As part of Alliance magazine’s anniversary celebrations this year, celebrating Alliance’s 25 years at the heart of global philanthropy, we have launched a series of events on what the future of philanthropy holds in different regions of the world. This webinar focused on the who, what, where and how of Latin American philanthropy, in partnership with IDIS.

Moderated by Elika Roohi, digital editor of Alliance magazine, the speakers were Paula Fabiani, CEO of IDIS in Brazil; Carolina Suarez, CEO of Latimpacto in Colombia; Magdalena Aninat, founding director of the Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investments at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile; and Inês Mindlin Lafer, who leads the Betty and Jacob Lafer Institute and is a board member of GIFE based in Brazil.

After Roohi made the introductions, Fabiani began by citing the World Giving Index’s report that in giving, ‘Latin America is not as developed as in other parts of the world.’ The variation in region starts with Chile which sits at 41st and ending with Venezuela in 208th position. Brazil sits at 74th. ‘Some believe that the regulatory environment in our region is not so favourable – others point out strongly that it’s a cultural matter. The fact is, there’s room for improvement – and that’s good news.’

A WINGS report from 2019 also demonstrated that half of Latin American civic space is now restricted, and most funds going toward education. ‘This becomes a great challenge to the climate, and other topics such as gender and racial equity – issues of great importance in the region.’ Fabiani also acknowledged that the pandemic had highlighted the importance of civil society organisations, reaching the most vulnerable through incredible initiatives. Corporations, too, played their part, where dramatically increased donations resulted in ‘unprecedented giving’.

Read the full article about Latin American philanthropy by Amy McGoldrick at Alliance Magazine.