Giving Compass' Take:

• Alina Porumb discusses the APT's efforts through INSPIRE to connect leaders of key philanthropic organizations in Central and Eastern Europe to inspire innovation.

• How can individual donors engage in cooperation domestically and internationally?

• Read more about cultivating a collaborative attitude in philanthropy.

The Association for the Practice of Transformation (APT) was established in May 2018 with the mission to support intentional, future orientated and systemic transformations of individuals, organizations, communities and societies by stimulating collaboration, research, learning, social innovation and strategic thinking.

Since July 2018, APT is the new host organization for INSPIRE, an informal network of philanthropy leaders from Central and Eastern Europe who are interested in innovating, sharing knowledge and advancing the field of strategic philanthropy in their local, national and international environment.

Key results so far: 

  • Increased capacity of professionals active within a local, national or regional philanthropy support role to provide a strategic framework for the engagement of donors and their leadership in social change processes
  • Increased capacity of organizations in the program to use a strategic approach to philanthropy and social change including the use of theory of change as a way of linking activities and outcomes, clarifying approaches and evaluation frameworks and setting up knowledge systems to support those.
  • Increased capacity of philanthropy support organizations to shape their field –exploring how a higher impact could be supported through various approaches and strategic reflection on the changing roles of the philanthropy support organizations.
  • Increased links and cooperation at the regional and international level.

The key products of INSPIRE are: 

  • Small scale learning spaces that allow for quality reflection, building of peer exchanges and trust, building and transfer of innovation within the philanthropic sphere.
  • Expertise and facilitation on strategy development of philanthropy supporters, with a focus on the role and position of philanthropy infrastructure while enabling a balanced discourse on the role and contribution of the field.
  • Documentation of knowledge or practices, expertise sharing and brokering connections and mutual support between countries and regions; between local, national, regional and global levels; between practitioners and academic research.

Read the full article about building capacity for systemic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe by Alina Porumb at Philanthropy In Focus.