Power of collective philanthropy: Partnerships that transform
This article is authored by Dhun Davar, chief of programmes & deputy CEO, AVPN.
“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we don’t live single-issue lives,” said Audre Lorde, an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. Her insight into intersectionality reminds us that the challenges people face are deeply intertwined. Therefore, those who seek to address these issues cannot rely on single-issue solutions. To tackle complex challenges, it is necessary that resources and expertise of various stakeholders, including philanthropists, businesses, government and civil society organisations, are brought together. This is the essence of collective philanthropy: pooling capital, ideas, and accountability to deliver impact at a scale no single funder could achieve alone.
While individual or short-term investments can deliver immediate benefits, they rarely resolve the underlying causes and structural barriers that perpetuate inequity. With collective philanthropy, it becomes more feasible to tackle several aspects of a problem via strategic investments and programme design.
For instance, a siloed approach might fund the construction of a few classrooms and provide furniture to an underfunded village school. While this improves infrastructure in the short term, it does little to tackle deeper barriers such as inadequate teacher training, gender gaps in enrolment, malnutrition, or the absence of sanitation facilities that continue to push children out of school.
A collective philanthropy approach, by contrast, can convene education specialists, health partners, local government bodies, and community organisations to co-design a multi-year programme. Together, they could train teachers, ensure access to safe hygiene and sanitation, improve mid-day meals, support girls’ education, and introduce digital tools to track attendance and learning outcomes. This kind of integrated effort not only strengthens systems but also transforms the conditions that perpetuate inequities.
Thus, when funders align on a common vision, they can catalyse a larger pool of resources and expertise to address the societies’ problems. Shared goals create shared responsibility, ensuring measurable and long-term outcomes.
Alignment and shared goal-setting are critical for collective philanthropy, but are easier said than done. Structural and operational constraints can often prevent collective action despite strong intent. Translating intent into sustained partnerships remains difficult and often leads to fragmented programmes. Trust deficits due to uneven transparency, varying governance standards, and power imbalances between large donors, grassroots groups, and government agencies can slow down decision-making.
Legal and regulatory frameworks, such as limits on administrative overheads and complex compliance processes, constrain the influx of talented professionals into the sector. Additionally, disagreements on which data to track can be a hindrance. A major challenge is keeping track of how programmes are performing over longer periods. Focusing overly on short-term indicators can hamper the systemic change that the collaborative is trying to achieve. If initiatives lack baseline data and agreement on shared indicators or real-time reporting systems, it can be difficult to measure outcomes collectively or adapt mid-course. Such gaps can affect the quality of programme design and undermine funders’ confidence in scaling proven solutions.
Addressing challenges in governance, transparency, data infrastructure, and human capital will help us to realise the full promise of collective philanthropy to tackle systemic inequities at scale.
While the challenges in collective philanthropy may come across as daunting, there are several successful collectives that offer learnings about what went well. The most effective ones begin with a clearly defined vision and mutual respect for each partner’s expertise and constraints. Trust is key to sustaining these collaboratives. It allows data to be shared openly, makes space for honest conversations about what is not working, and builds the confidence to course-correct when evidence calls for it.
Platforms that enable such collaboratives are critical to making them work. They convene multiple parties and provide safe and well-informed ecosystems for dialogue and joint problem-solving. They help establish common governance structures, align indicators and metrics, coordinate reporting, and set norms for accountability.
Evidence-building is another important function of such platforms. They gather data, develop shared measurement frameworks, and produce insights that inform better programme design and policy advocacy. By generating credible and comparable data, they strengthen partners’ confidence in scaling what works.
These platforms also promote peer learning, reduce duplication, and keep attention on long-term systemic change rather than short-term gains. Most importantly, they unite a variety of stakeholders and help foster the joy of giving and the spirit of collaboration in working towards creating a better world.
The future of collective philanthropy in India is promising. Over the past few years, the number of philanthropic collaboratives in India has nearly tripled. A Bridgespan report finds that between 2020 and 2023, the number of collaboratives increased from 15 to 43, and the investments in collaboratives increased from USD 40 million to USD 266 million. Many of these began as rapid-response mechanisms during the Covid-19 crisis, but an increasing share now aim for longer-term, systems-level change across sectors like education, climate, and social equity.
These are encouraging indicators as transitioning to intentional partnerships, pooling funds, and looking at long-term outcomes is vital. Collectively, philanthropic efforts can ensure that issues are understood and addressed beyond surface-level interventions and sustained through generations.
This article is authored by Dhun Davar, chief of programmes & deputy CEO, AVPN.
