Ariadne News & Events

SEASON’S GREETINGS: As the festive season approaches, we’d like to take a moment to wish you a happy and peaceful holiday, and to thank you for your continued support. We look forward to working with you in the coming year!

REGISTER NOW! 2023 ARIADNE FORECAST ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS: You are invited to contribute to Ariadne’s Forecast by attending our roundtables, which will focus on relevant trends in the field of social change and human rights at national, European, and global levels. We’ll open each meeting with the results of a short survey of grant-makers in their region. Two to three senior forecasters will join us and offer expert input, which will be followed by an open discussion. The results of the survey and roundtables will be published as the 2023 Ariadne Forecast by the end of March. For more details and to register for the location of your choice, please click on the country (please note these are funder-only events):

Italy Roundtable [Rome, Italy]
Date & Time: 01 February, 14:00 – 19:00 CET
Senior Forecasters: Giovanna Castagna, Programme Officer, Open Society Foundations; Giulia Laganà, Fund Manager, Healthy Food Healthy Planet initiative, ClimateWorks Foundation
Moderator: Carola Carazzone, Secretary General, Assifero

Netherlands Roundtable [virtual – ZOOM]
Date & Time: 06 February, 15:30 to 17:00 CET
Senior Forecasters: Coco Jervis, Director of Programmes, Mama Cash; Amol Mehra, Director of Industry Transformation, Laudes
Moderator: Abhijit Das Program Director, Foundation Democracy and Media (SDM)

UK Roundtable [virtual – ZOOM]
Date & Time: 07 February, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT (16:30 – 18:00 CET)
Senior Forecasters: Senior Forecasters: Alex Sutton, Programme Director, Legal Education Foundation & Sufina Ahmad MBE, Director, John Ellerman Foundation

France Roundtable  [Paris, France]
Date & Time: 14 February, 14:00 – 18:00 CET + drinks
14:00 – 16:00 Thematic roundtable: «Soutenir la démocratie en France, qu’est-ce qu’on peut apprendre de l’étranger ? Focus sur la Hongrie»
16:30 – 18:00 France Forecast Roundtable
Senior Forecasters: Jean Saslawsky, Strategic deployment project manager, Fondation de France (FdF);  Laurence Meyer, Racial and Social Justice Lead, Digital Freedom Fund (DFF).
Moderator: Inga Wachsmann, Programme Manager, Porticus

Germany [Date and location TBC]

2023 ARIADNE FORECAST SURVEY: What do you think the year ahead holds for European Social Change and Human Rights Funders in 2023? Send us your predictions via our short questionnaire. Submit your answers in French, German, Italian, Spanish or English (simply switch language at the top of the form) by 16 December 2022. Questions? Email jana.stardelova@ariadne-network.eu

UNDERSTANDING AND UPROOTING RACISM IN GRANTMAKING INSTITUTIONS: Since the middle of 2020, at Ariadne, we have been working with Healing Solidarity to create a space for you to have more “uncomfortable” conversations about race and ethnicity, and especially racial justice issues within European foundations. While the Healing Solidarity collective is working on new sessions for 2023, we want to hear your feedback and experience on the 2022 sessions via this survey.

SAVE THE DATE – ARIADNE’S GREAT RECONNECT 2023: We loved seeing many of you in Lille in April and are excited to announce the dates for next year’s Ariadne’s Great Reconnect in Berlin: 28–30 March 2023. While we are working hard on developing a rich program that will include something for everyone, we ask you to save the date!

ARIADNE’S MEMBERSHIP PORTAL:

Meet our community moderators! Sophie Ngo-Diep is the co-moderator of the Racism and Xenophobia community. She is Senior Programme Manager at EPIM, the only European philanthropic collaborative on migration. She leads their inclusion work and has initiated their work on systemic racism and migration. She is personally committed to bringing an anti-racism lens in the migration space, resourcing migrant leadership, and building alliances and movements around these topics

Log in here to connect and collaborate with other funders on Ariadne’s Membership portal! Do you have a colleague that doesn’t yet have access to the portal? They can sign up here.

Need assistance? Take a look at our guide or email ariadneoffice@ariadne-network.eu.

All these resources and more can be found on Ariadne’s website and Member-only portal.

New Research, Articles and Judgements

REPORT: Matching aspirations, missing connections: EU support to nonviolent movements: The Berghof Foundation and PAX published a report on the value of nonviolent movements as drivers for peaceful reform processes and the possibilities for EU support for these movements. Learn more about what was discussed at the launch event.

