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Notes From The Field: African Public Health Leadership Initiative Begins with New Staff and Office in Namibia | Middle East/North Africa Program Rolls Out | Aboriginal Leadership Initiative Officially Launches in Canada

Faces Of Change: Ackerman Family Honored with Inyathelo Award for Family Philanthropy | Senior Fellow Lúcia Dellagnelo Builds Community Foundation | GPC Member Jeffrey Horowitz Profiled in BusinessWeek Article on "Green Jobs" | Ray Chambers Appointed as UN Malaria Envoy

Features: How Does Climate Change Impact Poverty? | Global Giving Matters Examines Social Entrepreneurship

Synergos Insider: Charity Navigator Gives Synergos Four Stars for Fiscal Responsibility | Campaign for the Future Aims to Raise $20 Million | Synergos Welcomes Senior Fellows Class of 2008 in New York | Senior Fellow Mary Nyamongo Discusses Crisis in Kenya | Border Philanthropy Partnership featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune | Open Positions: Partnership Services Director; Senior Director, Networks; Others

Calendar: GPC Kenya Trip Postponed | April 2: Open Recruitment Begins for 2009 Senior Fellows | April 28-29, 2008: GPC Spring Retreat at Pocantico Hills, New York

Donors' Corner

Photo from Namibia above © calips96@flickr

ABOUT THE COMMONS

The name The Commons comes from the English and early American term "commons," which was an area of shared land, which the entire community could use for public discussions, local events or even grazing livestock.

The newsletter that bears this name has been created to keep the entire Synergos family of supporters and friends informed about our work. We will send out an updated version each quarter that covers our partnership and network activities, as well as other organizational happenings that we think might interest you.

If you have any recommendations for what we can do to make this newsletter of better service to you, please contact Alex Dolan at adolan@synergos.org.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

African Public Health Leadership Initiative Begins with New Staff and Office in Namibia

The African Public Health Leadership and Systems Innovation Initiative officially began on January 15. Funded by a major grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the program will help improve the capacity of public health systems in Africa, beginning with a demonstration project in Namibia.

The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services has embraced the initiative and is currently working closely with Synergos and its partners to design and implement the program's first main activity: a participatory health systems assessment. Over 50 key stakeholders from government, civil society, private health care agencies, hospitals, health clinics and official development assistance agencies have been interviewed so far.

At a March 4 event in Windhoek, Namibia, Synergos' new Director of Partnerships for Southern Africa, Len le Roux, accompanied by Synergos President and CEO Robert Dunn and MIT Senior Lecturer Otto Scharmer, brought together roughly 30 distinguished guests -- including Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula, Permanent Secretary of Health Kahijoro Kahuure, the governor of the Bank of Namibia, the director of the Rössing Foundation and prominent businessman Harold Pupkewitz -- to begin discussing how business could become involved in socially responsible initiatives.

Mr. le Roux, who is also a Synergos Senior Fellow, is leading the Namibian intiative. He is a highly regarded development and foundation leader in Namibia, and left his post as Director of the Rössing Foundation to join the Synergos staff.

Kasee Mhoney has also been hired as Project Manager, and will handle the day to day management of the Namibia project. Mhoney has a strong background as a professional development facilitator in Namibia and South Africa, with experience in both the public and the civil society sectors. Both le Roux and Mhoney will be based in the new project office in Windhoek, Namibia, which opened in February. The contact information for the office is:

Len le Roux
Director, Partnerships, Southern Africa
The Synergos Institute
152 Robert Mugabe Avenue
Windhoek
Namibia
Tel: +264 61 386950
Fax: +264 61 221492
lleroux@synergos.org

Middle East/North Africa Program Rolls Out

Synergos' Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Social Innovators Program will make strategic investments in high-impact social innovators in the region through financial awards, leadership training and organizational capacity building, as well as strategic connections. Beginning with 20 individuals selected from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine, the program goal is to better enable participants to bring successful ideas to scale, build the sustainability of their programs and contribute to long-lasting social progress. The three-year program will include two years of grant support to each innovator, and will connect them to other civil society, business and government leaders, as well as to critical private funding. Recruitment of the social innovators will begin in the second quarter of 2008.

The program is building an Advisory Council, comprised of leaders in philanthropy, civil society, business and academia who are active in the region; this group will provide strategic guidance to the program and advise the selection process.

