More than 100 leading international philanthropists convened in New York for the Annual Meeting of the Global Philanthropists Circle. The Circle is a remarkable group of individuals and families committed to using their resources and passions to create a more equitable world. While they are diverse in geography and approach, they are all addressing some of the world's most pressing problems with their philanthropy.

This annual event provides a forum for Circle members to find inspiration, new methods and possibilities for collaboration. The morning sessions addressed how philanthropists can use their passion, innovation and partnership to overcome global challenges. Discussions in afternoon breakout sessions on effective models of philanthropy included using media as a source for social change, promoting entrepreneurship for social returns and empowering women in regions of conflict. (Meeting Agenda)

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"Finding the opportunity to be able to interact not only in a grantmaking way, although that obviously has critical importance, but in a learning way is essential. That is to say learning from those with whom we want to work."
-- Peggy Dulany, Founder and Chair, Synergos Institute

TURNING YOUR PASSION INTO PRACTICE
Zainab Salbi, Founder and CEO, Women for Women International, and Blaise Judja-Sato, Founder and President, VillageReach, shared with the group their personal stories and how their past experiences influenced and inspired them to take action on issues they are passionate about. (Transcript)

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"We need to hear women's voices, not only for women's sake but also for the larger discussion of how we build stronger economies, stronger democracies, stronger nations. I really believe stronger women do lead to stronger nations."
-- Zainab Salbi, Women for Women International

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"Suddenly you realize that for what you want to happen you have to get actively involved. You can't just talk about things, you have to lead, you have to serve, and therefore inspire more people to join you if you want to create a movement.
-- Blaise Judja-Sato, VillageReach

GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATIONS IN PHILANTHROPY
Sheryl Sandberg, Member of the Board, Google Foundation/Google.org, and Dr. Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation, presented members with insight into their strategies to innovate and measure impact in order to address the global challenges of today. (Transcript)

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"Innovation demands applauding people when they get it wrong. Something that everyone says they do, but almost no one actually does. We do. You've tried some of our products that don't work. Some of those are going to work, but most of them aren't and we're comfortable with that. And we're going to have to be comfortable with that as we innovate as well in the philanthropic world."
-- Sheryl Sandberg, Google Foundation

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"The important part about thinking about impact and outcomes is it forces you to try and define in advance in a tight and more rigorous way what your intervention is likely to be. And so I see this kind of evaluation built in at the beginning of the process as a much more important element than built in at the end of the process."
-- Judith Rodin, The Rockefeller Foundation

HOW PHILANTHROPISTS CAN EFFECT CHANGE THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
GPC Member Jin Zidell, Founder, Blue Planet Run Foundation, Dan Vermeer, Director, Global Water Initiative, The Coca Cola Company, Michael Madnick, Senior Vice President, United Nations Foundation and Amir Dossal, Executive Director, UN Fund for International Partnerships, shared with members their unique partnership whose mission is to provide safe drinking water to every person on the planet. (Transcript)

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"The power of partnership is unbelievable because what it allows us to do is divide the tasks and multiply the results. Blue Planet Run is a very, very small organization. But with the help of Coca-Cola, the help of the United Nations Foundation and with the United Nations itself we'll be able to expand this program around the world."
-- Jin Zidell, Blue Planet Run Foundation

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"What there was a real need for is for us to create a platform that would be inclusive, that would allow all of us to come together to assemble the kind of creative energies, the interest, the mutual complementary sort of capabilities of our different organizations and do things that really honor the scale of the problem."
-- Dan Vermeer, The Coca Cola Company

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"What's the big problem? What are the big solutions that need to occur? And what are the roles that need to be undertaken by different sectors to come together to accomplish very specific large scale goals? That in even making that statement reinforces the point that no one can do it alone, which is a rhetorical statement you hear time and again, but gets proven over, and over, and over again at increasingly larger scales."
-- Michael Madnick, UN Foundation

Video: WMV Flash | Transcript

"We feel initiatives like Blue Planet Run will raise the profile on some of the pressing challenges that you have seen. So if we start with that, you'll have a multiplier effect. If you get people safe water, they'll be healthy, their IQ goes up, they can study better, and they can become income earners and create sustainable livelihoods. So it's really about wealth creation and less about poverty alleviation. That's the kind of business model we've adopted and we want to pursue in a very strong way."
-- Amir Dossal, UN Fund for International Partnerships

SOCIAL JUSTICE PHILANTHROPY WORKSHOP
October 11, 2006 at Synergos
Prior to the Annual Meeting, over 30 Members of the Global Philanthropists Circle came to together for a one-day workshop on Social Justice Philanthropy led by Emmett Carson, President and CEO, The Minneapolis Foundation. The participants discussed the concept of social justice and shared practice-based perspectives of how it can influence their philanthropy. (Workshop Agenda)

"Alleviating poverty and inequity cannot be accomplished one person at a time. Although philanthropists can choose where on the spectrum from direct services to systems change they wish to focus their giving, a social justice philanthropic framework encourages examination of root causes leading to more optimal giving. It is the responsibility of philanthropists to be intentional, to know what their giving will accomplish, to know their giving space and that of others, and consider how to leverage partnerships."
-- Emmett Carson, The Minneapolis Foundation
 

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Melissa Durda Senior Program Officer Global Philanthropists Circle The Synergos Institute Tel + 1 646-963-2132 mdurda@synergos.org