REPORT: SAGE Fund: Women-Led Strategies to Combat Extractivism: Based on nearly 100 interviews with women leaders and their allies, the report provides an overview of how women are confronting and overcoming threats posed by extractive projects. The summary report is available in English and Spanish here.

REPORT and SURVEY: Philea – The Philanthropy Environment in Europe: This brief provides information on the philanthropic landscape in Europe, putting the findings of the 2022 Global Philanthropy Environment Index in context with Philea’s 2022 publication, “Comparative Highlights of Foundation Laws”. Are you a funder based in Europe? If so, please consider taking Philea’s survey to map foundation support for arts and culture. The deadline is January 15, 2023.

ARTICLE: Developing countries at COP27 call for ‘climate justice’ in the form of adaptation and loss and damage funds: Missed the COP27 highlights? Visit this article to learn about the main discussions at COP27 on loss and damage funds.

ARTICLE: How is economic security linked to violence against women and children? Here are the new insights from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum 2022.

REPORT: Taking Myself out of the Darkness: Afghan Women Human Rights Defenders’ Fight for Recognition: Afghan women human rights defenders address safety and security concerns, mental health and barriers to activism in a new ground-breaking report by VOICE.

GUIDE: Assemblies and Digital Space: With this guide, civil society organisations and human rights monitors can learn more about legal safeguards and issues to consider as they gather data on how digital technologies affect freedom of assembly in their countries. Reach out to ECNL if you are interested to pilot the guide with them, and view it here.

REPORT: Sexual and reproductive justice as the vehicle to deliver the Nairobi Summit commitments: The report calls for better services and maps a far-reaching justice agenda, it urges unwinding social, political, economic and other disparities that hamper advancement on a spectrum of global and national commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

REPORT: European Parliament resolution on Racial Justice, Non-discrimination and Anti-Racism in the EU: The EU parliament adopted a resolution on Racial Justice, Non-discrimination and Anti-Racism which passed with overwhelming support from MEPs across the EU and political spectrum. You can find ENAR’s statement here.

RESOURCES: We Are Purposeful: Integrating Disability Justice into Girl-Centred Programming & Resourcing Disability Justice Our Feminist Journey Toward Centring Disability Justice: We Are Purposeful just issued two new resources on disability justice, one focuses on integrating Disability Justice into programming while the other on resourcing Disability Justice.

REPORT: Annual report on the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 2022: The 2022 report follows the thematic approach announced by the European Commission in the strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU. The 2022 report focuses on civic space and its role in protecting and promoting the fundamental rights under the Charter.

Blogs and Other Sites of Interest

Platform: Feminist Co-Leadership: The new platform is a mixed-media collection of research, stories, and tools from around the world to support the practice of co-leadership.

Webinar recording: Co-Impact Conversation Series – Can Outcome-focused Philanthropy be Feminist? This webinar explored answers to the following questions: Can philanthropy’s traditional view of outcomes be compatible with feminist organizations’ greater focus on qualitative measurements? What holds back philanthropy from being more comfortable with impact measurement? Why is funding these movements deemed risky, and what are the risks of not funding them?

Podcast: Feminist fire: AWID’s new podcast THAT FEMINIST FIRE unravels over 40 years of feminist movements—and reimagines a way forward. Hosted by Gopika Bashi, Deputy Director of Programmes at AWID, each episode explores unique but interconnected feminist realities that are achieving greater gender justice and human rights.

Video: International Crisis Group – Climate finance and its challenges: Crisis Group’s co-chair Susana Malcorra talks about how conflict-affected countries receive less support to deal with the impacts of climate change and why this is problematic.

Article: Caring workspaces for human rights: “Defending human rights workers’ working conditions based on an ethic of care is one of the best ways to foster resilience and well-being.” Read more.

Article: How COP can deliver for areas affected by conflict: As the final piece in Berghof’s series, this article outlines the necessary conditions for COP27 to deliver for fragile and conflict-affected areas.

Podcast: The Good Robot: Co-founded by Dr Eleanor Drage and Dr Kerry Mackereth, the Good Robot Podcast was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the many complex intersections between gender, feminism, and technology.

Open Global Rights podcast: The podcast will be published monthly in both English and Spanish. The first episode is a deep dive into a historic decision made by the UN Human Rights Committee in September. For the first time, the committee condemned a state for its inaction in the face of the climate emergency.

