Peggy Dulany receives 2017 Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy

In January, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco presented the 2017 Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy to Peggy Dulany, founder and chair of Synergos and co-founder of the Global Philanthropists Circle (GPC). The Prince’s Prize, organized by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Tocqueville Foundation in Paris, aims to promote inspiring and innovative initiatives in the field of strategic philanthropy. Nominations and selection of the recipient are made by an international jury.

The presentation took place in conjunction with the Prince’s Roundtable on Philanthropy, a closed-door discussion of leading international philanthropists which takes place every year in Monaco right before the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos.

The 2017 roundtable focused on the theme of Philanthropy and the City: Shaping New Territories and included participation by ten members of Synergos’ Global Philanthropists Circle

Remarks by Peggy Dulany at Prize Presentation
January 16, 2017 in Monaco

Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on why I should be receiving the Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy. This is especially opportune because, the longer I am involved in the work I do, the less I think that the traditional definition of philanthropy – the giving of money – is its most important factor...

In the 30-year journey creating an organization – The Synergos Institute – that would discover and model more participatory, collaborative and heart- as well as mind-based solutions to inequities, poverty and human degradation of the Earth, the most important – though not the only – conclusion I have come it is ”Serve with love.“ Part of my journey has been a spiritual pilgrimage to learn from elders and teachers from many cultures, and this is their essential message.

But understanding that message has led me – and Synergos – to some collateral conclusions which I will summarize here:

  • If we do not understand the context in which a problem exists or its roots, our efforts are likely to be wasted with band-aid solutions. Hence our emphasis on systems thinking as a precursor to action. This means gaining the insights of diverse people close to the problem.
  • If we do not bring to the table in the diagnosis and solution of the problem all those affected by it – including those most often excluded – the solution is not likely to be sustainable. Hence Synergos’ flagship program to convene and facilitate inclusive multistakeholder partnerships.
  • To do this, we need to engage leaders from all stakeholder groups who show the inclination and/or capacity to reach out across divides to bring the right people together. For this reason, we studied the necessary qualities and designed curriculum to build capacity for what we call bridging leadership in our various network members, in the large-scale partnerships in which we engage, and for the clients of our consulting services.
  • And finally, we found that key elements of good bridging leadership are the ability to listen deeply and empathize with others who may have different points of view. We also found that the greatest impediment to these capacities is fear, for fear closes the heart. So we initiated in all our work elements of personal reflection that would permit committed philanthropists, as well as civil society, government and business leaders opportunities to build trust in themselves and others, discover their own internal obstacles to becoming their fullest and most capable selves and eventually open their hearts as well as their minds to work with others to create sustainable solutions to the problems we face in today’s world.

So it all comes back to serving with love – but beginning with love for our self which allows us to build trust with others – together with understanding the root causes of whatever problem our passion leads us to tackle and working to solve it in a collaborative and inclusive way.

I am profoundly grateful to the thousands of remarkable people from over sixty countries who have worked with us over the years at Synergos as staff, board members, friends and advisors, members of our networks and donors; and to our partners who have had the faith to work according to these principles and to risk showing their own vulnerability, to open their hearts and work closely with others very different from themselves.

And I thank very much the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Tocqueville Foundation for accepting me as a nominee and for the jury’s choice as the 2017 recipient of this award. I thank also HSH Prince Albert II for his leadership, and all of you for striving to improve the practice of philanthropy around the world.

Thank you.