2019 GPC Annual Members Meeting
2019 GPC Annual Members Meeting
May 8-9 • New York City
Over 110 Global Philanthropists Circle members and guests convened for the GPC Annual Members Meeting during the 2019 Synergos Philanthropy Week in New York. The event brought together a diverse group of philanthropists and social investors from 21 countries across five continents.
Comprised of interviews, keynotes, breakout sessions, and member insight talks, the meeting enabled participants to both connect and exchange ideas with one another – increasing members’ knowledge and capacity to find inspiration, explore possibilities for collaboration, and act effectively.
Resources
Day One: Purpose & Collaboration
Wednesday, May 8
Welcome Remarks
Henri van Eeghen, Synergos CEO & GPC Member
Robert Boogaard, Co-Founder of Jazi Foundation, GPC Member
Henri van Eeghen, Synergos CEO and GPC member, centered his welcoming remarks around his vision for Synergos going forward. Specifically, Henri stressed the importance of building the organization on a foundation of trust. He emphasized that inner reflection is an essential part of what we do and explained how it helps us to understand and identify our personal impact within an organization. Citing the Synergos network across 60 countries, Henri explained how greater collaboration was also critical to his vision – and necessitated a critical need for a tight network and bolstering our tech savvy. Going forward, Henri hopes to develop an open data platform on which everyone across the Synergos network can freely share ideas and resources. He challenged the room to see themselves as part of a network – an interdependent ecosystem – rather than coming from the vantage point of “what can I get from the GPC?” or “what can the GPC get from me?” And he reminded participants that ”The organization we build should be a model of the world we want to create”
Insight Talk: Purpose & Personal Approach
Robert Boogaard shared his insights on philanthropic impact investing. Highlights of his presentation include:
- Previously, we saw our philanthropy and impact investments as separate areas.
- We realized that this was not the most effective approach; philanthropy = investing.
- As an entrepreneur, I brought together high-net-worth individuals to create a maximized impact portfolio model. My model includes 4 elements: investments across all areas, financial value, social value/impact, total value (social +financial return).
- Why? This approach has helped us transform intuition-based thinking. Our new orientation, centered on maximization and impartiality, allows us to more clearly evaluate our options in the context of impact, to make all our underlying assumptions explicit, and to help develop more predictive models.
When asked how he values impact, Robert explained how he uses external sources and a multiplier to identify impact levels.
“We are trying to shift from implicitly determining and applying value to impact initiatives and instead create an explicit model to adequately display impact.”
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Insight Talk: Purpose & Personal Approach
Alexandre Mars, CEO & Founder of Epic Foundation, GPC Member
Alexandre spoke about his ambition and resultant model to create a better world. In his talk he explained:
- Epic Foundation, which analyzes NGO and social enterprise applications, seeks to understand why people don’t give more and selects exceptional organizations for funding.
- To create a norm of philanthropic values/social good within corporate organizations, we are pushing the concept of giving money and increasing philanthropic contributions.
- Epic is apolitical, but looks to influence policy when great opportunities arise, i.e. something works in New York, how to bring it to Chicago?
Further sharing that he has a different definition of impact, Alexandre explained that he assesses impact based on regional and other specific values.
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Inner Work for Outer Change: Synergos & Fetzer
Bob Boisture, Fetzer Institute & GPC Member Len le Roux, Synergos; Moderator: Kathryn Uhl, Synergos
Kathryn began the discussion asking Bob and Len why inner work is necessary:
- Bob: “Inner work allows individuals to become students of change, analyzing scenarios from the inside out. Thus, allowing us to approach social change work interpersonally first, rather than thinking of the ways everything else needs to change. The goal of inner work is to increase our capacity to love. Our sense is that love is the only force powerful enough that negate the forces pulling us apart.”
- Len: Inner work is divided across two practices. self practice and collective work
Speaking specifically about the Synergos/Fetzer Partnership:
- Len: The work of change is not done by us, but rather the regional actors on the ground that achieve the goals. We have an important role in helping people in the change process, but our attribution is more about getting the leadership and getting the teams to begin creating that change. The partnership incorporates three elements: (1) Case studies that demonstrate the connection between inner work, bridging leadership, and social change, (2) Developing a process guide that translates our practices and learning into a publicly available resource, and (3) Determining how this work will translate into a larger movement that shifts perceptions and consciousness.
- Bob: “Our larger effort is to mainstream inner work and bridging leadership as a core methodology for social changemakers around the world”
- This two-year partnership broadens the conversation and presents us as advocates for this methodology, allowing us opportunity to expose, explain and offer to others.
- Bob: “We are a force, if we just stand up and lean into this problem, we are a force.”