Article: The Long Shadow of Qatar’s Human Rights Abuses: “The international spotlight is on Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. It’s not only the football matches that are receiving global attention, but also Qatar’s harrowing human rights record. To fully appreciate the controversy surrounding this year’s host country, it is important to understand the long history of repression.” Read more.

Research: “Not a single safe place”: The Ukrainian refugees at risk: violence, trafficking and exploitation. Findings from Poland and Ukraine: This report presents the findings from the SEREDA CEE Project. The project examined the risks, experiences and awareness of sexual and gender-based violence and trafficking in Poland and Ukraine to help develop adequate policy and safeguarding measures. Read the executive summary and short report. Read the briefing in Polish and Ukrainian.

Do you have a great blog post, case study, or podcast you’d like to contribute? We would love to feature it. Contact us.

Grant-Making

Resourcing Connections: Reflections on Feminist Participatory Grantmaking Practice: This report emerged as part of FRIDA – the Young Feminist Fund’s process documenting their grantmaking model. It gathers their learnings from that process in a comprehensive resource that can act as a compass for the next phase of this grantmaking model’s journey.

Ford Foundation increases their indirect cost commitment: Effective January 1, 2023, the Ford Foundation will raise its minimum indirect cost (IDC) rate applicable to eligible project grants from 20% to 25% —or to an even higher rate, under certain circumstances. This increase comes as a concrete step to fully cover indirect costs on the vast majority of their project grants and ensure that their grantees have the flexibility and support to cover the true cost of their work. Read more.

You Could Spend Your Money Differently: “In an era of big-bet philanthropy, a small foundation can still have an outsize impact. Here are seven techniques for getting more from your philanthropic dollar.” Click to read the article and here to access the Podcast series: Flexible Funding Mission to Scale.

Opinion: The Changing Landscape of Philanthropy – Bolder Moves for Greater Impact: KABOOM! CEO, Lysa Ratliff shares some insight into the changes in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.

Opinion: MacKenzie Scott’s grants show where aid funding falls short: This opinion includes highlights from Scott’s grant recipients based on the Collaborative Learning from Impact Philanthropy, CLIP, initiative, which included several peer learning cohorts that included the grant recipients.

New report from Civic Power Fund exploring community organising in big charities: Power Up: Community Organising and Big Charities captures real time lessons from a ten month project, supported by Unbound Philanthropy and the European Climate Foundation, exploring big charities’ resurgent engagement with this vital practice. It makes concrete recommendations around how big charities, and their peers can best respect and learn from communities and community organisers.

Follow the money: Who is investing in humanitarian research and innovation, how much are they spending, and where is the money going? A new report released by the global charity Elrha on Monday hopes to answer these questions for the first time.  A key takeaway was how much funding for humanitarian research and innovation comes from academic, private sector, and philanthropic money, said Ziad Issa, the research manager for the Global Prioritisation Exercise, an Elrha initiative.

The Giving Done Right Podcast: In the last episode of the Giving Done Right podcast, hosts Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette pull back the curtain on new Center for Effective Philanthropy research: Giving Big: The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Gifts on Nonprofits which examines the effect of MacKenzie Scott’s large, unrestricted gifts on the nonprofits that have received them.

Feminist Foreign Policy: Stronger Action Needed to Resource Feminist Movements: Mama Cash’s new policy brief – Feminist Foreign Policy: Stronger Action Needed to Resource Feminist Movements – calls on governments that are serious about delivering on their promises and the much needed outcomes for gender equality to be realistic about the investment needed.

The first 2023 Thread will go out on Thursday 20th January. We would love to hear from you! Please contact us by Tuesday 18th January if you would like to share announcements, events, or resources for the next issue. 

