By Tatiana Fraga Diez, Executive Director, Comunalia, Ana María Sánchez Rodríguez, Think Tank Coordinator at Cemefi, and Paulina Botella Alanis, Research Assistant at Cemefi
Handling uncertainty is eased by anticipating the future. There are ways of doing this with tools provided by the field of futures studies, the systematic study of possible, probable and preferable futures. The report 7 Trends in Philanthropy and Organized Civil Society responds to a general concern of the sector in Mexico and analyses the current and prospective state of philanthropy and organised civil society in the country.
Led by Cemefi, Comunalia, and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, the study is the continuation of an earlier exercise conducted by the WINGS Latin America and the Caribbean Working Group. Last year, the group started a reflection exercise led by CENTRO, an institution dedicated to the professionalisation of creativity, that resulted in a collective vision for philanthropy in 2030. The exercise used futures studies tools to help design desirable futures by identifying current events, reviewing their consequences and identifying potential trends.
From that exercise, a database of 92 events, or signals, was built. It included information related to the philanthropic ecosystem, such as changes in donation patterns, particularly from younger generations (for example, twitch donations for streamers) and a rise in the demand for more inclusivity of youth women-led movements (Generation Quality Forum). These and other signals were curated for the study in Mexico; 14 signals were discussed and led the conversation around the following questions: what are these signals telling us about the future of the philanthropic ecosystem? What are other signals, and which ones are the most important now?
The report 7 Trends in Philanthropy and Organized Civil Society is intended for a wide audience who wants to understand the context and dynamics that are developing among actors seeking to have an impact on the public and social sphere in Mexico. The 7 trends are:
1. Social enterprises burst into the philanthropic sector.
There is no legal framework in Mexico that identifies the entities of the “fourth sector”. This causes social enterprises to compete with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) for funding with a hybrid model between a for-profit and a not-for-profit organisation. This trend raises questions such as: how can more synergies be created between social enterprises and CSOs?
2. Youth are promoting new forms of association different from CSOs.
Although young people have a high participation rate in social causes, they do so without formal affiliation. The philanthropic sector must accommodate and incorporate the youth’s perspective, ask how that perspective can be included and establish safe intergenerational dialogues in philanthropy.
3. The closure of civic space inhibits the activity of civil society organisations.
CSOs face public discredit driven by government narratives and limitations to their capacity to act. This is done through the imposition of restrictions on their funding and advocacy spaces. This trend raises the following question: where are the new and emerging spaces for social advocacy created by CSOs?
4. New philanthropic concepts are emerging and presenting challenges in how to communicate what philanthropy is and what it does.
While traditional forms of philanthropy are increasingly questioned and criticised, new terms are emerging that promise to democratise it, such as effective philanthropy, and strategic or impact philanthropy. Communicating these new perspectives and involving new participants poses a challenge. Some questions that arise are: how can we effectively communicate new perspectives on philanthropy? How do we measure the impact of the sector?
5. Funding models in philanthropy adapt and become more flexible.
Various models of philanthropy and funding have emerged, such as “giving circles”, crowdfunding, online giving, and novel financing schemes with comprehensive approaches to make them intersectional, systemic and geographically focused. Based on this scenario, it would be necessary to define how to create trusting relationships between organisations, foundations and international cooperation agencies and create more flexible donation options and incentives to encourage private donations.
6. There is an ongoing tendency to tighten the regulatory framework for CSOs.
There is over-regulation of CSOs and a legal vacuum that allows the banking sector to act discretionally towards them. This translates into increased obligations and onerous restrictions, which tend to weaken the sector. One of the questions that arise here is: how can we raise awareness and create a dialogue with the banking sector to facilitate the work of CSOs?
7. The importance of reviewing and improving working conditions is gaining momentum.
Working conditions in CSOs are not optimal for various reasons, including limited financial resources and a lack of legislation and regulation that consider the differences between CSOs and the private sector. It is important to ask ourselves how to help CSOs create working conditions that respect the dignity of the workforce.
This report contributes to the understanding of the current state of Mexican philanthropy and civil society, but it is also an exercise that contributes to the understanding of processes that often occur at the regional and global level as well, for example, the closing of opportunities to obtain federal resources, fiscal limitations and distrust in the philanthropic and social sector. In terms of opportunities and new possibilities that influence philanthropy and CSOs, there are other forms of community organisation, financing technologies and the emergence of social movements that push new agendas.
An in-depth understanding of the scenario in which philanthropic entities and CSOs operate in Mexico is fundamental to defining strategies that allow them to operate more effectively and achieve their objectives. The exercise carried out in this work contributes to the intersectoral dialogue that is necessary to adapt to the current context, to propose specific actions and routes to improve the philanthropic and civil society sphere, and it also allows one to draw parallels with other interconnected realities in the context of a globalised world.
To get first access to our blogs every month, subscribe to our newsletter here.