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Philanthropic Foundations as Catalysts of Scale

21st June, 2009 by Alejandro Litovsky

Next Wednesday (June 24th) I will be facilitating a workshop designed for the AVINA Foundation at Tällberg, Sweden, on the day before the kick-off of the Tällberg Forum. AVINA’s International Bridge Building efforts are demonstrating the effective role that philanthropic foundations can play in building critical mass to scale up the impact of social and environmental entrepreneurs. AVINA is currently helping some of its partners develop initiatives of continental scale and ambition.These include:

  • an “Amazon Regional Alliance”, led by Martín von Hildebrand of the Fundacion Gaia Amazonas, which is bringing together neighboring countries and leaders in a joint conservation effort;
  • a “Latin American Climate Platform”, which is linking business, policy-makers and environmentalists throughout the region, facilitated by the Quito-based Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano;
  • a continental network of sustainable cities, led by Oded Grajew, the business leader founder of the Instituto Ethos in Brazil, and one of the founders of the World Social Forum.

The session, with 60+ participants, is bringing these and other leaders together with European and global investors, philanthropic foundations and global action networks to spark strategic relationships and explore the collaborative potential to embark in joint initiatives and create ecosystems for change.

At the meeting, Anders Wikjman, Member of the European Parliament, environmental leader and Vice-President of Tällberg Foundation, will infuse participants with possibilities for creating global cooperation partnerships; and Simon Lyster, Executive Director of Leadership for the Environment and Development (LEAD) will share LEAD’s experience and results in mobilizing global-local networks.

At this year’s Tällberg Forum we are organizing seven other workshops on pathways to scale in partnership with Tällberg’s ‘Rework’ initiative, which I’ll report on separately.

The address for this blog entry is: http://www.volans.com/2009/06/the-role-of-foundations-in-catalyzing-scale/.

- Alejandro Litovsky

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