Across Europe, authoritarianism is taking new shapes, civic space is shrinking, and communities face mounting pressures. But how does it actually take hold?

Corruption is one answer. Some see it as an early sign of authoritarianism, others as a defining feature. Either way, it doesn’t always need force to take control. Sometimes it can simply be bought. Sometimes it can simply be normalised.

Today at Konektor 2026 in Chișinău, participants explored the role of culture and media, heard stories of division, regeneration and inclusion, investigated community leadership, trust and social cohesion, and sought to understand what philanthropy can do to support transparency and accountability.

15/10/2026

Konektor 2026 is under way here in Chișinău!

Foundations, donors and civil society from across Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond, are gathered here to look at one key question: how can philanthropy respond as authoritarianism takes new shapes?

Over the next few days, we’ll be looking at who is most at risk and how they experience it, how civic space is changing in response, and what funders are doing on digital safety, climate, social cohesion and independent media.

14/10/2026

What we don’t talk about enough is how realities are framed, and how those frames shape what gets funded, who leads and what becomes possible.

Too often, African communities are positioned as passive recipients of climate finance, rather than active agents shaping their own futures. This framing reinforces dependency, narrows ambition and limits transformative change.

There is progress, but progress alone does not guarantee justice.

Beatrice Hazeldine Makwenda, TrustAfrica reimagines philanthropy’s role in Africa’s Just Transition and dives into how the shift from vulnerability to agency must go beyond rhetoric.

Read the full Opinion here!

Africa’s just transition cannot be built on narratives of vulnerability. This piece calls for philanthropy to shift power, invest in agency and enable locally led transformation.