By Carla Irrazabal, Project Analyst at IDIS

Latin American identity seems to be increasingly visible. And this is not only because of the success of Latin music on Spotify and around the world. There is something that connects us and defines us, something that cannot be ignored. Perhaps the uncertainty of a world marked by conflict and the need to affirm identities have helped bring these shared characteristics to the center of the conversation. 

Panel ‘Latin American Philanthropy: Pathways Toward a Common Future’

We have much in common, both in characteristics that could become trends and strengths to be valued, and in the things we feel need to change. At the same time that we are one of the most unequal regions in the world, we see generosity expressed in many everyday actions that shape our communities. 

Our historical heritage, marked by colonization, Indigenous peoples, and the influence of the African diaspora forcibly brought to the region through slavery during the colonial period, shapes many of these characteristics. From Tierra del Fuego to Monterrey, we share histories, challenges, forms of solidarity, and a diversity that cannot be overlooked when we talk about Latin America. 

Bringing this perspective to philanthropy, the panel “Latin American Philanthropy: Pathways to a Shared Future”, held during the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum 2026, invited us to reflect on what unites us, what Latin American countries have in common, and which characteristics of our region can contribute to building a stronger, more autonomous, and more connected philanthropic field. 

The moderator, Guillermo Correa, Executive Director of Red Argentina para la Cooperación Internacional, opened the conversation by challenging participants to think about how to strengthen Latin American philanthropy without simply importing external models. The question ran throughout the entire panel: how can we expand collaboration among countries, strengthen our own capacities, and at the same time preserve the diversity and essence that characterize our ways of generating social and environmental impact? 

Cassio França, Secretary general of GIFE, brought the Brazilian experience as a starting point for thinking about broader characteristics of the region. He spoke about the weight of corporate philanthropy: among GIFE members, 60% are companies and 20% are families. 

This dynamic is reversed in the U.S. philanthropic landscape, where family philanthropy predominates. He raised a question about the role of family philanthropy in Latin America. In his view, it can bring something different to the field and create space for issues and causes that may not be as prominent in corporate philanthropy. The idea is not to choose between one form and another, but to recognize the contribution of different actors to building a more diverse ecosystem. 

His remarks also highlighted an important point about the environment needed for this field to grow stronger: the need for a more favorable legal framework for giving. In a region marked by concentrated resources and deep inequalities, strengthening a culture of giving also means discussing the instruments and policies that encourage or hinder the allocation of private resources to the public good. 

João Paulo Vergueiro (JP), Director of GivingTuesday’s Latin America and Caribbean Hub, brought a reflection on the different meanings of philanthropy to the conversation. Not only its literal meaning of “love of humanity”, associated with generosity, but also philanthropy understood as giving and as a field within civil society. Drawing on his experience at GivingTuesday, JP emphasized that generosity is already present in the everyday lives of Latin American countries. Solidarity and the willingness to help others are not necessarily something we need to create. The challenge is to recognize, structure, and strengthen these practices so that they can contribute more consistently to the philanthropic field. 

But to do so, we still know too little about the field itself. A seemingly simple question — “How many civil society organizations are there in the country?” — already reveals the lack of data and research in many parts of the region. For JP, gaining a better understanding of the field is essential to making more strategic decisions and strengthening civil society. 

The lack of data is also connected to an issue raised by Carolina Suárez, CEO of Latimpacto: the need to build greater trust in the Latin American social sector. She emphasized the importance of evidence, while also highlighting the need for balance. Many organizations do not have the same capacity to produce reports, indicators, and accountability materials in the formats required by funders. Without taking this reality into account, excessive requirements may divert resources away from precisely those organizations that are closest to the communities they serve. 

Carolina Suárez, CEO of Latimpacto

For Carolina, developing a model of our own for Latin America is essential. Examples and solutions do not necessarily lie in models imported from the United States or other contexts. Many of them already exist here, in local practices, civil society networks, forms of community solidarity, and the ability of territories to organize and collaborate. 

Carolina also highlighted the importance of building a Latin American identity. She noted that when people from African countries attend international conferences, they often say “I am African” rather than identifying primarily by their country of origin. We need to draw on this example and proudly affirm that we are Latin Americans. 

In a second round of questions, which were more direct and focused on practice, Guillermo asked participants specifically about how to move forward and what examples could serve as references. 

Cassio returned to the issue of the legal framework and emphasized the importance of instruments capable of encouraging a culture of giving and strengthening domestic resource mobilization. One of the references mentioned was India, where corporate social responsibility legislation requires companies that meet certain financial criteria to allocate at least 2% of their average net profit from the previous three years to corporate social responsibility initiatives. 

JP summarized part of the conversation in three words: narrative, data, and structure. The narrative is needed to tell the story of what the third sector already does and has been doing across Latin America. Data provides the inputs needed to understand the field strategically. And structure means strengthening the networks that already exist in Brazil and Mexico and are beginning to take shape in Colombia, through groups such as GIFE. 

Carolina concluded by emphasizing what may be one of Latin America’s greatest strengths: human capital. The ability to build relationships, mobilize people, work collaboratively, and develop solutions rooted in local territories is part of the region’s strength. For this potential to achieve greater scale, we will need to expand integration, trust, and pride in our shared identity. 

This conversation showed us that Latin American philanthropy does not need to “reinvent the wheel” or seek answers in ready-made models from the Global North. Our strength lies precisely in what already exists here and is deeply Latin American: generosity, solidarity, cultural diversity, and the strength and leadership of our communities. 

João Paulo Vergueiro | Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at GivingTuesday

The diversity of the continent, with its different histories, cultures, forms of organization, and ways of responding to local challenges, should not be a barrier to building a common agenda. On the contrary, it is an asset for developing solutions that are more closely connected to our realities. 

In a context of polycrisis, in which social, political, economic, and climate-related challenges overlap, strengthening our bonds as Latin American hermanos becomes even more important. Models and experiences have already been developed here. The path forward may lie precisely in learning more about what our neighbors are doing, sharing lessons, and strengthening this regional network, which still has enormous room to grow. 

Check ou the full panel: