Ploughshares Fund working with international funders

by Paul Carroll

I returned from Madrid this week where I participated in the annual meeting of the Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG), an affinity group of foundations and individuals who work to support a range of international peace and security efforts, from reducing nuclear weapons to resolving conflict.  The meeting was co-sponsored by FRIDE, a Madrid-based think tank that works to promote better policies on security issues.  As we await the advent of the Obama administration, which has made clear its intention to re-engage with the world in a more multi-lateral, collaborative and egalitarian manner, the partnership with European colleagues was well-timed.

More than forty people attended, representing a broad range of philanthropies – North American and European - and discussed how to better coordinate their efforts, explore the best ways to have an impact, and become better educated on the issues of the day.  Gareth Evans of Crisis Group gave the opening address that described a host of challenges that face the world, and how philanthropy and civil society can help meet them. I participated in discussions ranging from putting nuclear disarmament back on the international agenda to how philanthropy can improve post-conflict efforts and heard from a number of experts with on-the-ground experience. 

As the fiscal agent for the PSFG, Ploughshares Fund has worked for the past nine years to expand the community of funders addressing these issues, and to equip them to meet the challenges of the present by developing the best approaches to grantmaking to achieve results. 

Paul Carroll is the Program Director of Ploughshares Fund.