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Music for Dialogue
Dr. Ori Leshman
“Music for dialogue allows us to share our deep emotions and matters that we deeply care about (in philanthropy).”
A musician by trade, an educator, artist, conductor, and organizer, Ori advocates that music itself is a dialogue – among the players, the singers, the audience, the conductor. For this session, GPC members were asked in advance to choose songs that are important to them. Creating a selection from the songs chosen, Ori facilitated a moving dialogue with participants in the meeting – one that connected both people’s minds and hearts.
“Music provides a personal acquaintance and openness towards others which are the core components of true dialogue.”
“Music for dialogue is a new innovative perception of how people can communicate, open up, empathize and collaborate with one another.”
Insight Talk: Purpose & Collaboration
Eva Haller, GPC Member
Eva Haller dedicated her insight talk to an issue she was moved in her heart to address: wrongful incarceration.
- Eva shared the story of an Irish man wrongfully imprisoned and on death row for 17 years, and a young woman wrongfully convicted of killing man in Florida and on death row for 15 years. The two met at Amnesty International when speaking against the death penalty after their release. Bonded by their life-shaping experiences, they eventually married.
- Touched by this extraordinary couple’s story of wrongful incarceration, Eva founded an organization for re-introducing exonerees into society (the Sunny Center) in her dining room.
- Globally, the number of innocent people in jail is growing each year and the life expectancy of exonerees released is low.
- The work we are doing is essential to helping exonerees live more fully once they are released.
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Insight Talk: Purpose & Collaboration
Dick Simon, GPC Member
Dick Simon, GPC Member, devoted his insight talk to the potential of psychedelics as a treatment for mental health issues.
- Dick was first introduced to the power of psychedelics through a good friend who almost lost her son to mental illness. The doctors said they could give the young man medicine to stop him from committing suicide, but he would never be fully whole and attending school may not be a possibility. In place of more traditional medication, the child’s mother, who is a doctor, prescribed psychedelics, which later cured him of his severe symptoms.
- Dick noted that “There is an immediate trigger to the word ‘psychedelic,’ so how do we get past the stigma in order to alleviate the suffering?”
- “We are trying to bring fact-based, scientific reasoning back to this issue to regain its legitimacy.”
- When asked who the opponents of psychedelic treatments are, Dick explained, “Cultural inertia, and stigmatization is what is against this movement, rather than individuals or (most) groups.”
“Fear is a filter that keeps you from thinking clearly.”
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Musical Performance: Up With People and GPC Member, Larry Lunt
Through music and action, Up With People empowers young people to be positive agents of change for a more hopeful, trusting and peaceful world.
Hosted by Larry and Michael Lunt, students from Up with People, an international educational organization, capped off the meeting afternoon with a brief performance. Through a unique blend of music, social action and international travel, Up with People builds bridges of understanding and trust while empowering youth with the skills and perspectives to become positive leaders in their communities and the world. University aged students travel one to two semesters in a cohort of 100 peers from different countries and backgrounds. In each community they live with host families to learn about the culture, provide community service, lead cross-cultural classroom workshops in local schools and perform a musical show celebrating the human family…and no musical talent is required. Many take college classes for up to 12 credit hours. “Up with People was a life changing experience for me and the thousands of young people who have participated” said Michael Lunt. “I highly recommend it for any young person who wants to make a difference in the world while gaining the skills to be a bridge building leader.” Please consider an Up with People cast performing for your event, or if you know of a young person who would like to spend a semester in this unique leadership and service program, please click the link below.
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Day Two: Systems Thinking & Partnerships
Thursday, May 9, 9:00am-4:00pm
Opening Remarks: Anne Bahr Thompson, Synergos
Anne began day two of the GPC Annual Members Meeting by reminding us that “We are living in a dynamic world,” adding that for many people, “2018 was a year of creative destruction.” More people are looking towards philanthropy to create solutions for a better world.
“Some days, global problems may feel so overwhelming and we may question ourselves, ‘Is what I’m doing making a difference?’ Days such as these are when Synergos steps in and shines its special light - guiding people to reflect internally and ultimately amplify their impact through inner work.”
Anne pointed out that the benefits of inner work stretch beyond how we engage in philanthropy to how we practice business and, indeed, approach our whole lives. She spoke about her vision of greater collaboration across the different typologies of philanthropy and with stakeholders in business, governments and other institutions, and communities as a means to solve the systemic challenges we face.
Introduction to GPC Online Platform
Melissa Durda, Synergos, Rowan Finnegan, GPC Member, Duarte Melo Ribeiro, WeChangers Co-Founder
The new Synergos GPC Online Community will act as a live directory with a search and filter function. It offers a space for members to learn more about what the GPC and fellow members are engaged in, connect directly with other members, and develop philanthropic collaborations to strengthen impact.
