June 2019 - Alliance magazine

Peace building

Welcome to the June 2019 issue of Alliance.

Peace-related philanthropy, at less than 1 per cent of all grantmaking, seems irresponsibly small given that armed conflict has spoils lives, divides societies and ruins economies.

This issue of Alliance goes in search of philanthropy’s role in peaceful development. Guest edited by a new generation of philanthropy practitioners, Lauren Bradford (Candid), Rasha Sansur (Dalia Association) and Hope Lyons (Rockefeller Brothers Fund) share their hopes for the future and discuss ways to open up the field to new voices and partners.

The issue also highlights findings from a landmark survey of peace philanthropy. It discusses whether the UN and the Sustainable Development Goals can give new impetus to peace-building, the role of community philanthropy in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Palestine, and the need to re-think existing peace and security paradigms.

Elsewhere, we talk to Lavinia Jacobs, Chair of the Swiss based Jacobs Foundation, about trying to change the status quo in early years education in Switzerland and the Ivory Coast. And our round-up from around the world of philanthropy includes news of a signficant increases in Chinese giving.

Special feature

In search of peaceful development

4 June 2019
Lauren Bradford, Hope Lyons and Rasha Sansur

Working in the field of peace and conflict resolution involves a particular set of demands. Funders need to be aware and willing to meet them Lebanon, Syria, Rwanda, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Vietnam, Kashmir – this is only a short list of the more recent conflicts that have dogged our collective history, yet, as many contributors to this special feature point out, peace-related grantmaking, at less than one per cent of all grantmaking, seems irresponsibly …

Charles Keidan

Editorial

Philanthropy has failed the people of Gaza

A decade ago, I visited the Gaza Strip. It was a few months after the end of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s military attempt to contain the Palestinian group Hamas. Few private foundations had travelled to Gaza since Hamas assumed control of the territory a few years earlier. Being Jewish and directing a British foundation with strong ties to Israel made the trip almost unprecedented. But I wanted to see the situation in all its complexity and meet some of the people affected by the conflict. Thanks to one of our grantees at the time, I was able to do that. …