Innovations in International Philanthropy Symposium by the Network of Engaged International Donors and The Philanthropic Initiative opened in a powerful way. Ilwad Elman from Elman Peace & Human Rights Centre in Somalia and Jamila Afghani from Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization in Afghanistan – both recipients of the Aurora Prize for exceptional work advancing humanitarian causes – grounded the meeting in the stark realities of our times. They vividly called for philanthropy to mobilise resources in more responsive and flexible ways and shared their frustration with the reality that most resources are not getting to transformative, local leaders like them. Their remarks gave me a sense of the incredible challenges they face every day. Ilwad shared that a colleague had been killed while she was in transit to Boston for the conference. Jamila described how difficult her work became when the Taliban regained power and she had to flee to Canada.

Ilwad was particularly assertive in her call for philanthropy to appreciate grassroots organisations, which are rooted in communities and in it for the long haul. She urged the group to recognise the ‘exploratory’ approach that these organisations necessarily adopt when conditions change rapidly and needs evolve – work that doesn’t neatly line up with donor priorities and reporting requirements.

In conversations and presentations, the NEID community seemed clearly aligned around these ideas. Many speakers acknowledged the element of ‘preaching to the choir’ about the merits of flexible funding, proximate leadership, and community-led development, as well as new modes of true participation. Many attendees have already adopted such transformative approaches, and several organisations in the room, like Global Fund for Children, where I work, have been advancing these ways of working for decades.

A key unanswered question is how we can make more progress. How can we unlock larger pools of capital, acknowledging that philanthropy is currently a small portion of all resources available, and most of those resources are highly restricted, project-based, and inaccessible to powerful changemakers like Jamila and Ilwad?

I’m encouraged when in such a crowd of kindred spirits trying to change the way things have worked for decades, and I’m hopeful that over time more resources will go more directly where communities and their champions feel they are best used.

John Hecklinger is the President and CEO of Global Fund for Children