The climate crisis is here, and its effects can be seen in every region of the world: flooding, droughts, storms, and heatwaves. This crisis is unprecedented in scale and unequivocally linked to human activity. Climate change is a health issue, a gender equality issue, a racial and social justice issue, an educational issue, an economic issue, a cultural issue, a security issue, a human rights issue, and a local community issue. Already today, the climate costs millions of lives and exacerbates existing inequalities. If we stay on our current track, this will increase exponentially. The good news? If we act now and with sufficient urgency, we can limit the damage and destruction that we are causing to our planet and its inhabitants.
Philanthropy is about mobilising private resources for the public good yet today an overwhelming majority of philanthropic resources are used without reflecting their impact on climate change. The climate crisis affects every aspect of human life, and by extension, all areas of philanthropy activity. With its independence and resources, philanthropy has the potential to support the bold and urgent transformative change required across our societies. So, what if every foundation cared about climate?
We invite you to our second event of the What if? Reimagining philanthropy event series on October 27 at 15:00-16:45 (CET) organised by the PEX Next Philanthropy group where we will explore, build knowledge, and inspire action with regards to how funders and foundations can apply a climate lens to everything they are doing, and what are the opportunities that can emerge from it.
We will be joined by Kristina Johansson, next-gen philanthropist, director of the Solberga Foundation, and activist for racial, gender and climate justice.
We have designed this event to inspire our collective thinking, test experimental ideas in innovation sandboxes, raise questions to challenge the status quo and bring transformative change. We will be joined by representatives of foundations, philanthropy networks, social movements, next-gen, policymakers, researchers, and advocates for social change.
Register here until October 22. You will receive a registration confirmation prior to the event. Please note that the number of places is limited.
About Kristina Johansson:
Kristina is the founder of the Solberga Foundation, a family foundation that supports transformative grassroots movements for climate justice. Solberga Foundation was established in 2018 in the UK and gives grants globally. For over 10 years Kristina has been engaged in activism for racial, gender and climate justice. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College. She worked for Planned Parenthood and the United Nations Peace Women Program. She co-founded Resource Justice in the UK, a community of young people with wealth committed to the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power. She is a proud trustee of the Vagina Museum in London and recently joined the EDGE Funders Alliance board. She is originally from the UK and Sweden and now resides in London.
About PEX:
PEX is a community of people working in the European philanthropy ecosystem. PEX provides a unique space to create a European philanthropy identity as common ground to jointly advance the philanthropy ecosystem in a changing world. PEXcommunity, jointly co-created at the PEXforum 2020 in Madrid, stands for collaboration, diversity, creativity, and exchange in the European philanthropic sector. It unites more than 60 philanthropy networks, among them national, regional, and thematic organisations. Read more.
About Next Philanthropy:
Next Philanthropy provides an inclusive space for a thought-provoking debate and exchange of practices on the current stay of play and what’s next in philanthropy in Europe. The aim is to generate new possible routes for philanthropic, social, and political action – to shape the field and orient it. Next Philanthropy is driven by partners from across Europe who are part of the PEXcommunity: Alliance Magazine, Austrian Foundations Association, Beacon Collaborative, Dafne – Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe, Assifero – the Italian national association of grant-making foundations and private institutional philanthropy, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Renewable Freedom Foundation and EDGE Funders Alliance and TUSEV – Third Sector Foundation of Turkey. What if? Reimagining philanthropy series was launched by Next Philanthropy in May 2021. Read more.
Join the conversation about the future of philanthropy in Europe by sharing news and thoughts under #nextphilanthropy.