The supporting platform for the online community is being powered by WeChangers – a global start-up whose mission both aligns with and is complementary to Synergos’ values. Focused on empowering individuals, communities and organizations, WeChangers develops solutions to create a better world, by providing tools, stories and connections that increase impact.
- Duarte: “We need collaborative approaches to problem solving because the world’s problems are global in scale, connected through complex local networks,”
- Rowan: “Our ability to connect and engage is our ability to take action.”
The GPC Online Community is private and only accessible by members with log-in credentials. Members’ information is confidential, and members choose how much they share with others in our community. Our private community also offers space for forums, knowledge sharing, events and member statistics.
Members can directly contact each other and receive private messages from one another. We will soon roll out an event registration function that will streamline both sign-ups and payments.
To connect, log-in at https://synergos.community or contact Christianna for more information at
First-hand Learning: Traveling with the GPC
Katarina Czarniak, Synergos, Daniela Fainberg, Synergos, Marcio Kakumoto, GPC Member, and Thiciana Zaher, GPC Member
Daniela: “Through learning journeys, I gained a connection to South Africa and now learning journeys have been a way to develop and encourage my passion for social missions. I didn’t realize the potential of learning journeys as a tool for development.”
Thiciana described how the learning journey to South Africa impacted her, and how the impact of the learning journey inspired her to take initiative:
- “Inspired by a South African program focused on youth employment, I explored ways that we could bring those initiatives to my home in Brazil by meeting with those involved in south Africa. We are now two years into our Youth Employment program and impact around 180 children. But, it is so important that these initiatives help these children find more than a job, but also find themselves.”
Marcio spoke about his learning journey experience in India:
- ”For me the learning journey is actually life. This trip was more a trigger to all the transformations that are inside me right now, rather than just the learning experience. By this I mean, philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, etc. -- it is all new to me. But it has been very impactful. I have been learning and growing within over the past 10 years.”
Kate added to the conversation on the impact of the learning journey to India:
- ”The Wildlife Conservation Trust visit was very impactful, the growth of the tiger population there was an indicator of how well the systems for recovery could potential be for the organization. “
Learn more
- Synergos 2019 Event Calendar
- Learning Journey to Southern Africa
- Learning Journey to Colombia
- Learning Journey to Australia and New Zealand
Systems & Scale: Synergos & Bloomberg
Kelly Larson, Bloomberg Philanthropies; Moderator: Leah Bradford Francis, Synergos
Kelly shared the successes that Bloomberg Philanthropies, working in partnership with Synergos, has had on public health issues in Southeast Asia. “We saw a 74% reduction in drowning deaths of children between 1-4 through scalable interventions to prevent drowning in low- and middle-income communities.”
Leah and Kelly each described how government support is essential for achieving sustainable change and scalable impact.
The second half of this session was a fireside chat with Kelly and Leah. Highlights from this conversation include:
- Leah: How do you start thinking/planning for scale and sustainability? Thinking about the next step.
- Kelly: You need government partnership. We always think about scale and sustainability -- first is sustainability, scale comes later. We always focus specifically on proven interventions that we know will save lives. That is our metric. Additionally, there needs to be a clear push from civil society towards government to support specific initiatives.
- Leah: Systemic change requires clear partnership. How do you deal with collaboration?
- Kelly: It’s hard. You have unique skills, personality, and desires. Giving clear milestones allowing them to focus on their expertise, in Bloomberg’s scenario, we focus on managing the partnership. Where we view Synergos as the experts. We are very selective, and it is important to be clear about the expectations and goals set for the grantees.
- Leah: What have you learned from the failures along the way?
- Kelly: I would even say we could do a better job in Bangladesh. At first the researchers surrounding drowning in Bangladesh were utilized for both analytics and connections to the government regarding sustainability. That’s when Synergos entered to add expertise towards systematic creation and sustainability.
- Leah: What are some of the biggest challenges regarding adversarial groups working against your initiatives (i.e. tobacco control v tobacco companies)?
- Kelly: We started an initiative called STOP where we committed $20 million to expose tobacco industry tactics.
- Leah: How have you used Michael Bloomberg’s voice to push certain things?
- Kelly: We use his name every single day. The power of his name goes so far. On a global level, we use his voice.
- Leah: How do you galvanize support for issues?
- Kelly: Even if there is little discourse within the political spectrum, there are many people who are dedicated to different causes. It’s about identifying the particular organizations that have the skills and capacity to take on these missions. That includes local affiliates. A political champion can be incredibly useful to garner that governmental support.
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