On 25 September the Working Group on Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace published a new report: ‘Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace: A Summary Report from Latin America and the Caribbean’.

The report is based on the findings of a project started in 2013, which included interviews, a survey and a convening of social justice and peace philanthropy practitioners in Bogota in May 2013. The aim was to map an emerging body of foundations that are providing resources for movements for structural and systemic transformation in the region.

The study reveals that the region is today dotted with small indigenous philanthropic institutions that identify themselves as women’s funds, community foundations, human rights funds. While they are often set up with international funding, they are characterized by a shared commitment to social justice in the region, support for a social change agenda that is locally owned and driven, and a commitment to long-term work towards the change they seek.

‘The report is by no means a comprehensive picture of the field in the region. It is only a start and a depiction of what we found,’ says the Working Group. ‘We hope the report will serve to promote further discussion of how the field can strengthen and develop itself the region.’

In partnership with Rede de Fundos Independentes para a Justiça Social (the Network of Independent Funds for Social Justice – Brasil), the report will soon be available in Spanish and Portuguese.