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Lilly Family School of Philanthropy IU Indianapolis

Reflections on My Year as a Global Philanthropy Fellow

Posted on by Afshan Paarlberg

Afshan Paarlberg sitting with other MPI staff and students on a table.
Afshan Paarlberg (second from left) mingles with school staff and students.

In years past and present, the Global Philanthropy Fellowship has supported an academic fellow in fostering international dialogue and exchange by emphasizing global philanthropy research, with the generous support of the Giving USA Foundation. In 2023, I had the honor of joining the research team at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy as the second Global Philanthropy Fellow. This fellowship has resonated with me on professional and personal levels.

After about 15 years of practicing law, including representing nonprofit entities, I pivoted toward policy-driven research to understand broader philanthropic and civil society trends, foster social discussion, and enable changes for the public good. Professionally, this fellowship has offered a vital venue to connect and learn alongside colleagues and communities about why and how philanthropy is practiced worldwide and engage in policy-level discussions about how to foster an enabling environment for philanthropy. As our world becomes increasingly global, such thriving spaces for exchange are paramount.

On a personal note, embracing global traditions of generosity and philanthropy has been part of my upbringing and adult life. I am part of a mixed-culture family from around the world, including Pakistan, Thailand, Haiti, Iran, Mexico, Palestine, and Afghanistan. Through this lifelong immersion in a cross-cultural family, I have experienced various ways of individual generosity, often associated with overflowing hospitality, food, and encouragement. Thus, the opportunity to connect the research and practice of philanthropy more deeply through this fellowship is one for which I am very grateful. (more…)

A New Collaboration

Posted on by Kathi Badertscher

Dr. Kathi Badertscher with the first cohort of collaborative master’s students.
Dr. Kathi Badertscher with Dr. Mohammad Al-Ahmadi (third from left), Dr. Hesham Merdad (next to Dr. Badertscher) and the first cohort of collaborative master’s students.

In December 2023 I traveled to Saudi Arabia with friend and colleague Jeannie Sager.  We had the honor of being two of three women presenters at the Eleventh Forum for the Development of the Non-Profit Sector.  While I have been privileged to travel personally and professionally many times, this was my first trip to the Middle East.  In this blog post I update readers on the school’s new collaborative master’s degree program with the Saudi Arabian university, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

My earliest notes about a potential collaborative master’s degree program date back to 2019, well before the COVID lockdown.  The momentum for the degree program comes from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s expansive Vision 2030 for Saudi Arabia. Vision 2030 creates a vibrant economy with reduced dependence on oil exports, devolution of services to sectors outside government, and dramatically increased capacity of the business and nonprofit sectors.  In part to undergird Vision 2030, KFUPM is advancing its curricular offerings beyond engineering and has recently begun admitting women.

Growth through collaborative partnerships is integral to KFUPM’s strategy.  The university’s business school, through its Center of Excellence in Development of Nonprofit Organizations, has partnered with several U.S. and U.K. peer universities in recent years. The kingdom, moreover, has already invested significant time and money into nonprofit professional development.  The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, through The Fund Raising School, has trained hundreds of practitioners in the Arab Region, so a collaborative master’s degree with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy was a natural next step. The partnership would allow KFUPM to identify, recruit, and train future nonprofit leaders relatively quickly, by building on our curriculum and the existing relationship with us. (more…)

Exploring the Dynamic Philanthropic Landscape of Malaysia: A Personal Perspective

Posted on by Tulib Ahmed

Road in front of Sultan Abdul Samad Building In Malaysia.
Road in front of Sultan Abdul Samad building in Malaysia.

The philanthropic landscape in Malaysia is as dynamic and diverse as the country itself, and it has been evolving over the years. Overall, Malaysia is rich in charitable activities and expressions of generosity, and it offers a multifaceted environment for philanthropy and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). My 28-year residence in Malaysia and a 13-year journey within its nonprofit sector have given me a deep understanding of this vibrant field. I explore the sector’s intricacies in this blog post, highlighting its strengths and challenges.

The Diversity of Nonprofits

Malaysia’s nonprofit sector is a tapestry woven with various threads, each organization representing a unique mission and set of objectives. Religious and non-religious NGOs coexist, addressing a wide array of issues from community welfare to environmental conservation. This diversity enables a holistic and more comprehensive approach to social challenges, ensuring a broad spectrum of needs is met.

As a majority Muslim nation, Malaysia’s philanthropic sector is driven by Islamic values and modern financial mechanisms. Notable innovations include the Sukuk Ihsan Programme by Khazanah, a sovereign wealth fund that supports educational projects with a fund of USD 282 million.[1]

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Discovering purpose through philanthropy

Posted on by Amir Pasic

Dean Amir Pasic poses for photo with graduating student at commencement.
Dean Amir Pasic poses for photo with graduating student at commencement.

Recently, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy welcomed students, faculty, family, and friends to one of our favorite days of the year: a special ceremony honoring our newest graduates. Dean Amir Pasic offered congratulations, charges, and challenges to these philanthropy and nonprofit professionals.

We have many reasons to celebrate today. We are marking the 37th anniversary of the founding of the school’s predecessor, the Center on Philanthropy. This is our twelfth graduation celebration since becoming a school—and my tenth since becoming dean. We are celebrating the dedication and passion of our graduates, who will soon embark on the next steps in their journeys to make the world a better place.

Graduates, today we will celebrate your many fine and distinguished accomplishments. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished and thank you for all that you have done for our school. You have helped advance this young field of philanthropic studies and you have set the standards for the many graduates who will come after you. I think you appreciate the view that one does not enter a field to have one’s individuality dissolved into a bland commonality of sameness, with so many similar others who share a field. Our field, being a new one, lifts up the expectation that each and every individual is prepared to make the field their own and to carry it forward. We stand ready to support you and to cheer you on.

Today and as you go forth into your lives of consequence, you stand on the shoulders of those who came before you, those who helped create and build the field you adopted and will now advance.

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Taking it personally – bridging the private and the public through philanthropy

Posted on by Amir Pasic

An illustration of a typewriter with paper inserted that reads: "Everyone has a story."

When you say, “It’s personal,” you may be hoping to end the conversation, but sometimes it’s an opening to go deeper. In philanthropy, it can be an invitation to innovate and recast the way we see what is private and what is public, or simply express a loving sentiment. Think of the many inspirational stories of philanthropy that help define who a person is, or how a family is perceived, maybe over many generations. Personal stories can be private, but they also play a role in building, and when needed, rebuilding the public realm. Perhaps they are even more necessary to connect us to a common purpose than we realize.

Too often we regard stories as “mere anecdotes.” Anyone can spin stories and interpretations, but “serious” authorities tell us that data, systems, strategies, and procedures are what “serious” philanthropy is all about. The policies that regulate philanthropy help reinforce impersonal processes involved in assuring technical compliance. The state often uses the law to declare that philanthropy is defined negatively — legitimate donations cannot have a private benefit. Maybe the state is jealous about who gets to advance the public good, but occasionally it does cheerlead for philanthropy.

Most definitions of philanthropy connect private actions and the public good. When we have public actions for the public good, we have the state and when we have private actions for the private good, we have commerce. Of course, there are many gray areas, but philanthropy is peculiar in that it locates itself squarely in the gray area between the private and the public. And the stories we tell about philanthropy, whether they use the word or not, play an important role in designing how we conceive and connect the private and public realms.

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