We are all control freaks who need to paint their offices green on Monday morning!

A humoristic finding that was drawn from a series of questions the participants were answering with eyes shut during the plenary on Foundation innovation – developing new capabilities to respond to new challenges. HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands spoke about the power of letting go and the need to change our mindset. How? With three capabilities: equality, courage and outside-in. First, equality described best through the acronym LYEAT – leave your ego at home; indicating a move from donating to investing and collaborating. An environment of equality is where Foundations and grantees become equal through collaborations. Second, courage in order to try new concepts. Being brave enough to see more. Lastly, outside-in, a perspective that replaces the question “what do you want?” with “what do you need?”.

Valia Fragkou, Senior Advisor, TIMA Charitable Foundation