A raft of funding commitments from government and philanthropic bodies has accompanied the start of a major gathering of philanthropy and impact investors in Abu Dhabi. The announcements at AVPN Global – a network that brings together philanthropic and impact investors from across Asia and beyond – included commitments from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, global health programmes driven by the philanthropy of the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and a …

The US Agency for International Development is under pressure from some of its staff who say the governmental organisation, who help fund and collaborate private philanthropies, has been unable to grasp the severity of the Gaza crisis unfolding, amid a devastating bombing campaign by Israel.  During an open event named ‘critical importance of supporting and safeguarding health workers’ in Washington DC in early April, USAID assistant administrator for global health Atul Gawande struggled to answer …

Jaime Pumarejo, a former Colombian mayor, is taking the helm at Breathe Cities as executive director. The clean air initiative is a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies, Clean Air Fund, and C40 Cities, which supports cities around the world to cut their air pollution and climate emissions.  Pumarejo will lead the programme after serving as mayor of Barranquilla for three years since 2020.  He steered the city of 1.2 million, known as the ‘golden gate of Colombia’ …

Swarovski Foundation director Jakya Rahman-Corey says there is a power imbalance between funders and grantees remains rife in philanthropy.  ‘Unfortunately, there is a power imbalance between funders and organisations on the ground and to recognise that goes back to the object of the grant-giving body – what is it trying to achieve?’, she told Civil Society.   Born and raised in the UK, Rahman-Corey was inspired to ‘give back’ after witnessing ‘extreme poverty’ during a …