One framework for a more expansive meaning of giving is the 5 T’s of Philanthropy: Time, Talent, Treasure, Ties, and Testimony. The 2023 WINGSForum in Nairobi brought a sixth T: Transformation. With more than 400 attendees, this global philanthropy gathering called upon philanthropy and its networks to transform at the personal, organizational, and ecosystemic levels.

Time: Philanthropy must transform its relationship with time. It treats its requirements and reports as urgent, while many are not even necessary. Even when a funder and an organization establish trust, the accountability mechanisms often still reflect a lack of trust. As one participant put it, organizations are treated as guilty until proven innocent. Thankfully, important conversations emerged about how to re-imagine cumbersome due diligence and compliance practices to better respect the time of the social sector. To shift to more participatory philanthropy, funders also must honor the time it takes to co-create, be inclusive, and ensure meaningful participation. Some participants reflected that donors must resist the temptation of urgency and get more comfortable with unpredictability and risk. This is essential to decolonizing philanthropy.

Talent: The contributions of young people often go unnoticed, but the first day of WINGSForum featured two incredible youth activists, Txai Suruí and Rena Kawasaki, who called on philanthropy to act to address the existential threats facing the world. The African Youth Philanthropy Network and Elevate Children Funders Group further called on funders to shed traditional mindsets that do not recognize children and youth as full human beings and take steps toward meaningful participation. From consultation to co-design to resourcing youth-led activists, there are many ways that funders can honor the talent and experiences of young people. With roughly 60% of the African population under the age of 25, philanthropy must ask itself how it can make progress on any social or environmental issue if it does not engage young people and truly meet their needs. One way to start is for philanthropy to create meaningful spaces for young people at conferences.

Treasure: There was no shortage of calls for more flexible funding and more direct funding to the Global South. During the same week as the conference, Human Rights Funders Network launched a report stating that 88% of funding from human rights foundations in the Global North stays in the Global North. Philanthropy still has a long way to go to transform from short-term, project-restricted grants to core, flexible funding that recognizes the trustworthy power of civil society. WINGSForum also recognized the historical and present unjust accumulation of wealth and explored the complex questions of redistribution to work toward deeper systemic transformation.

Ties: Funders must transform from silos to interdependence. Recognizing the increasing threats to transformational work, WINGS members are dedicated to building thriving ecosystems and enabling environments for philanthropy and civil society. Many participants spoke about the need to support the growth of civil society infrastructure. For instance, one session explored best practices for donor funding to networks, in part based on participatory research conducted by Collective Mind. Some participants also had the opportunity to learn more about KujaLink, a new platform to build direct and meaningful connections among donors and civil society organizations. But these ties only matter if there’s trust. As one participant shared in a loose translation of a Dutch expression, trust comes on foot but leaves on horseback.

Testimony: Many participants called on philanthropy to truly listen to the testimonies of grassroots activists and amplify their stories and experiences. Far too often, the voices of grassroots activists, including young people, are drowned out. Philanthropy can provide a platform, make connections, and shine a spotlight in new and creative ways.

Transformation: At the heart of transformation is challenging ourselves with critical questions to change our own mindsets. This in turn increases our own power to influence our organizations and peers. Philanthropy must continue to get uncomfortable, as that is how transformation begins.

Vanessa Stevens is Director of Innovation and Influencing at Global Fund for Children.