#OpenDialogue 16 Jan 2025. Blueprint 2025 Release with Dr Lucy Bernholz
Civil Society at a Crossroads
The 16th Annual Industry Forecast for Philanthropy and Civil Society with Dr Lucy Bernholz, Senior Research Fellow at Stanford PACS.
Save the Date – January 16, 2025 at 9am PST / 12 noon ET / 5pm UK / 6pm CET / 7pm SAST
We are excited to invite you to join us for the release of Blueprint 2025 where Dr. Lucy Bernholz, renowned scholar of philanthropy and civil society at Stanford University presents her 16th annual industry analysis at a pivotal moment for democracy, civil society and philanthropy.
Recent U.S. election results have fundamentally challenged our assumptions about democracy, civil society, and philanthropy’s role in preserving both. The discontinuity that will now follow – moving from relative democratic stability to an era requiring proactive defence of civil society – demands an immediate, bold and decisive shift in philanthropy’s response. Traditional frameworks and incremental change are no longer sufficient. As Dr. Bernholz notes, “We’ve all argued for a long time that foundations need to change, and maybe it takes a calamity.” That moment is here.
These events have also demanded a profound reassessment of the original Blueprint 2025’s core premises. This interactive dialogue will feature Lucy’s key – and emerging – insights on what this means for philanthropy and civil society. It will invite engagement and conversation with participants including civil society leaders and philanthropy practitioners from multiple regions. We expect a vibrant interactive conversation about how we can shift gears to deal with the compounding issues we face. It aims to be forward-looking and action-oriented, drawing on diverse global experiences in sustaining civil society under pressure:
Key topics will include:
- Regional perspectives on defending civil society spaces.
- Immediate actions for philanthropic transformation, not just adaptation
- Ways to strengthen civil society resilience in challenging political contexts.
- Learning from those who have long experience in maintaining civil society under authoritarian pressure.
Details:
- Date: January 16, 2024
- Time: 9am PST / 12 noon ET / 5pm UK / 6pm CET / 7pm SAST
- Duration: 90 minutes
- Register for the Zoom link here
Blueprint 2025 offers an essential roadmap for philanthropy’s response to unprecedented challenges. Join us for a pivotal discussion on the future of civil society and philanthropy.
Conversation guides
Lucy Bernholz is Senior Research Scholar at Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and Director of the Digital Civil Society Lab. She writes about civil society, philanthropy, and technology in the annual Blueprint Series and on the award winning blog, philanthropy2173. She has written/edited four books: Creating Philanthropic Capital Markets: The Deliberate Evolution (2004); Philanthropy in Democratic Societies, (2016); Digital Technologies and Democracy Theory (2020), and How We Give Now: A Philanthropic Guide for the Rest of Us (2021). Bernholz studied history and has a B.A. from Yale University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Gerry Salole is an independent consultant specialising in international development and philanthropy, currently operating through his consultancy, “drawing conclusions”. He previously served as Chief Executive of the European Foundation Centre and has experience of having worked with organizations such as the Ford Foundation, Save the Children and Oxfam. In addition to his consultancy work, Salole holds several board memberships, he’s the chair of the European Cultural Foundation, and sits on the Board of the Unicredit Foundation, The Evens Foundation, The Africa Capacity Building Foundation and the Impact Trust. He also teaches as an adjunct lecturer at the Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment at the Business School of the University of the Witswatersrand.
