This article was originally published in Alliance Magazine on November 5, 2025
By Felipe Bogotá, executive director of TerritoriA
Hope is not a solitary feeling. It is something we build together. Across Latin America, philanthropy is discovering that resilience and transformation emerge not from isolated acts of generosity, but from collective infrastructures of trust. This spirit was palpable at the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum 2025, organized by IDIS, which brought together a vibrant network of leaders, organizations, and communities under one shared call: put hope into action.
During the Forum, I shared my views on how to enhance interdependence and resilience in philanthropy. My perspective draws inspiration from the growing Latin American movement of 56 Community Foundations, which by the end of 2024 had mobilized more than U$D 75 million to strengthen work in the field, catalyzing the local initiatives that have been caring, working, helping and dreaming their own territories.
Felipe Bogotá, executive director of TerritoriA, during the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum. Photo: Caio Garça
One of the moments that truly brought me hope was the Transforming Territories manifesto video, presented by the collective of Community Foundations participating in the homonymous project led by IDIS, with support from the Mott Foundation and Movimento Bem Maior. The web series features fourteen Community Foundations across Brazil that are strengthening local infrastructure in unique and inspiring ways—each one showing that hope becomes tangible when communities take the lead in shaping their own futures.
This movement reminds us that systemic transformation doesn’t start with scale; it starts with relationships, trust, and rootedness. Building on both the Forum’s discussions and the lessons emerging from these community foundations, I offer four concrete actions for the philanthropic ecosystem:
- Fund local intermediaries as trust hubs
Frontline organizations and community-based groups need an anchor—a place where donations, knowledge, and coordination converge. Territorial Foundations are built for this. Multi-year, core support to these hubs creates continuity beyond project cycles. - Adopt participatory governance by default
Structures like community panels, citizen juries, or giving circles can determine where resources go—guided by clear criteria and community consent. When decisions are taken with people rather than for them, philanthropy evolves from charity into collaboration. Donors become partners, and beneficiaries become co-owners. - Shift to flexible and catalytic funding
Trust and resilience grow when we finance learning, adaptation, and risk. General operating support, matching pools, first-loss guarantees, and recoverable grants signal, “We’re with you as you figure it out,” not “Prove it before you start.” - Institutionalize learning loops
Share not only what succeeded but also what failed, what changed, and what’s next. When organizations narrate their uncertainty with rigor, they model honesty, and honesty is the soil of trust.
The invisible infrastructure that makes resilience possible
As a member of the Community Foundations movement in Colombia, an organization dedicated to philanthropic infrastructure at the local level, I am convinced that mechanisms, channels, and scenarios with incentives and enablers are essential for the future of philanthropy and well-being in local communities.
The region (I think the world too) will continue to face shocks—economic, climatic, political. Resilience is not only about having more money; it is about having trusted local institutions able to act quickly, include many, and stay accountable. When trust infrastructure is strong, a funding cut or a storm doesn’t paralyze the system; it re-routes energy through existing, legitimate channels.
Finally, I believe that philanthropy could contribute to big problems in the world; for example, the lack of trust that has been impacting our democratic systems. If we develop a strong philanthropic ecosystem we will inspire different actors to mobilize actions to enhance transparency, relationships and share vision. I am convinced that those things can help to build not only a more effective philanthropy, but also a more cohesive and hopeful society, committed to the common good.
