An Excellent Example of Ongoing Funding Support by Peter Brach
Under the right circumstances, providing substantial, multi-year operational support to a promising Social Sector Infrastructure Organisation (SSIO) can produce extraordinary long-term results. The story below illustrates what is possible.
For nearly 24 years, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation provided annual operational support to WINGS. Today, WINGS is a global network of philanthropy support and development organizations with more than 200 members across 58 countries, including an estimated 100,000 professionals across philanthropy, government, nonprofits, and civil society.
WINGS is arguably the world’s largest network of philanthropy support organizations, with members including the Council on Foundations, Philea, Candid, GivingTuesday, TechSoup, and AVPN. It plays an especially important role in the Global South and other underserved regions by connecting organizations, sharing knowledge, and strengthening philanthropy infrastructure. After more than two decades of steady support and sustained effort, WINGS is now working with governments as high as the national level.
Paving the Way with Research
Over the years, WINGS has become a leading source of research and practical guidance on philanthropy infrastructure, advocacy, enabling environments, community foundations, and other key topics. Its research informs a vast global network of changemakers, helping philanthropy support organizations become more effective and better connected.
WINGS also contributes to major international initiatives, including United Nations assemblies and European policy discussions, where it helps advance strategies that strengthen philanthropy and expand cross-border giving.
A Moment of Uncertainty and Triumph
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, WINGS found itself at the center of an unprecedented global response. While supporting organizations around the world during an extraordinarily difficult period, the organization was also preparing for an important opportunity with the European Union.
Thanks to years of dependable operational funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and other supporters—combined with timely investments that expanded WINGS’ staff capacity—the organization had the bandwidth to pursue both priorities successfully. That preparation led to the largest grant in WINGS’ history: €1 million from the European Union.
The momentum continued. Additional funding followed, and in 2022 WINGS became the first philanthropy organization to sign a four-year, €5 million Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the European Union, supporting work across 32 countries. In 2020, WINGS had a staff of six. Today, the organization has a team of 20.
One of WINGS’ landmark achievements has been helping launch the #PhilanthropyForClimate movement—a pledge by nearly 1000 foundations to take urgent action to address climate change. The initiative encourages foundations of every size and mission to integrate climate considerations into their operations, endowments, grantmaking, and partnerships.
Today, WINGS also serves as a regranting organization, helping identify highly effective organizations for philanthropic investment. At the same time, it is increasingly positioned to advise local and national governments on strengthening philanthropy and development systems. Governments invest billions of dollars annually in development, and stronger support systems can significantly increase the effectiveness of those investments. For example, WINGS helped convene discussions with USAID and other partners that resulted in commitments of $20 billion for locally led development.
Discussion
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation’s long-term commitment produced extraordinary results that may continue generating benefits for decades. At the same time, it is reasonable to ask what might have happened had WINGS not succeeded.
Transformational progress often requires funders who are willing to accept thoughtful, calculated risk. Venture capitalists understand that one exceptional investment can more than offset numerous unsuccessful ones. Philanthropy is different, but the principle is similar: a single breakthrough investment can generate social returns that far exceed the original grant. Moreover, as many of the stories throughout this website demonstrate, sometimes even relatively modest investments can produce remarkable long-term impact when directed toward the right opportunities.
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation deserves enormous credit for providing nearly 24 years of consistent support that helped transform WINGS into the organization it is today. At the same time, this success was not the work of a single funder. Many organizations and individuals contributed along the way. As the saying goes, “It takes a village.” WINGS is a powerful example of a global village of changemakers working together to strengthen philanthropy and address the interconnected challenges facing our world.