Luisa Bonin from Brazil was a German Chancellor Fellow (a scholarship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) and Fellow with the Maecenata Foundation in Berlin from 2021 to 2023.

Her research project on issues of organised philanthropy resulted in a number of publications, both in English and in Portuguese. Her latest is ‘How Foundations Listen’, published by Philea, the Philanthropy Europe Association in Brussels. By conducting qualitative research within 13 European foundations, Luisa Bonin sheds light on how foundations are increasingly striving to find ways to improve their processes to the benefit of relationships with grantees and primary constituents (also known as beneficiaries). At the cornerstone of this is the desire to mitigate power imbalances that continue to exist within the sector.

“When building a trustworthy philanthropic practice, it is essential not only to listen and collect data for internal learning purposes but to effectively take the voices of people primarily affected by philanthropic efforts into account to make decisions.”

On 23 March, Philea will showcase Bonin’s work and her new publication. The event will take place online, from 14:00-15:00 CET. For registration, please visit: https://bit.ly/3IZlW9Y

Other publications by Luisa Bonin include:

• How Foundations and Funders Listen 
• Listening is not Enough
• Confiança na filantropia (Translation of the findings of the Maecenata’s Philanthropy.Insight project)

The Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea) nurtures a diverse and inclusive ecosystem of foundations, philanthropic organisations and networks in over 30 countries that work for the common good. They unite over 10,000 public-benefit foundations that seek to improve life for people and communities in Europe and around the world.

Contact: Marianne Sievers, Kommunikationsreferentin Maecenata Stiftung: mas@maecenata.eu

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