Jobs and Tenders

Regional Director – China – The Ford Foundation. The Regional Director for China oversees the Foundation’s activities in that country – providing overall leadership for the Foundation’s strategy and grant making programs, representing the Foundation to government, business, nonprofit leaders, the media and the donor community, and managing the office and team in Beijing. The Director reports to the Office of the Vice President for International Programs. Location: Beijing, China. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Program Officer, Racial Justice Program – Wellspring Philanthropic Fund (WPF). The ideal candidate will have deep knowledge of racial and economic justice, and economic policy development, to design and oversee an economic justice portfolio that helps shape pressing economic policies now, while also establishing the foundation for more racially just policies in the future. They will have experience engaging movements to drive policy change at the federal and state levels, as well as experience advancing economic justice and reducing economic inequality through policy development, organizing, advocacy, research, and analysis. The successful candidate will embody WPF Racial Justice Program’s values and approach to center anti-Black racism in its strategy and grantmaking and be drawn to the opportunity to support this important movement work as a trusted partner. Location: New York, US, although currently working remotely. Salary: $135,000 – $155,000. Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Writer (officer level) – Mama Cash. As a writer within the communications team you develop, write, edit and package content with the purpose of supporting Mama Cash’s work. The focus of this position is to write and edit in English and Dutch to support the full range of Mama Cash’s external communications function and develop content for all stakeholders across all platforms. The position of writer sits within the communications team, who are part of the Partnerships & Communications team at Mama Cash. Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands, or remote. Salary: € 3.285- € 4927 Deadline for applications is 16 December 2022.

Strategic Planning Consultant – The Disability Rights Fund/the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund. The Disability Rights Fund and its sister organization, the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, are seeking proposals from experienced consultants to design and facilitate a participatory strategic planning process and lead staff to create a 5-year strategic plan for the organizations. In this process, the consultant will be engaging with the staff, Board of Directors, donors, organizations of persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders from the communities with which we work across the world.  Deadline for applications is 16 December 2022. Location: Remote. The budget for the assignment is $100,000 USD, not including travel costs.

Individual Giving Manager – Comic Relief. The Individual Giving & Growth Manager will be accountable for the delivery of campaigns that generate Individual Giving income across our channels year-round. Digital fundraising, paid media management, and data-driven testing will be a primary focus of this role. Location: Our offices are in London, and we are a hybrid working organisation. Salary: £40370 – £43000. Deadline for applications is 22 Dec 2022.

Various positions – La Fondation Abbé Pierre
Various positions – Fondation de France
Various positions – Wikimedia Foundation
Various positions – Open Society Foundations
Various positions – American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
Various positions – National Lottery Community Fund

Regular Giving & Memberships Manager – Comic Relief. The Regular Giving Manager will be accountable for the delivery of campaigns that generate Regular Giving income across our channels year-round. Stewardship and Membership Development will be a core part of this role. Location: Our offices are in London, and we are a hybrid working organisation. Salary: £39,000 – £40804. Deadline for applications is 22 Dec 2022.

Director of People and Talent – Thousand Currents. After several years of sustained growth, we are seeking an experienced human resource professional and systems thinker to join our Finance & Administration team. This position will support recruitment activities, new staff orientation, HR policy review and implementation and will be the point of contact for employee relations issues. The position will support staff training and activities related to onboarding and separation of employment and will work collaboratively with the Director of Finance and Administration, taking on some responsibilities previously held by this role and expanding the work in line with the organization’s growth. Location: Remote, flexible. Salary: $104,550 USD. Deadline for application is 23 December 2022.

2023 Senior International Fellows Program – the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY) (Monday 24 April – Friday 19 May 2023). Program focus: Community foundations, local grantmaking and leadership, place-based giving practices around the globe, and supporting local cultures of giving. Program products: Drawing on readings, discussions with seminar speakers, conversations with other leaders in the field, and the Fellows’ own experiences, each participant will produce a short 10-to-15-page strategy paper and an e-presentation (Powerpoint or similar) with recommendations for the development, adaptation or expansion of community grantmaking or another approved topic. It is expected that these recommendations will consider a variety of global experiences, while reflecting the particular political, social, economic and legal frameworks in the Fellows’ home countries. Tuition is USD $3,000 per fellow. Partial or full fellowships may be awarded to help offset program costs detailed further below. Deadline for application is 5 January 2023.

Solicitor / Cyfreithiwr (Commercial Property) – The National Lottery Community Fund. Reporting into the Head of Commercial Property and Assets Legal Team, we have an opportunity for a Solicitor with a background in commercial property. You will work with a small team on a range of UK-wide matters around grants for capital works, providing advice and guidance to the funding teams and internal personnel. You will be responsible for your own case load of matters from inception to completion, with some administrative support being available. The Commercial Property and Assets Legal Team is currently comprised of three Senior Solicitors and forms part of the wider Legal Team, based in London but with an opportunity to work UK wide. Location: London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds, Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff, Newtown, Exeter. Salary: £41,144 – £50,981 Deadline for application is 8 Jan 2023.

Program Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean – Thousand Currents. The Program Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean position contributes to Thousand Currents’ programmatic efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean by playing a role to deepen the programmatic work in the Latin America and the Caribbean regional program, with a focus on partnership development and grantmaking support. By nurturing strong relationships based on respect and integrity with movement partners, the Program Manager works to advance the Latin America and the Caribbean regional strategy. Location: Remote, flexible. Salary: $82,450 USD. Deadline for application is 8 January 2023.

*For more jobs, see the ‘Career Opportunities’ section of the Ariadne portal. To address pay gaps in the charity sector, we strongly encourage you to #showthesalary in your job adverts.

Public Meetings

Berlin, Germany

28-30 March

SAVE THE DATE – ARIADNE’S GREAT RECONNECT 2023: We loved seeing many of you in Lille in April and are excited to announce the dates for next year’s Ariadne’s Great Reconnect in Berlin: 28–30 March 2023. While we are working hard on developing a rich program that will include something for everyone, we ask you to save the date!

Online

3 January

World’s FIRST Global Youth Giving Circle by The Global Youth Philanthropy Network. The Global Youth Philanthropy Network is bringing together youth philanthropists and change-makers from around the world for the “World’s FIRST Global Youth Giving Circle!” online on 3 January 2023. Young people are our future and youth should be part of the decision-making process on how funding should best be spent to tackle youth issues. During the 2-hour virtual session, participants will learn about youth philanthropy around the world, share their work, hear about tying youth philanthropy to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and participate in a global youth giving circle.  Register here for the event taking place online on 3 January from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM UTC.

25 January

Biometrics, border tech, and human rights. In this panel discussion, Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) Fellows Dr Keren Weitzberg, Dr Dimitri Van Den Meerssche and Dr Daragh Murray will discuss the human rights implications of biometrics and other forms of border tech for mobility and migration controls. Mary Gitahi, a member of the Just Tech and Migration Steering Committee, part of Oxford University’s Refugee-led Research Hub, and a lead researcher in Uganda studying refugee-led organisations in East Africa, will chair the panel. Keren will discuss humanitarian biometric management systems in Kenya and other major refugee host countries, and their implications for border-making and refugee flows. Dimitri will provide an overview of current developments in UK and EU border tech and their human rights implications (focusing on examples like the UK Cerberus program and the EU ETIAS system). Finally, Daragh will discuss what human rights could offer with respect to a due diligence framework to guide whether or not to deploy tech at the border. Register here for this online event taking place on Wed, 25 January 2023, 14:00 – 16:00 GMT.

Online

15 February

Why the Racial Wealth Divide Matters. Escalating asset price inflation in recent decades has helped to expose wealth inequality as a major dimension of socio-economic inequality across the world. Wealthy households able to draw on owner occupied housing assets, private pensions, savings and financial investments have prospered whilst the majority of the populations, even in rich nations – have been exposed to harsh ‘austerity’ policies, and often the need to balance debt obligations. There is increasing evidence that wealth assets play a significant role in allowing social mobility advantages to the children of wealthy households. This event will present new findings underscoring the gravity of the racial wealth divide. Register here for this event taking place on 15 February 2023 6:30pm to 8:00pm GMT.

20th – 24th March

Mozilla Festival. MozFest is a celebration for, by, and about people who love the internet, showcasing world-changing ideas and technology through exhibitions, talks and interactive sessions. MozFest is a unique hybrid: part art, tech and society convening, part maker festival, and the premiere gathering for activists in diverse global movements fighting for a more humane digital world. Register here for the event taking place from 20 to 24 March 2023.

Brussels

16 February

The Journalism Funders Forum will come together on 16 February to explore philanthropy’s role in safeguarding independent journalism, hosted by Philea in Philanthropy House, Brussels. In light of the growing threats to press freedom around the world, as well as challenges to its long-term financial sustainability, the Journalism Funders Forum is convening an in-person meeting in Brussels on 16 February 2023. Together with you, we aim to improve learning and knowledge about journalism funding, increase the number and diversity of journalism funders and help build a more effective, transparent and equitable funding environment for journalism in Europe. The meeting will be a mix of plenary sessions and roundtables, each one of these facilitated by a member of the Steering Group on a relevant topic (funder collaboration, funding thematic areas, and funding new platforms).