Fifth annual Catalyst Now Awards./ PHOTO; Catalyst Now
Four philanthropic organisations have been recognised for funding approaches that give social innovators greater flexibility, strengthen local leadership and support long-term change.
The winners of the fifth annual Catalyst Now Awards were announced on November 5 and celebrated at a ceremony at Canada House in London.
The awards highlight funders moving beyond conventional grantmaking towards approaches based on trust, partnership and sustained investment.
Now in its fifth edition, the awards recognise organisations across four categories: Leader in Field Building, Leader in Partnership, Leader in Transformative Compliance and Leader in Trust.
Finalists were nominated by members and non-members of Catalyst Now, with candidates drawn from foundations, institutional donors, philanthropists and family businesses.
Funding with flexibility
The H&M Foundation received the Leader in Field Building award for its long-term investment in strengthening the wider social impact ecosystem. Privately funded by the Persson family, the foundation supports the textile industry’s transition toward more sustainable and socially inclusive practices.
Blood:Water received the Leader in Partnership award for its work with African community-led organisations addressing health disparities. The organisation combines long-term funding with tailored organisational support, including eight-year funding commitments that allow partners to identify their own priorities.
The Leader in Transformative Compliance award went to the Imago Dei Fund, a Boston-based grantmaker working with organisations addressing the root causes of gender-based injustice. It was recognised for reducing administrative burdens on grantees through multi-year, unrestricted core funding and a collaborative approach to developing funding proposals.
VélezReyes+, the family philanthropic platform founded by David Vélez and Mariel Reyes, received the Leader in Trust award. The platform invests in education and democracy in Latin America and provides fully unrestricted funding, including support for organisational overheads.
The awards also presented a Special Recognition Award to philanthropist Gary Lubner for his contribution to systemic change through This Day Foundation. Lubner has pledged to give away at least 95 per cent of his wealth during his lifetime, supporting leaders and organisations working towards a more equitable society.
Accepting the recognition, Lubner said his approach to philanthropy was rooted in fairness, equality and expanding opportunity.
“I want my legacy to be measured not in financial terms, but in the futures we help make possible,” he said.
A shift in philanthropy
The awards draw on principles set out in Embracing Complexity, a 2020 report by Ashoka and McKinsey & Company. The report encourages funders to invest in long-term visions, build genuine partnerships, share decision-making power and provide flexible funding that allows social innovators to adapt their work.
Matthew Bishop, co-chair of the Catalyst Now Awards Committee, said traditional funding models needed to change in response to the scale of challenges facing communities.
“Given the scale of the challenges facing our world, we cannot continue to fund social change in the same old ways,” he said. “The Catalyst Now awards celebrate funders who are at the forefront of the effort to give differently.”
For Catalyst Now, the awards are part of a wider effort to encourage philanthropy that places communities, rather than funders, at the centre of decision-making.
