Program partners and social change leaders should focus on developing their strategic coherence to move away from chasing scattered funding sources. By investing time in creating a comprehensive vision for system change and advocating for support based on a coherent strategic plan, social entrepreneurs can avoid relying on patchwork funding that may not lead to significant impact.
Silvia Bastante de Unverhau is a leading expert in philanthropy, with over 20 years of experience working across the international development, non-profit, business, and government sectors. She is currently the Chief Philanthropy Officer at Co-Impact, a collaboration between donors that pledged 500 million dollars for systems changing initiatives.
In the interview, Silvia talks about the principles of funding systems change work, how it differs from traditional funding practices, and how foundations can adopt this new mindset. She also has tips for social entrepreneurs who are looking for funding for systems change work from a donor's perspective.
Key questions: How is funding systems change different? How should foundations support systems change?