A Tale of Two Conferences

Post published:August 3, 2026
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(by Leonie Taylor and Flaviano Bianchini)What is the point of philanthropy conferences?A Tale of Two ConferencesEarlier in 2026, Leap travelled to two conferences on the philanthropy circuit - PEX Fest in Bucharest, Romania, and Ariadne Reconnect in Bologna, Italy. We discovered a few key factors that influence the experience of philanthropy conferences for participants. We decided to put these down in order to share our thoughts and even offer guidance to future conferences. Space, Facilitation, Power Dynamics, and Number of Participants are, among others, key factors of the…

Whose Elephant Is This?

Post published:March 3, 2026
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(by Hadiel Hodail Mohamed and Ann Marie Utratel)Key Learning: Learnings Can Be Difficult To Grasp. Philanthropy as a sector wouldn’t exist in an equitable world where society is no longer built on extractivism, colonialism, separation, patriarchy, and the many other factors that divide our societies into the more and less powerful and privileged. Our group, Leap, is a collective of activists, philanthropists and foundation staff that wants to radically transform philanthropy. We work towards this aim by setting up experiments in collaboration with members of what we consider the…

Flip the Script – a game in Bogotá, Colombia

Post published:December 18, 2025
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(by Flaviano Bianchini) You probably do not know this, but our Martin is a gaming freak. He loves to play games, and wherever he goes he always brings games with him (I won’t spoil your first meeting with him by telling you which games, because that is what he normally does the first time he meets someone). Martin wasn’t able to attend the penultimate Leap retreat in Ibiza (I know it sounds weird, but it was off-season in January and we were actually working!). We decided to honour…

Putting care back into community: Lessons from a journey of Activism to Radical Grant making

Post published:January 30, 2025

Blog (By Shahla Raza) Putting care back into community: Lessons from a journey of Activism to Radical Grant making As an activist who is also a grassroots funder, I have come to believe in radical care and solidarity as the foundation for better funding practices. As a grantee, I wish funders would prioritize our needs and see success as the depth of change we are promoting, rather than counting numbers or demanding lengthy reports. Over time, I’ve realized traditional philanthropy is outdated. It doesn’t serve grassroots work effectively.…

Reimagining Philanthropy: Building Systems of Care and Repair

Post published:September 13, 2024

Blog (By Tatiana Garavito) Over the many years I’ve spent navigating both activist and philanthropic spaces, I’ve come to realise that philanthropy often serves as a band-aid solution. My colleagues at the foundations I work with wouldn’t necessarily frame it this way, and it’s certainly not their intention, but sadly, that’s often the reality. The issue with band-aids is that they’re temporary—they address the immediate urgency but fail to tackle the root causes of the wound. Short-term emergency grants, project-based funding amongst others often miss the broader picture;…

Leap’s Radical Care Experiment

Post published:March 26, 2024
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Blog (By Ann Marie Utratel) In the realm of philanthropy and activism, a transformative experiment is underway, aiming to redefine the essence of care in the pursuit of systemic change. Spearheaded by the Leap collective, the Radical Care Experiment seeks not only to challenge but to revolutionize traditional funding practices and the frontline work of systems transformation. At the heart of this initiative lies the concept of radical intersectional care, a deliberate effort to mainstream the transversal integration of care within philanthropic practice. The goal is to facilitate…