Photo by Fadi Kheir/WINGS
By WINGS
On 24 September, WINGS, with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Anglo American Foundation, and the European Union, co-hosted the UNGA side event ‘Philanthropy as a Catalyst in Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Sustainable Development’. The event gathered over 200 participants across sectors to explore how philanthropy can move from intent to implementation in the next chapter of global development. The conversation reaffirmed a central message for WINGS: one of philanthropy’s key strengths lies in how it connects actors, not just how it funds solutions. Benjamin Bellegy, WINGS’ Executive Director, made it clear when he said: “No single actor can deliver the Sustainable Development Goals alone. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are not a nice-to-have — they are the only path forward.”
This is not the time for philanthropy to stand back. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is in long-term decline, 2025 figures are projected to drop a further 9–17% from 2024, and public budgets alone cannot deliver the scale of solutions needed. Yet this moment also offers a unique opportunity for philanthropy to act as a catalyst: to invest in local ecosystems, support multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs), and support the courage of communities shaping change on the ground.
From Seville to New York: a call for courageous collaboration
Building on momentum from Seville’s Financing for Development Conference, Benjamin Bellegy called on philanthropy to “move from conversation, to action, to investment.” He underscored that philanthropy’s role is not to replace public spending but to enable the ecosystems that make collaboration possible — the connective tissue of effective multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Alice Albright, former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and moderator of the session, framed this shift starkly. Seville, she said, was “a moment of facing reality”. With many Global South countries now spending more on debt servicing than on health or education, the current system of aid and finance is simply not fit for purpose. Blended finance, once seen as a silver bullet, has yet to deliver equitable results. For philanthropy, she identified four levers of change:
- Strengthening core delivery systems;
- Expanding access to affordable capital through innovative finance;
- Investing in research and data; and
- Funding the networks and ecosystems that connect local actors and capital.
Her challenge to the sector was direct: “What role do you want to play, and how much risk are you willing to take?” As Alice Albright stated, “This is a moment to move from good intentions to shared accountability. Philanthropy can help rewrite the rules of collaboration.”
Blending power, not just capital
Speakers agreed that philanthropy’s catalytic power lies not in gap-filling but in blending power — aligning incentives, resources, and voices across governments, business, and communities. For WINGS, this means supporting the enabling environments where MSPs can thrive: building trust, aligning data and accountability, and creating the connective platforms that enable diverse actors to collaborate at scale.
Valeria Scorza of Fundación Avina reminded participants that “it is not only about blended money, but blended power.” Equity, transparency, and accountability must be built into every partnership. Her examples, from regenerative agriculture networks to ethical banking initiatives in Latin America, showed how philanthropy can help design hybrid platforms that connect social movements, investors, and governments around shared outcomes. “When governments bring scale, and business brings resources,” she said, “philanthropy must bring courage.”
From Africa, B20 South Africa Sherpa Cas Coovadia urged philanthropy to engage upstream in structuring public–private philanthropy partnerships that tackle systemic barriers to investment. “Having appropriate PPPs is critical,” he said. “Philanthropy should not be an add-on at the end of the game, but a strategic partner from the start.” He also called for reform of global risk-rating systems that unfairly penalise African economies and deter private capital.
Colombia’s experience offered a glimpse of what such collaboration can look like. Santiago Quiñones of APC Colombia described how the government is building a national philanthropy strategy to mobilise local, international, and diaspora giving, link tourism with social investment, and retain long-term resources for national priorities. He noted that mapping data and connecting actors are the foundation of a stronger philanthropic infrastructure.
Ecosystem building, not gap filling
Ecosystem building is central to WINGS’ work and emerged as a key theme throughout the session. Speakers emphasised that when philanthropy invests in local capacity, infrastructure, and networks, it builds the long-term conditions for systems change.
Gunjan Veda of the Movement for Community-Led Development reminded the room that “every person should have a say in the choices that affect their lives.” Her examples, from participatory budgeting in Kenya to community-led nutrition programmes in Benin, showed that when philanthropy invests in local capacity and civic infrastructure, it unlocks both accountability and innovation. “If everybody wants to be the heart, then we have a problem,” she said. “Each part of the system must play its role.”
Michael Mapstone of the Anglo American Foundation translated that insight into action: “Communities don’t need more talk; they need capital that moves at the speed of their ideas.” He urged philanthropy to fund both civil society and philanthropy ecosystems – even when messy or slow – because that is where transformation begins. “We are not here to fill gaps,” he said. “We are here to back those who are building the solutions”.
Peter Laugharn of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation closed the event by underscoring that catalytic philanthropy means connecting “the grassroots and the grasstops.” By focusing on locally-led development, Hilton has channelled an additional $100 million to local organisations. Laugharn announced a new Funders Roundtable—co-founded with Packard and Humanity United and coordinated by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (TAI)—to align efforts on aid reform and build collective momentum.
From ideas to action: what participants called for
In a live poll, participants proposed over 70 actionable steps for philanthropy to deliver concrete, fundable solutions in the current landscape. Seven themes stood out:
- Power shifting and localisation: fund local actors directly and trust their leadership.
- Collaboration and alignment: pool funding and build ecosystems rather than duplicating efforts.
- Mindset change: act with urgency and courage; give up control.
- Flexible, long-term funding: expand unrestricted, multi-year support and use endowments boldly.
- Accountability and learning: invest in evidence, advocacy, and data on what works.
- Systems change and values: defend civic space and democratic governance as essential infrastructure.
- Narrative change: communicate clearly, align with governments that share values, and make the case for renewed ODA.
These priorities mirror WINGS’ ongoing advocacy for locally led philanthropy, flexible funding, philanthropy’s transformation, and stronger ecosystem infrastructure.
Looking ahead: from UNGA to the B20 and beyond
WINGS will build on this momentum by deepening engagement in the G20 and relevant processes such as Business20 and Social G20, advancing the collective philanthropy voice in global governance spaces, and mobilising our network to co-design tools that strengthen MSPs worldwide. We will also convene dialogues with member networks and partners to co-design practical tools for building the enabling ecosystems philanthropy needs to thrive.
Across these efforts, our message remains consistent: Philanthropy cannot, and should not, replace public finance, but it can help reimagine how resources, relationships, and responsibilities are shared. Together, we can redefine how collaboration works, from one-off partnerships to sustainable ecosystems that power inclusive development.
Watch the recording of the event here.
Building on these conversations at UNGA, we have launched three briefs developed from our members’ African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), Sattva Consulting and Latimpacto’s regional research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, supported through the #LiftUpPhilanthropy Fund (co-funded by the EU). Together, the briefs provide practical guidance on how philanthropy can power transformative multi-stakeholder partnerships: Multistakeholder Partnerships: A Policy Brief for Policy Makers, Why Multistakeholder Partnerships Matter for Inclusive Development: Lessons from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and Guidance for Philanthropy: Powering Transformative Multistakeholder.