George Khalaf has joined Synergos' staff as Director, Middle East and North Africa, to oversee this program. A Lebanese national, George comes to Synergos with over seven years of consulting experience at Dalberg Global Development Advisors and Accenture where he has advised a wide variety of companies, donor organizations, and public agencies in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. He has extensive experience in several development sectors, including health, education and conflict resolution. Now, as a member of Synergos' staff, Khalaf is working to make Synergos' first venture in the region a success.

Aboriginal Leadership Initiative Officially Launches in Canada

In February, the Aboriginal Leadership Initiative officially launched in Canada. The Initiative is a consortium of government, First Nations and nonprofit organizations that will work to improve quality of life among Aboriginal people in Canada, who have higher rates of unemployment, educational failure, disease, violence, suicide and incarceration than their non-Aboriginal peers.

About 30 representatives from First Nations communities, government, business and civil society attended the launch, which took place on the Tseshat First Nations Reserve on Vancouver Island. Attendees noted that the project uniquely created a space for understanding, relationship building, joint action and community-driven development.

Next steps include community-based dialogue activities to identify priority needs and opportunities of the three communities. Teams of community members and participants from government, business and civil society will design social and economic development projects, supported by a $300,000 seed capital fund that has been raised. A Supporting Council for the Initiative will also be created, bringing together leaders from British Columbia and across Canada to provide advice, counsel and relationships to help sustain the program over the long term.

Already, a number of Canadian institutions have come forward to contribute both financial support and mentoring, including The Royal Bank of Canada, Terasen Gas, Vancouver Port Authority, BC Transmission Corporation, First Peoples Worldwide, Van City Capital Corporation, Ethos/JWT, Health Canada and the Government of British Columbia.

FACES OF CHANGE

Ackerman Family Honored with Inyathelo Award for Family Philanthropy

The Ackermans' philanthropic work in South Africa addresses a wide variety of issues, including education, HIV/AIDS and local entrepreneurship. Kathy Ackerman-Robins is also a member of Synergos' Southern Africa Advisory Board.

The Inyathelo Awards are a new initiative of Inyathelo: South African Institute for Advancement, and were decided by an independent panel of adjudicators. For more information, visit www.inyathelo.co.za.

Senior Fellow Lúcia Dellagnelo Builds Community Foundation

When Lúcia Dellagnelo joined the Synergos Senior Fellows program in 2004, she learned about the community foundations model through Fellows from Russia, Southern Africa and the United Sates. She was so impressed with what she heard about this model she decided to leave her position at a corporate foundation to create her own community foundation, Instituto Comunitário Grande Florianópolis (ICom -- www.icomfloripa.org.br). The fellowship provided her with technical training, targeted knowledge, consistent coaching, links to financial resources and peer support, which were instrumental in encouraging her to tackle this significant challenge. As she put it , "Being a Synergos Fellow has broadened my vision about the possibilities to re-focus my work to promote social justice."

Today ICom is one of the strongest community foundations in Brazil and is at the forefront of Brazil's community empowerment movement. Dellagnelo is mobilizing leaders from all three sectors of society to improve social investment in the Florianópolis region. Her major career change translated not only into the creation of a new civil society institution, but more importantly into for a vehicle for the transformation of her community.

GPC Member Jeffrey Horowitz Profiled in BusinessWeek Article on "Green Jobs"

Global Philanthropists Circle member Jeffrey Horowitz was profiled in a January 10 BusinessWeek article that looks at the move to "green jobs." As attention to environmental issues grows around the world, philanthropists are finding ways other than giving money to make a difference. One approach is through career changes that support environmental action. Horowitz is an example. Formerly a successful architect who also worked on some philanthropic ventures, he now devotes the majority of his time to efforts such as the Avoided Deforestation Partners (www.adpartners.org), a think tank that supports international efforts to halt tropical deforestation. Avoided Deforestation Partners brings together input from the private sector, governments, NGOs and forest communities in its work, which includes promotion of the sale of carbon credits.

Ray Chambers Appointed as UN Malaria Envoy

In February, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Global Philanthropists Circle member Ray Chambers as his Special Envoy for Malaria. Chambers will lead an ambitious bid to cut deaths from the disease in the next few years.

