To Our Peers: Philanthropy and the Nyéléni Process
In September of 2025, a group of funders and donors joined hundreds of farmers, fishers, Indigenous leaders, feminists, and workers for the Third Nyéléni Global Forum. The Nyéléni Funders Circle—a diverse delegation of funders that traveled to Kandy, Sri Lanka for the forum—shares what philanthropy can learn and where we can go from here.
A letter to our peers in philanthropy
As people in philanthropy; representatives of diverse and multifaceted funds, alliances and networks, we honor the profound importance of the Nyéléni Process and the historic significance that, for the first time in the 18 years of this process, a delegation of funders, donors and philanthropy advisors has been invited into the forum. In this special moment for the Nyéléni Process, the 3rd Global Forum brought together 700 representatives from 102 countries to renew a shared political action agenda for movements organizing for food sovereignty and systemic transformation.
READ: The Kandy Declaration: A Collective Road Map for Systemic Transformation
We came together to build a long-term partnership between social movements and the philanthropic sector, to understand and learn from the collective vision of the Nyéléni forum, and move toward action. We recognize this moment as part of a longer process in systemic transformation—one that places the sovereignty and self-determination of people and food, as well as the rights of land, water, and ecosystems with their own intrinsic being, at the center of this collective work.
Inspired by Nyéléni, we are eager to continue exploring how we within our institutions, alliances, and networks can advance a philanthropy of solidarity. This means working in partnership with and being responsive to global social movements, mobilizing resources while creating the conditions for financial autonomy.
We recognize the importance of philanthropic practices that promote community control and avoid extractive means of engagement, while emphasizing that philanthropy is just one of many resourcing mobilization tools—one that can be used to catalyze more movement-aligned funding. We also understand that philanthropy exists as a space of contestation: a force that can impose agendas and spark divisions, yet, can also be a tool of transformative change to support social movements to thrive. We see a shared responsibility to help ensure it is. We are eager to continue working together, inspiring each other, and learning from movements.
This process has moved us with its vision of systemic transformation and the possibilities it creates for global struggles for food sovereignty, self-determination, collective justice, health, and joy. We invite you to join us in this moment for social movements and people in philanthropy
Signed
The 11th Hour Project
Agroecology Fund
Bizilur
CS Fund
Anna Lappe, Global Alliance for the Future of Food
Global GreenGrants Fund
Grassroots International
Thousand Currents
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Urgent Action Sister Funds
War on Want
WhyHunger
