Higher education, including its purposes and roles, is being buffeted by a number of forces and undergoing scrutiny on multiple fronts, even as it seeks to meet key needs in society and individual lives.

“The great social compromise that emerged after World War II affirming the role of the university –to cultivate knowledge and educate citizens– is ending,” Amir Pasic, dean of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, writes. “Philanthropy, described by Robert Payton and Michael Moody as the moral imagination of social possibilities, is called on to help guide what is next. Because philanthropy can operate apart from vested interests, it has a special role to play in helping the public imagine the ways higher learning can benefit individuals and the overall public good going forward.”

Higher education and philanthropy have been intertwined for centuries. Since 2022, the Indiana Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has convened and led the Higher Education and Philanthropy (HEP) Initiative, a collaborative community of learning and practice which connects leading researchers, funders, and practitioners from higher education and from philanthropy to work together to learn how philanthropy can better contribute to higher education and thereby support important public purposes.

“In a time of such upheaval and turbulence one of our touchstones for the HEP Initiative is how important it is to clarify what the purpose of higher education is,” Pasic said, noting that participants in the HEP Initiative’s December 2025 conference held in Washington, DC focused on three takeaways.

• A shared vision: HEP participants are clarifying and refining specifics of the initiative’s values, purposes, and what it seeks to achieve, including exploring the mission of higher education beyond defending institutions’ interests.
• Identifying promising areas for innovation or reform that funders or institutions may want to consider testing or adapting. HEP participants agree it’s important to imagine and facilitate alternative ways of supporting the purposes for which higher education institutions were created, as well as ways to help universities achieve new purposes going forward. This includes creating connectivity among donors and opportunities for possible funder-donor collaborations to try out innovative concepts.
• Next steps for HEP. Participants are weighing the most effective ways to advance HEP’s mission and contribute substantively to helping consider, define, and shape the future of higher learning. This could include research projects to provide greater insight into issues affecting higher education, sourcing innovators and funders for pilot projects, and expanding convenings to enrich and broaden the conversation.

HEP is an open, growing community, and you’re invited to join them. Share your email with pebecker@iu.edu to receive updates.

By Ayo Adeyeri and Iman Fathima

Community philanthropic organizations have historically been pivotal actors in bringing about lasting change, and today many are revisiting traditional funding models to ensure the same. Last week, we attended the Convening on Community Philanthropy’s Opportunities to Build Inclusive Communities, presented by Justice Philanthropy Research Network and hosted at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. This research network includes faculty and students from five universities and their research has been funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. It was a great opportunity to hear from community leaders on how they were reimagining the roles of their community foundations in tackling systemic inequities.

The event featured Amy Daly-Donovan, Executive Director of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network; Felicia R. Beard, Associate Vice President of Racial Equity Initiatives at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo; Pamela Ross, Leader of Community Impact at the John R. Oishei Foundation and Cesar Aleman, Executive Vice President of Membership and Impact at UpTogether. The discussion was moderated by Jamie Levine Daniel, Henry & Marilyn Taub Foundation Associate Professor of Nonprofit Management and Public Service. The speakers highlighted different strategies that they had adopted over the decades to center the voice of their communities. Of the many insights shared at the event, we focus on three particularly compelling lessons below.

#1: Philanthropic Policies Should be Empowering
The panelists found it imperative for the organizations to recognize the priorities and lived experiences of their communities. One of the most insightful discussions at the event was centered on direct cash assistance as a tool for systemic change. Cesare Aleman, Executive Vice President at UpTogether framed poverty as a policy failure. A lot of challenges such eviction, hunger, and lack of healthcare could be resolved if community members had the financial means to do so. Yet there is often hesitance to provide direct support.

As community foundations leaders, they advocated for it to be a practice of philanthropy to invest directly in community members. This would meet immediate needs as well as build the capacity for grassroots advocacy to address systemic issues. Real change only happens when those affected by inequities are empowered to lead toward justice.

#2: Collective Power furthers Philanthropy

Pamela Ross, Leader of Community Change at the John R. Oishei Foundation, and Felicia Beard, Associate Vice President at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, emphasized the importance of sharing power within philanthropy. Both women emphasized the urgency to move beyond traditional top-down decision-making in philanthropy, while embracing co-creating strategies as key aspects of their leadership. As scholars of philanthropy, we found the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable, managed by Felicia Beard, quite an interesting model of shared governance, as the Roundtable creates opportunities for community leaders from public, private, nonprofit and faith organizations to contribute towards collective well-being. Pamela Ross’ reflections on her journey from Indianapolis to Buffalo highlighted the institutional challenges of embedding racial equity into philanthropic practice. Her candid acknowledgment of the difficulty in sharing power and building trust with community ambassadors underscored a key aspect of what it means to share power. It is not merely the invitation to decision-making venues, but a profound readiness to divest control, requiring sincerity as well as the capacity to embrace discomfort in the process.

#3 Cultivating Institutional Readiness

Community foundations must proactively ensure that they are cultivating their organizational cultures to be reflexive in their efforts towards equity. An example shared was the NEON (Nexus of Equity and Opportunity Nationwide)[1] network, which emerged as an action model, effectively pooling resources from community foundations nationwide to address complex systemic hurdles. As succinctly described by Amy Daly-Donovan of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON), NEON’s success hinged on its organizing framework that was foundational to their collaboration, the Five Commons: common goal, strategies, measures, narrative, and policy agenda. The network’s most significant breakthrough was its evolution toward a flexible learning community that prioritized internal reflection such as including self-assessments of racial structures within participating philanthropic institutions. By investing in this, foundations can cultivate a pipeline for future leadership from within their communities.