The mosquito-borne disease kills an estimated one million people a year, and is the number one killer of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa. According to a Reuters article, Chambers told a UN news conference he forsees a "massive public-private partnership" to raise $8-10 billion over the next four to five years. As co-Chair of Malaria No More and Millennium Promise, he had already invested substantial resources into eradicating the disease. He shared some remarks about his work with the Synergos family last year at University for a Night.

FEATURES

How Does Climate Change Impact Poverty?

David Winder, Director of Special Projects, recently completed a discussion paper that examined the impact of climate change on poverty.

Drawing on the most recent research, the paper highlights the ways in which climate change is already having a huge negative impact on poor communities throughout the world. It argues that these impacts are going to increase in coming years and will result in decreased agricultural productivity, decreased water quantity and quality, lower health status and the forced displacement of tens of millions of people.

The paper concludes that governments, civil societies and philanthropists urgently need to join forces in a two pronged effort to rapidly reduce carbon dioxide emissions in all countries and to provide the poorest countries and communities with the support they need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. It urges that adaptation responses be integrated into all poverty reduction strategies and programs.

Global Giving Matters Newsletter Examines Social Entrepreneurship

The feature article in the latest issue of Synergos' Global Giving Matters looks at how philanthropists can support and work with social entrepreneurs to promote innovative approaches to poverty and other social problems. Working with social entrepreneurs can provide philanthropists tremendous leverage of their resources and allow them to connect with a kindred entrepreneurial spirit.

The article provides an overview of the social entrepreneurship field. It also offers some examples of social entrepreneurs and the growing number of support organizations such as Ashoka, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the Skoll Foundation. You can read the article and subscribe to Global Giving Matters at www.globalgivingmatters.org.

THE SYNERGOS INSIDER

Charity Navigator Gives Synergos Four Stars for Fiscal Responsibility

In February, Charity Navigator, the United States' largest and most used evaluator of nonprofit organizations, completed an evaluation of Synergos' financial systems and recognized Synergos with four stars, its highest rating. Charity Navigator's rating system examines two aspects of nonprofit organization's financial health: how responsibly it functions day-to-day, and how well positioned it is to sustain its programs over time.

According to Charity Navigator's president, a four-star rating demonstrates Synergos'

In 2007, over four million people used the Charity Navigator service to obtain an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system of nonprofit organizations in the United States.

Campaign for the Future Aims to Raise $20 Million

Synergos has launched the Campaign for the Future, which will work to raise $20 million for the organization. The Campaign will provide funds for new programs, expand Synergos' current initiatives and build permanent capital to support our work on an ongoing basis.

For further information on the Campaign, or if you would like to contribute, please contact Alissa Desmarais at ourfuture@synergos.org or +1 646-963-2168.

Synergos Welcomes Senior Fellows Class of 2008 in New York

On February 4-5, Synergos welcomed its new class of Senior Fellows at a two-day orientation at the Synergos offices in New York. The 11 Fellows participated in exercises to learn more about each other, Synergos and the fellowship, and began to define their goals for the program.

Two fellows also presented cases for group problem solving through real-time consulting. Fellow Mary Amuyunzu-Nyamongo led a breakfast discussion on the post-election crisis in Kenya (see below), and all new Fellows connected over dinner with members of the Synergos staff, board of directors and Global Philanthropists Circle.

Senior Fellow Mary Nyamongo Discusses Crisis in Kenya

Synergos held a breakfast discussion on the crisis in Kenya on February 5 with Kenyan Senior Fellow Mary Nyamongo. A medical doctor, Nyamongo is Executive Director of the African Institute for Health and Development (AIHD -- www.aihdint.org) in Kenya, a research, training and advocacy organization. She shared her views on the post-election unrest, pointing out that although the initial violence was a spontaneous reaction to what is generally recognized as false presidential election results, the continuing conflict is the result of deeper divides in Kenyan society -- particularly over land distribution in the Rift Valley. This ongoing violence has had tremendous immediate impact on some poor communities and particularly on women; for example a community of 40,000 people where Dr. Nyamongo was working has been devastated, with almost all the inhabitants displaced. The violence has also disrupted education for thousands of children as well as the tourism industry and transportation to Kenya's land-locked neighbors. While a political solution to the presidential crisis and a cessation of violence are critical short-term needs, Dr. Nyamongo pointed out that fundamental changes are needed in Kenya to build a more secure and equitable society.

