This year’s UNGA Week—the nickname for various activities surrounding the United Nations’ annual General Assembly—once again convened the global international development and social impact communities in New York City. Lever for Change was well represented, with four members of our team participating in events. While UNGA is often perceived as a sprawling and endless series of meetings, there was an undeniable sense of urgency in the air, with protests on nearby streets and activists demanding action in every arena.
The week kicked off with Panorama’s Leadership Forum: Navigating Complexities, Inspiring Action. It was a Sunday afternoon well spent, with insightful reflections about the state of philanthropy from speakers including Nick Tedesco (National Center for Family Philanthropy), Mosun Layode (African Philanthropy Forum), Deval Sanghavi (Dasra), Jennifer Risher (HalfmyDAF), and Don Gips (Skoll Foundation), among others.
Lever for Change’s newly appointed President, Kristen Molyneaux, moderated a panel organized by Bold Solutions Network member, Perkins Schools for the Blind. The conversation explored opportunities to make education more inclusive for all children, providing a compelling case for the collective need to deliver on the promise that every child can learn and on changing people's lives, not just systems.
Another highlight was Spotlight Africa—an engaging space set up by Segal Family Foundation for those working in/on Africa to join in conversation, share learnings, and make connections. In addition to participating in conversations on social impact in Africa, it was an opportunity to connect with some of our Bold Solutions Network members, including Babies and Mothers Alive (BAMA), Dandelion Africa, Lwala Community, and Village Enterprise.
Later in the week, I moderated roundtable discussions, as part of Connective Impact’s Creating Connections for Greater Impact. The discussions brought together funders and implementers to reflect on challenges and opportunities in philanthropy, while sharing lessons and best practices. Participants reflected on how to strengthen trust-based philanthropy, employ a more holistic framework around risk, and create conditions that foster innovation and maximize impact. The vibrant and honest conversations were a reminder of the passion and commitment we all bring to this work.
The week concluded with a personal favorite of mine: Africa Rising. In partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative and the Ford Foundation, CorpsAfrica brought together African philanthropic leaders to discuss prevailing trends, best practices, and strategies to help achieve the best future for the continent.
In my short presentation on opportunities and challenges around bold solutions, I shared that a significant opportunity today is that we have several mechanisms that allow for large-scale giving aimed at incentivizing problem solvers. For example, out of the more than $2.2 billion Lever for Change has influenced through our challenges and open calls, around $635 million went to 42 organizations working in Africa. Of that amount, $73 million went to 8 African organizations. This example illustrates that we must ensure our mechanisms do not leave proximate organizations behind. Following a robust conversation, we concluded with an evening of food and drink—as is customary during UNGA—at the Africa Rising reception which featured remarks from H.E. Ellen Sirleaf Johnson and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The jampacked days and nights of UNGA Week always leave me feeling challenged and inspired. This year was no exception. The common thread in many of the conversations I joined was that there are many bold solutions and ideas being implemented to effect change around the world. As we march closer to 2030 and aim to close the gap on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it will be even more critical to support these bold problem solvers.
Lever for Change has been working with some incredible organizations dedicated to achieving the SDGs—from eradicating poverty to promoting gender equality, these bold solutions answer the call for peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all. Take a look at this curated list of highly-rated solutions across our open call challenges that third-party evaluators identified as exceptional drivers of the SDGs and let us know if you would like to become a supporter of these impactful organizations that drive meaningful change: https://www.leverforchange.org/services/funders/UNGA_2024.