In a session called Creativity for Social Change, Lwanda Xaso said, ‘We must change ourselves from the inside – and tackle our own resistance to change.’ An energizing thread I found weaving through Philea from various sessions and presenters was a push for participants to think differently and do things differently to tackle the extraordinary crises facing social movements and democracy across the world. Presenters called on funders to step up and respond to our shared and pressing challenges. 

For example, in a session about safeguarding democracy (Beyond Defense: Innovations in European Democracy), Aleksandra Tomanic provoked us to ‘ask yourselves in philanthropy – what is neutrality in such a society?’ She spoke to the need for philanthropy to take risks commensurate with the rising threats to democracy and free expression.

Taking risks is about both action and about language, because words are not neutral. For example, to truly galvanize ourselves, we must acknowledge we are in a climate crisis versus climate change. ‘Change’ does not capture the scale of destruction that is facing us and especially communities like Tahiti in the South Pacific, as Christian Vanizette shared in a session about funding youth climate activists (Building infrastructure to support resilient youth climate movements: Lessons from across Europe). He noted that funding grassroots youth climate movements is one of the best means of reducing carbon emissions – yet many funders are reluctant to act because of the perceived ‘risk’ of funding young people and their collectives. Youth climate activist Winnie Asiti brought that home when she said in the closing plenary, ‘Trust-based, flexible grantmaking was top voted in the opening plenary [as an issue to focus on]. Can we actually put this into action? Trust young people to know what we can do.’

We are in a situation of polycrisis worldwide. And philanthropists like those of us at Philea need to act as if we are. The women, trans, and non-binary activists that my organizations, the Urgent Action Sister Funds, resource are constantly experiencing crisis – from long-term crises such as shrinking space for civil society, authoritarianism, and rising anti-rights movements to acute crises like armed conflict, oppressive new laws, and climate disasters. Crisis is their everyday reality. Simultaneously, these same activists are on the frontlines of the fight to save democracy and protect civic space. Human rights and social justice activists are taking risks every single day to make the world a better, freer place for us all. As two of my colleagues wrote recently, if we want to see social transformation, philanthropy must accept the inevitability of risk. It is riskier for us all, philanthropy included, NOT to take action when democracy is crumbling, women’s and LGBTQI+ rights are backsliding, and islands are disappearing under the ocean. 

Philanthropy must step up to the plate with courage and creativity that matches that of the social movements we support. Winnie ended by demanding that we all be changemakers – because who will make the change if not us? As I left the final day of Philea, I hoped that all of us take that call back to our own contexts. If we reconsider the true meaning of risk and we think big – what can we change in our institutions to move more money and give more flexibility to activists fighting for justice, for democracy, for a sustainable planet? What transformative change can we then achieve together? 

Celia Turner, Partnerships Managing Officer, Urgent Action Fund