Photo by Erick Forester / WINGS
By Olivia Leland and Silvia Bastante de Unverhau, Co-Impact
Over the arc of our respective careers, spanning five decades in philanthropy and social justice, we’ve witnessed a shift towards more collaborative philanthropy: to unlock more impact through more funds dispersed and more organisations supported. Along the way we’ve learnt lots of lessons from building a new donor collaborative – Co-Impact.
Today, collaboration is a hot topic, and the number of donor collaboratives like Co-Impact is increasing. A 2021 Bridgespan survey polling 97 people from across 200 collaboratives showed a global surge in popularity: more than half of collaboratives were formed in the last decade1. This growth has been driven by a number of factors, including a desire by funders and philanthropy professionals to explore higher-impact ways to give. We want this shift to continue and see even more collaboration within the sector.
The picture today contrasts with a decade ago, as Olivia Leland experienced through the journey towards founding Co-Impact. Co-Impact came about through a sustained period of listening and learning. Starting in 2014, Olivia spent three years speaking to the sector – from philanthropists to activists – that eventually informed the design and launch of Co-Impact. The goal was to go beyond regular forms of information sharing and partnerships and build a model that pools funding to provide partners with larger grants for a longer period of time – all to make health, education, and economic systems stronger and more inclusive, with a particular focus on gender equality. This approach means ceding some control on behalf of the funder, so changemakers can develop strategies that truly drive structural and lasting changes, or ‘systems change’.
This new approach did not meet universal support. The day before Co-Impact’s launch in 2017, Olivia was told by a prominent US philanthropist: “There is no way this will work because philanthropists don’t like to collaborate and prefer to do their own thing. No one will want to give into a pooled fund”. And change takes time. In 2018, the Hauser Institute for Civil Society at Harvard Kennedy School found that less than half of more than 7,000 foundations surveyed “indicated that they collaborate with other philanthropic institutions”2, even with a much broader definition of collaboration than the model of pooled funding used by Co-Impact.
Co-Impact, alongside other collaboratives like Blue Meridian Partners and Dasra among others, has proven that a collaborative funding model can and does work. Yet, there is plenty of room for growth. We want to inspire others to fill this space and further scale the potential and impact of collaborative giving. The Bridgespan survey3 we mentioned earlier estimates that around USD 2 billion flows annually to global collaboratives. That pales in comparison to the USD 499 billion in total giving in the US alone and an estimated USD 1.2 trillion that is given annually around the world.
Over the past six years of bringing together funders and building a collaborative, we have learned a lot that can help those who are already having conversations about collaboration or are maybe even considering joining a collaborative:
- Emphasise the impact and leverage that a pooled philanthropy fund can have: We have found that this is a key motivator, as philanthropists are seeking new approaches that maximise impact. Collaboratives that pool funding are able to support a more diverse set of organisations that have traditionally been harder to reach for funders.
- Meet the issue of ceding control head-on: Most philanthropists want to feel a certain degree of control. Funders also prefer to be brought in early on to help shape the initiative. Yet pooling funding requires that funders are conscious of ceding control and power. The key here is to highlight what is gained from this. In our case, it’s about sustained impact at scale, as well as the cross-learnings that happen between more experienced and early-stage funders. In a collaborative, we’ve witnessed the exchange of new ideas, longstanding experiences, and an increased openness for experimentation, all in an effort to drive greater impact.
- Peer advocacy is crucial: Most philanthropists are moved to action based on direct relationships, so it is key to leverage existing connections. Speaking to champions who are vocal about the cause that a collaborative supports is key here.
- Seek out collaboratives with a clear alignment of values and approach: This is crucial for a successful partnership, and we have been on the other side a few times, having had to decline funding that did not align with our funder vetting policy.
We believe in philanthropy’s power as a catalyst for inclusive, meaningful, and enduring change on a global scale. This belief has been a defining one in both of our careers to date. Co-Impact was set up to transform the system of funding itself, so that philanthropy delivers the capital and non-financial support that is truly needed to achieve such systemic change. For us, the work has only begun, and we hope to see more and more people and organisations exploring collaborative philanthropy, whether it is by joining a collaborative or by driving collaborative modes of working and funding.
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- Bridgespan, 2021, Releasing the Potential of Philanthropic Collaborations, https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/philanthropic-collaborations
- Johnson, 2018, The Global Philanthropy Report: Perspectives on the Global Foundation Sector. Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. pp. 11, 28 https://cpl.hks.harvard.edu/publications/global-philanthropyreport-perspectives-global-foundation-sector
- Bridgespan, 2021, Releasing the Potential of Philanthropic Collaborations, https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/philanthropic-collaborations
Find the chapter, ‘A Model for Promoting Systems-Change Philanthropy by Leveraging Networks’ written by Olivia Leland and Silvia Bastante de Unverhau in the ‘Reimagining Philanthropy in the Global South’ publication here.
Olivia founded and leads Co-Impact, drawing on her experience in philanthropy, government, and the nonprofit sector and a deep commitment to achieving impact at scale.
Silvia is a global philanthropy expert who brings over 20 years of experience to her role as Senior Advisor to Co-Impact focused on philanthropy, advocacy, and influencing.
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