Future Directions

As the convening drew close, we were left with a great deal to ponder. The lessons from the event offer us a roadmap to understand philanthropic leadership, accountability and strategic action. A few insights that we will be exploring in our own works include how philanthropy must move beyond extractive engagement and establish reciprocal relationships with communities. With growing influence of community foundations, could there be more creative means of sharing power? Can community foundations effectively scale their impact while preserving local relevance? And there were many more interesting questions on community foundations that our fellow attendees raised and have explored in their own works, which perhaps will be the topic of our next blog post!

We would also like to express our gratitude to Professor Laurie Paarlberg and to all our colleagues at the Justice Philanthropy Research Network for their invaluable support.

[1] In Fall of 2021, a group of scholars from the Lilly Family school of Philanthropy observed and engaged with NEON.

By
Afshan Paarlberg and David Janes

After more than a year of ongoing side discussions about philanthropy in Japan, the International House of Japan (IHJ), United States-Japan Foundation, American Friends of the International House of Japan (AFIHJ), the 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy joined hands to co-host a public webinar, raise awareness about the current state of philanthropy in Japan, and foster dialogue to enhance the future of philanthropy in Japan and U.S.-Japan relations. This event began a public conversation on ways in which philanthropic leaders from both countries can deepen engagement. A recording of the event can be found here.

A special thanks to our co-panelists Miyoki Demay of World Monuments Fund and Nintendo Corporation, Daisuke Kan of Cheerio Corporation Ltd., Sheila Smith of the Council of Foreign Relations, and Jacob Schlesinger of the United States-Japan Foundation.

Together, the panel offered rich and diverse perspectives on a variety of topics, including research, corporate giving, cause-based giving, the social impact ecosystem of philanthropy in Japan, and cross-border perspectives.

The event began with a presentation (by Afshan), sharing new research insights from the 2025 Global Philanthropy Environment Index¹ (GPEI) — a leading international dataset, inclusive of 111 reports that provide an updated mapping of the philanthropic environment in 95 countries and 15 regions. A macro-global perspective was presented on the enabling environment for philanthropy before moving into country-level specifics about Japan. Based on the research presentation and panel discussion, five key takeaways are shared below.

1. Based on the 2025 GPEI, Japan’s philanthropy environment is judged to be favorable across all six measured indicators. The report covers the period between 2021 and 2023, a time during which Japan faced commodity price increases, especially in relation to the Russia-Ukraine war, the slowing down of the COVID-19 pandemic, and disaster relief, including flooding and earthquakes that prompted generous giving.
2. Buddhist traditions, duty, and a sense of openness and belonging are a way of life in Japan, and collectively they inform giving. This combination of values, for example, was on display in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami. Such traditions also inform an interest in driving philanthropy to support cultural preservation and historic sites.
3. Despite overall stability, socio-cultural richness, and a positive philanthropy environment, the panelists noted some cautious observations, especially related to limited social impact infrastructure in Japan. Speakers noted the lack of training, formal education, and professional opportunities for people working in this space. Panelists also noted that philanthropic giving to higher education institutes is rare among Japanese philanthropists.
4. With regards to cross-border giving, the US-Japan partnership was noted for its long history of philanthropic collaboration, especially in disaster relief, education, and cultural exchange. While Japan’s philanthropic environment is favorable, the overall scale of giving is smaller compared to the United States and Europe, partly due to cultural and structural factors.
5. Finally, corporations play a much more significant role in philanthropy in Japan than individuals, with corporate giving spanning causes across education and culture.

Looking ahead, there are shifting global and local landscapes that must be acknowledged and addressed when developing new policies and strategies related to the future of philanthropy in Japan. For example, there is a shrinking space for shrines and temples for which philanthropy might support cultural preservation. Further, Japan has both a declining workforce and an aging population of which to be mindful when unlocking the potential of the next generation— a generation which seems to have a more hands on approach, interest in philanthropic impact, and new tools at their disposal, such as blockchain.

Considering the current environment for philanthropy alongside these emerging trends, panelists emphasized the importance of building infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and fostering collaboration across sectors. In complement to these recommendations, broadened participation and leadership in civil society was encouraged, with a focus on engaging the next generation and diversifying the pipeline of leaders. Finally, whereas private foundations have notably stepped back in people-to-people exchanges and education, government support was invited to step in.

The panel was joined by an engaged, global audience— across the United States, Japan, Brazil, Vietnam, and Canada. The virtual hour flew by, and the room’s energy spilled over to post-event discussions offline, providing much anticipation of next steps, actions, and more to come!

Author Bios:

Afshan Paarlberg, JD

Afshan Paarlberg is a lawyer and interdisciplinary researcher who engages in policy-driven work on philanthropy, nonprofits, and access to justice. Afshan served as Director of the 2025 Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI). She recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of British Columbia Centre for Migration Studies. She continues to serve on the board of The Appellate Project, a U.S. nonprofit that supports emerging leaders as they work to build a more just and representative appellate field.

David Janes, PhD

David joined the International House of Japan in July 2024 as Vice President, North America, focusing on strategic partnerships and development. He is also Executive Director of the American Friends of the International House of Japan. With over 25 years in non-profit leadership, David has held executive roles at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Global Citizens Initiative, and United States-Japan Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from The New School for Social Research, an M.A. in International Affairs from The Fletcher School, an M.A. in Asian Religions from the University of Hawai‘i, and a B.A. in Religion from the University of Mary Washington and was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at Doshisha University. David chairs the boards of the Japan ICU Foundation and EngageAsia.

¹ With special thanks and acknowledgment of Dr. Takayuki Yoshioka from Okayama University for authoring the 20205 GPEI Japan Country Report.