To meet today’s unprecedented challenges requires similarly audacious goals from today’s philanthropists. We are committed to supporting the journeys of those interested in learning about systems change, amplifying the best practices in supporting systems change, and shaping new norms collectively.
Co-Impact is a global collaborative for systems change. We support partners in the Global South to ensure that the systems providing vital education, health, and economic services are more just, inclusive, and effective, resulting in improved outcomes for millions.
We believe that philanthropy has the potential to do more—and do better. Pooling funding towards systems change initiatives can achieve greater impact because the vision is substantive and long-term: far beyond a single intervention or year-to-year funding. We seek to use our collective experience and voice to influence philanthropy that is larger, longer-term, flexible, and supportive of gender equality. Our model of systems change relies on philanthropists who are willing to coalesce and collaborate. In that spirit, we share our reflections on how philanthropists make the journey toward systems change.
Since our launch in November 2017, Co-Impact has brought together over 40 philanthropists and foundations from 16 countries. Contributions have totaled over USD $500 million to date. These contributions allow Co-Impact to support partners in the Global South with funding that is larger, longer-term, and more flexible. The following reflections draw from Co-Impact’s experience, research with over 1,000 global ultra-high net worth individuals and billionaires, interviews with more than 20 individuals including funders and advisors, and a comprehensive literature review of over 70 articles, reports, books, databases, and documents. We sought to understand the opportunities and limitations for high-impact, systems-changing philanthropy, focusing on individual philanthropists rather than foundations. Much of the data we use comes from the Global North as data on Global South philanthropy is scarcer. Nevertheless, we believe the overall conclusions and learnings have broad applicability.
This document is for philanthropists and philanthropic sector leaders seeking longer-term, transformative changes that tackle the root causes of societal problems—we call them “systems philanthropists”. It outlines our seven observations on global philanthropy that help to explain why systems-change philanthropy is not yet very common. We put forward a typology of philanthropists that aims to describe the journey many take towards becoming a systems philanthropist. This document is also for our partners who are interested in promoting systems-changing philanthropy.
