By Beatriz Santos, Project Analyst at IDIS

In a context of rapid change, reinventing oneself seems to have become an obligation for any organization that wants to remain relevant. In philanthropy, this discussion is often associated with new technologies, financial mechanisms, or strategies. All of these matter. But the panel “Reinvention Now. Relevance Always!”, held during the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum 2026, raised a more fundamental question: there can be no meaningful reinvention without clarity about what needs to remain.

Panel ‘Reinvention Now. Relevance Always!’, during the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum 2026

The discussion began with the opening remarks by Conceição Evaristo. By emphasizing that philanthropy must pursue social justice, the writer proposed understanding it not simply as giving, but as sharing. If philanthropy means love for humanity, its essence must lie in a commitment to people, social justice, and the transformation of realities. In other words, the essence should not change; what needs to evolve are the paths used to put it into practice.

Essence Guides Reinvention

At the event, this relationship was reflected in the experiences shared by Valcléia dos Santos, from Fundação Amazônia Sustentável (FAS); Vitor Hugo Neia, from Fundação Grupo Volkswagen; and Somachi Chris-Asoluka, from the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Valcléia dos Santos, from Fundação Amazônia Sustentável (FAS)

Speaking about work in the Amazon, Valcléia highlighted the challenges of operating in remote territories marked by logistical difficulties, limited access to public services, and historical inequalities. In these contexts, turning resources into action requires listening to communities and recognizing that needs cannot be defined solely from the perspective of those who fund or implement a project. Communities are the ones who know their territories, their priorities, and the solutions that may work. Listening, therefore, cannot be merely a consultation step; it must also inform decision-making so that initiatives can adapt as contexts change.

The experience of Fundação Grupo Volkswagen revealed another dimension of this process, when the organization realized that its work had become disconnected from local territories and that its results no longer reflected the transformations it sought to promote. It therefore became necessary to revisit its strategy, move closer to local realities, and strengthen the capacities of organizations and communities. This shift, however, also meant reconnecting with something embedded in the Foundation’s own history: its attention to workers’ trajectories and social mobility. In this case, reinventing itself did not mean abandoning its essence, but finding a more coherent way to express it in the present.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, meanwhile, starts from the understanding that Africa’s development should be led by local entrepreneurs. To support this vision, it provides training, access to capital, and support networks, seeking to adapt its strategies to different economic, social, and cultural realities. Technology emerges as an important — and above all, inclusive — tool, representing reinvention through the strengthening of the organization’s purpose without creating barriers.

From Participation to Sharing

The three experiences show that the essence of philanthropy does not lie in preserving projects, models, or ways of working. These elements can — and should — change. What remains is the ethical commitment to people, social justice, and long-term transformation. Reinvention is precisely what allows these principles to remain meaningful in new contexts. For this reason, sharing cannot mean simply transferring resources; it also means sharing the ability to identify problems, set priorities, and build solutions. In other words, sharing power.

Public during the Panel

This discussion is at the heart of approaches such as trust-based philanthropy, flexible funding, and locally led development. A 2026 analysis by Dalberg on philanthropic trends found that 83% of the large U.S. foundations surveyed reported some form of stakeholder participation. However, only 10% said they had actually transferred decision-making power to grantee organizations or communities. This gap shows that creating spaces for participation does not necessarily mean sharing decision-making power.

In its own work on trust-based philanthropy, IDIS highlights practices such as active listening, greater flexibility in the use of resources, simpler processes, and closer relationships between funders and grantee organizations. These practices reaffirm that the knowledge needed to transform a reality is not concentrated solely among those who control the resources.

Essence, reinvention, and relevance are therefore directly connected. Essence defines why philanthropy exists. Reinvention determines how it responds to changes in the present, while relevance depends on the ability to do both at the same time. An organization can preserve its ways of working and still drift away from its essence. Likewise, it can adopt technologies and innovative models without creating meaningful change.

Reinvention, on the other hand, is not about changing for the sake of change. It means recognizing when a strategy is no longer responding to its context and building new paths without losing sight of its purpose. After all, if philanthropy intends to remain relevant, its central question should not be only “What should we fund?” but also “Who gets to participate in deciding what needs to be done?”

Ultimately, sharing resources matters. But sharing the ability to choose the paths forward brings philanthropy closer to its essence: promoting social justice and helping ensure that people are protagonists in the transformations that affect their own lives.

Check out the full panel: