Philanthropy has entered a period of profound transition. Does the sector have the capacity to change together?
Philanthropy is still organized around individual institutions in a moment that demands coordinated systems. Funding alone is no longer the binding constraint. The sector must mobilize every form of capital that transformation requires: financial, social, political, knowledge, data, technology, trust, and leadership. And in an AI-enabled, rapidly changing world, the leadership models that philanthropy inherited were not built for the pace of what is already here.
The Philanthropy Futures Forum is part of our UNGA 81 Dialogues and the culmination of a year-long Signal Salon series—New York, Zurich, Austin, Washington, DC—convening foundation presidents, impact investors, and family offices to test one thesis: the sector’s future depends on building the infrastructure for collective action.
What to Expect
- Closed-door, invitation-only Signal Salon: Held two blocks from the United Nations.
- State of the Ecosystem Exploration: With three provocations, the state of philanthropy, the state of society, and the state of transformation.
- Working Dialogue on the Infrastructure for Collective Action: Coordination, governance, trust, and how technology reshapes collaboration.
- Future of Philanthropy Framework: The room’s consensus will be captured as a four-chapter living document and carried forward to Davos 2027.
Who Is in the Room
- Foundation Presidents: Leaders of philanthropic institutions shaping the sector’s next era.
- Impact Investors & Family Offices: Stewards of the largest wealth transfer in history.
- Ecosystem Builders: Conveners, intermediaries, and membership organizations enabling systems change.
Part of a Larger Architecture
Our Signal Salon series spent the past year convening in four host cities, accumulating signals on what the next generation of giving requires. Among those convenings was From Generosity to Systems Change, a private roundtable alongside the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings. This work culminates at UNGA 81 with the development of the Future of Philanthropy Framework.
Request to Attend
Participation is by invitation. If you believe you should be in the room, or if your organization is interested in partnership, please complete and submit the form linked here.
Philanthropy’s next decade will not be defined by whether it can act as one sector.
