Widening the Impact of Private Philanthropy: Circles of Trust

When María Eugenia Garcés joined the Global Philanthropists Circle (GPC) in 2003, she never imagined that within three months she would be spearheading a major campaign for restorative justice in her native Colombia while pointing the way to a new type of private-public alliance to combat poverty and injustice around the globe.

Garcés' experience illustrates how Synergos works on many levels to help individual donors and their families transform their philanthropic visions into reality. In the process, Synergos strengthens the impact of global philanthropy through its support of innovative solutions to the social and economic inequities that divide communities around the world.

One way that the GPC and Synergos stimulate social change is by creating multiple opportunities -- formal and informal -- for an exchange of ideas among diverse groups of dynamic individuals committed to a common goal. Garcés' success story begins with such an exchange.

Like many other individual donors, María Eugenia Garcés had a desire to be more strategic with her philanthropy but was unsure how to proceed. Knowing of her interests, Lizzie Eder Zobel de Ayala, a friend who was a member of the Global Philanthropists Circle, suggested that she join the Circle.

The Evolution of an Activist

Among her first activities as a new GPC member was attending the Circle's 2003 Annual Meeting in New York, which brought dozens of global philanthropists together wi th l eaders f rom gover nment, busi ness and civil society. Tapped to be a discussion leader for her table during lunch, Garcés admi ts that she was somewhat ner vous: "If I had read the bios of the people at my table, I would have been too intimidated to sit there!"

She quickly found reassurance sitting next to Tokyo Sexwale, a leader in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa who emerged from years of imprisonment on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela to become an official of the African National Congress and went on to lead the South African mining and energy company, Mvelaphanda Holdings.

"When I was asked about what kind of work our foundation did, I decided to talk about our efforts supporting restorative justice," Garcés said.

Restorative justice programs are increasingly being employed in communities divided by violence and other forms of conflict to bring all stakeholders together to forge solutions based on repair of harm and reintegration of victims and offenders as contributing members of society. Sexwale told her: "We did something similar in South Africa, but we called it truth and reconciliation -- and we would love to help you. We can share with you how we did it." "I was stunned," Garcés recalled.

Forging New Alliances for Change in Colombia

The timing was good, as she and her four siblings had just established a family foundation, the AlvarAlice Foundation, in memory of her parents' commitment to social development in Colombia. Although Colombia is Latin America' s longest-running democracy, it is threatened by decades of civil conflict fueled in recent years by organized crime and drug trafficking. Colombia is one of the most violent countries in the world, its high homicide rates caused by a mix of guerrilla, paramilitary and narco-terrorist warfare and the youth-on-youth violence of street gangs. As a result, more than two million Colombians have been displaced from their rural homes and struggle to survive in cities such as Garcés' native Cali.

To help address this situation, Garcés was eager to strengthen the impact of her new foundation, which focused on education, healthcare, housing, microfinance and job creation. The foundation also supported a community-based restorative justice program that reintegrated members of youth gangs from the streets of Cali back into society.

After her remarkable interchange with Sexwale, Garcés found further encouragement later that evening when GPC members reconvened at the United Nations for Synergos' annual University for a Night. The event brings together global philanthropists, heads of state, and leading representatives of business, civil society and government to explore ways to bridge social and economic divides.

At dinner, Garcés found herself across the table from Dan Runde of the US Agency for International Development's Global Development Alliance (GDA). GDA was created in 2001 to extend the impact of US development assistance through partnerships with the private sector. As Colombia was high on USAID's priority list, Runde suggested a follow-up meeting the next day with Garcés and Oscar Rojas, executive director of AlvarAlice Foundation and a Synergos Senior Fellow from Colombia.

Transforming Philanthropic Vision into Action

Once it became clear that GDA was interested in exploring a restorative justice project in Colombia, Synergos staff moved into high gear to provide Garcés with the support needed to capitalize on this opportunity to make her philanthropic vision a reality. Synergos facilitated a seri es of fur ther meetings with GDA and other USAID staff, strategized on a concept paper to take to potential donors, and drafted a detailed grant application for AlvarAlice and its consortium of Colombian partners.

The resulting proposal, subsequently approved by GDA, works on a number of levels over three years to bridge the divides in Colombian society that serve as barriers to a lasting peace. The cornerstone of the project, a network of "peace restoration centers" in the urban slums of Cali and war-torn rural areas of southwestern Colombia, will expand on existing efforts to provide livelihood opportunities and social reintegration for those a affected by conflict.

"By bringing together philanthropists, business leaders, multilateral aid organizations, NGOs and governments, Synergos creates important linkages." -- Dan Runde, Global Development Alliance, US Agency for International Development

Two international gatherings in Cali will explore existing models of restorative justice and provide a framework for their application in the Colombian context. And an academic component will insure the integration of restorative justice theory into the curriculum of leading schools of law and political science. In addition to AlvarAlice Foundation and Synergos, consortium partners include Fundación Paz y Bien, a nonprofit organization working in the poorest quarters of Cali; Corporación VallenPaz, a rural development agency operating in conflict zones in southwestern Colombia; Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cali; and Fundación Corona, which will coordinate the academic component of the project.

In its role as a consortium member, Synergos will continue to provide access to international sources of expertise on restorative justice and provide consulting services to the other members in the areas of strengthening their institutional capacity and partnership skills. In this area, Synergos has already provided connections to individuals and institutions outside of Colombia who can assist in funding and serve as resources in the planned symposium.

Broadening the Impact of Private Giving

In the wake of Garcés' experience, it became clear to Synergos that other GPC members were engaged in the kinds of philanthropic work that could benefit from matching support from the new public-private development alliance. Synergos staff reached out to GPC members to notify them of the opportunity to partner with GDA and identified several members -- in South Africa, Morocco, Ecuador and the United States -- with projects that matched GDA's priorities. "The GPC represents a unique but diverse consti tuency of potenti al par tners that GDA welcomes but might not find easy to reach. Synergos is well-situated to ser ve as broker of these relationships," said Andrew Sillen, Synergos' Deputy Director of Development for Foundations, Corporations &Government Agencies.

In assisting GPC members and their local partners in their applications to GDA, our staff provided different levels of support in each case, depending on their distinct needs and capabilities. For proposals that are accepted for funding, Synergos will provide a range of further consulting services to the successful applicants. Together, the proposals stand to leverage $24 million in funding for strategic alliances around the globe that address social and economic inequities.

"By bringing together philanthropists, business leaders, multilateral aid organizations, NGOs and governments, Synergos creates important linkages," said the GDA's Dan Runde. "The relationships formed through the Synergos network help us to extend our collective development impact. Synergos extends our reach to support philanthropists from the developing world and local social entrepreneurs -- actors that are closest to the needs on the ground."

Supporting the Diverse Needs of Individuals Donors

As these examples illustrate, Synergos is there at every step of the way to provide customized assistance to individuals and their families to help them identify and realize their philanthropic goals. Through a broad spectrum of services, GPC and Synergos staff. create opportunities for peer learning and exchange and provide high-level relationship brokering and timely access to international expertise and resources. These services are based on an in-depth understanding of the diverse needs and interests of the members of the Global Philanthropists Circle.

For María Eugenia Garcés, one of the most important benefits of being a GPC member is the relationships that develop as a result of being involved in a "circle of trust." "It's the critical role of hearing someone like Tokyo Sexwale say 'You have a good idea -- trust yourself.' It makes you feel secure when you have people of that caliber saying 'Go for it.' And you say 'Why not?' The fact that I could have a success like this in my first grant-seeking opportunity is really amazing."

Written 2004