With this report, The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) set out to share knowledge and to equip donors of all types and sizes, from the private and corporate sectors, to determine how they might use philanthropy to address three issue areas currently affecting millions of people around the world:
I. Increasing access to clean, safe water
II. Addressing the global refugee response crisis
III. Improving conditions for women and girls
In considering all of the challenges global philanthropists are addressing with their funding and all of the populations they are supporting, these three issues and populations emerged as areas that provide unique opportunities for impact both locally and globally. Each of these areas speak to the current global context and has benefited from innovation and collaborative funding strategies, but still has great need and opportunities where philanthropy can make a difference.
While this report highlights three key issue areas, the philanthropic challenges, strategies, and lessons shared throughout the publication can be applied to a multitude of other global issues, and our hope is that all funders can use this resource in their journeys to increase the impact of their philanthropy around the world. As funders consider working on a new issue or in a new geography, or desire to better understand areas in which they are already working, the type of landscape scans conducted to produce this report provide a useful framework that can be applied to other issues as well.