Border Philanthropy Partnership featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune

Spotlighting the issues along the U.S.-Mexico border, Synergos Chair Peggy Dulany and Ann Tartre, Director of the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership, co-wrote an op-ed on philanthropy that appeared in the December 25 issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Entitled "Giving as a Way to Build Bridges," the piece describes the way in which people in the United States and Mexico are mobilizing resources, often through community foundations, to address local and regional needs.

Open Positions: Partnership Services Director; Senior Director, Networks; Others

Synergos is growing and currently recruiting for several open positions. Descriptions of two of these -- Partnership Services Director and Senior Director, Networks -- are below. A complete listing is online at www.synergos.org/employment/. To apply for any open position, send a resume, cover letter and salary history to synergos@synergos.org.

Synergos seeks a motivated, creative and results-oriented leader to fill a newly created position, Director of Partnership Services. This person will initiate, design, and lead a new initiative that provides fee and pro bono consulting support to civil society organizations, community groups, government agencies, corporations and others in all parts of the world wishing to engage in collaborative efforts to address poverty and social justice issues. The position reports to the Senior Director of Partnerships and will be based in New York City. Candidates should have at least 10 years working experience that includes work across sectors and significant time in a leadership position.

Synergos seeks a highly motivated, creative and results-oriented leader to fill a newly created position working out of its headquarters in New York City. The Director will coordinate the development of the Global Philanthropists Circle, the Synergos Senior Fellows Network and relationships with partner NGOs, institutions and businesses worldwide. Candidates should have a minimum of 10-15 years in a senior leadership capacity at a multilateral organization, overseas development agency (ODA), foundation or civil society organization engaged in innovative and/or partnership-based approaches to international development and poverty alleviation.

CALENDAR

GPC Kenya Trip Postponed

Due to the post-election unrest in the region, we have regretfully had to postpone this year's GPC Kenya Learning Visit. In the meantime, we have been working on ways we can still connect members to the organizations, communities, approaches and leaders featured on the agenda.

A "virtual tour" of the organizations, posted on the Synergos website, connects visitors with the many innovative approaches being implemented there successfully addressing issues of poverty. The breakfast discussion with Synergos Senior Fellow Mary Nyamongo (see above) is another example of our efforts to help connect GPC Members and others with ongoing developments in the country.

April 4: Open Recruitment Begins for 2009 Class of Fellows

On April 4, recruitment will begin for the next class of Senior Fellows, who will join us in January 2009. If you're interested in applying to the Senior Fellows program, please visit www.synergos.org/fellows/ after April 4 or contact the Senior Fellows program manager Azeen Salimi at seniorfellows@synergos.org or +1 212-447-8111. The Senior Fellows program is open to leaders from any country working in a non-governmental, nonprofit organization. The organization should focus on poverty alleviation, social justice or community development. Applications are due by June 27.

Synergos' Senior Fellows are an international network of distinguished civil society leaders committed to addressing poverty and inequity by collaborating with others to secure significant and sustainable change. Launched in 1999, the program involves more than 90 leaders from almost 30 countries around the world. Fellows include the founder of the largest environmental foundation in Indonesia, head of Australia's first aboriginal controlled national foundation, the leader of a network of over 2,000 civil society organizations in the Philippines, the executive director of the first locally-controlled grantmaking foundation in Zimbabwe and the CEO of one of the largest community foundations in the United States.

April 28-29, 2008: GPC Spring Retreat at Pocantico Hills, New York

Global Philanthropists Circle Members will gather to explore the concept of social justice as well as the impact and effectiveness of their own philanthropy. The participants will also have an opportunity to discuss their current greatest challenges while drawing on the knowledge and expertise of their peers. The meeting will be held in a relaxed setting of the Rockefeller family estate in Tarrytown, New York. If you are a GPC Member and would like to attend, please contact Daniel Domagala at ddomagala@synergos.org, or +1 646-963-2135.

DONORS CORNER

Synergos thanks our family of donors, who have helped make our work possible. Listed below are donors who have given to Synergos between December 15, 2007 and March 10, 2008.

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The Commons shares news about The Synergos Institute with our networks, supporters and partners. It is published quarterly, with a digest delivered by email.