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Ghana Beyond Aid: Between Aspirational Rhetoric and Civil Society Realities
Get PDFLaunched in 2019, Ghana's Beyond Aid agenda envisions a shift from aid dependency to self-reliance through local resource mobilisation, mindset transformation, and national ownership. But how prepared are civil society organisations (CSOs) to align with this vision?Drawing on insights from over 190 organisations, this research report explores the opportunities and challenges the agenda presents—highlighting uneven progress, funding gaps, and the urgent need for innovation and partnerships to ensure CSOs remain resilient in a post-aid future
Future-Proofing Institutions: CTLs as Engines for Institutional Resilience
Get PDFEducational developers support institutional leaders in navigating the complex challenges of higher education. This support is carried out through four key functions of a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): Sieve, Hub, Incubator, and Temple. Together, these functions help institutions build resilience in challenging times
The Compass For Philanthropic Foundations : A guide for Philanthropy in Belgium â supporting foundations through 01 Vision & Strategic Outlook, 02 Accountability, 03 Good Governance, and 04 Collaboration
Get PDFThe Belgian Federation of Philanthropic Foundations developed this Compass as an advisory and support tool for founders, Boards, and foundation management. It is designed to guide foundations in reflecting on their purpose and refining their practices, with the aim supporting the philanthropic sector in Belgium to address today's challenges by addressing four critical principles:1) Vision & Strategic Outlook2) Accountability3) Good Governance4) Collaboratio
Ray of Hope Accelerator Impact Report: 5 Years of Impact Supporting Nature-Inspired Startups
Get PDFThis report showcases the past five years of achievements by the Biomimicry Institute's Ray of Hope Accelerator program to empower nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet, Since its inception, the Ray of Hope Accelerator has distributed 125 million in funding post-program completion to scale systemic solutions to the world's most pressing environmental challenges. The 5-Year Impact Report showcases how these participants are addressing pressing global issues, including food security, the development of safe new materials, and innovative renewable energy solutions. The Ray of Hope Accelerator, supported by its founding sponsor, The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, is open to innovations across industries, technologies, and geographies. Each cohort is united by a common thread: they are science-driven, inspired by nature's strategies, and committed to addressing at least one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals
A Landscape Scan of Research on the K-12 Education of Young People in the United States Who Experience Foster Care, Incarceration, and/or Homelessness
No full textThis report summarizes a decade of research on the factors that contribute to, or detract from, young people's ability to access and succeed in K-12 schooling when they are experiening foster care, the juvenile justice system, or homelessness. It surfaces gaps and opportunities for future inquiry and investment in research and identifies ways to make the education of this population -- which includes more than 1.6 million young people in America -- a stronger priority for schools and decision makers
Breaking the Mold: The Transformative Effect of MacKenzie Scott's Big Gifts
Get PDFSince 2019, MacKenzie Scott has given more than $19 billion in unrestricted support to more than 2,000 organizations, stating that her aim "has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds." Scott's very large, unrestricted gifts – with few to no restrictions on the time in which they must be spent – have transformed recipient organizations and influenced many of the communities these organizations serve
Unfinished Business: Examining Barriers to Obtaining Mental Health Licensure Among Minnesota Graduates
Get PDFIn 2023, the Center for Rural Behavioral Health and Wilder Research conducted a study to better understand the barriers that master's level mental health providers face during the licensure process. The study included a brief review of existing research and a survey of graduates from master's programs in Minnesota that lead to licensure in social work, counseling, or marriage and family therapy
Building Resilience in Times of Crisis : Part 1: Supporting partnersâ response and adaptation in funding crises
Get PDFRecent events and the USAID funding freeze have highlighted how unprepared we are when a crisis strikes. Partners suddenly lose resources they depend on, and the issues they address are quickly labelled as controversial, placing them at risk of backlash. This situation raises critical questions:* How do we support grantees who rely on these funds? * What type of support is more effective in situations when philanthropy cannot fully fill the funding gap? * How can we protect grantees and our organisations while staying true to our values, mission and goals?There is no one-size-fits-all answer; as contexts change rapidly, our strategies and tools must adapt in real time. Addressing these challenges requires not only immediate financial relief but also specialised skills and strong support infrastructures that go beyond traditional project funding. This is where Organisational Development (OD) and flexible funding become essential, helping grantees build resilience and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Recognising this need, the Philea Organisational Development Community of Practice has launched a series of informal gatherings on "Building Resilience in Times of Crisis" where philanthropy practitioners can discuss challenges, share approaches and explore adaptable support strategies. This learning series is not only a space to exchange immediate responses but also to think critically about how to reshape funding and support structures in ways that centre local leadership, foster long-term sustainability and challenge existing power imbalances in the philanthropic ecosystem.This information note captures the learnings from the first of three sessions in this series:* Part 1: Supporting partners' response and adaptation in funding crises* Part 2: Building Effective Partnerships* Part 3: Bridging Efforts Across the Atlanti
Philanthropy's role in Unlocking Social Innovation: a Strategic Partner for Governments
Get PDFThis policy brief outlines how philanthropy can act as a strategic partner to governments in advancing social innovation. It calls for enabling regulations, tax incentives, and national strategies to unlock domestic giving and catalytic capital. It also highlights the vital role of philanthropy support organisations in building resilient, locally rooted giving ecosystems, especially in the Global South.WINGS supports the Government Council for Social Innovation (GCSI) as an ecosystem partner, and this brief was prepared for the GCSI Summit in Luxembourg, April 2025. Learn more about GCSI here: https://governmentcouncil.org
Schooling the Mountains: The General Education Boardâs Work in Progressive Era Southern Appalachia
Get PDFFounded in 1902, the General Education Board (GEB) promoted various educational improvements throughout the rural South, ranging from school supervision to infrastructure improvement, teacher training, and curriculum reforms. Scholars have written widely on the GEB's efforts to transform the Deep South, especially in African American communities. Relatively little, however, has been said of southern Appalachia, a mountainous region that by the early-twentieth century had developed a reputation within American consciousness for lawlessness, violence, and general backwardness. These cultural stereotypes coincided with emerging images of Appalachian whiteness, in which the region was viewed as one of "pure Anglo stock" and seemingly devoid of African Americans and the racial tensions that characterized the South.This report chronicles the GEB's efforts to improve public education in southern Appalachia in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Even as the GEB provided much-needed school improvements, reformers also furthered the perception of Appalachia as a white enclave with distinct educational challenges. The GEB records, however, also reveal how African Americans performed grassroots reform work. Although social and cultural forces had rendered Black Appalachians invisible, they viewed schools as centers of community and racial uplift, and they invested heavily—financially and culturally—in better schools. This report especially chronicles the work of "Jeanes teachers," Black supervisors whose salaries were partially funded by the GEB. Appalachia remained an economically marginalized and educationally underfunded region at the Progressive Era's end, yet GEB initiatives provided mountain communities with physical and human infrastructure to launch subsequent movements for grassroots school reform