Philanthropy and Polarization: Ten Ideas from a Foundation Leadership Retreat

Polarization has large parts of the world in its grip, and philanthropy is no exception. But how exactly is philanthropy affected by polarization, and what is philanthropy best placed to do in response?

This past spring the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), in cooperation with the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, convened the presidents of 13 large global foundations for a leadership retreat to discuss just this. The retreat — which also included global leaders from South Africa and Colombia — generated compelling insights not only on philanthropy’s role, but also on the nature of polarization itself.

This article outlines ten key ideas from the retreat. Together, they highlight key challenges as well as the potential for philanthropy to play an outsized role in fostering and investing in the new ideas, models, hubs and relationships to prevent and mitigate the worst perils of polarization. 

The DOI registration ID for this publication is: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21382357