The Salzburg Global Seminar, in collaboration with a number of philanthropic partners, is developing a multi-year Initiative focused on "Optimizing Institutional Philanthropy for the 21st Century" to explore and articulate policies, principles, structures and practices to help make institutional philanthropy more effective. The Initiative will gather together thought leaders and decision-makers from philanthropy, finance, policy, research and nonprofit/social enterprise practice to look afresh at the needs of the global "social marketplace", consider what future needs may define the field, and suggest mechanisms (legal, operational, financial) to increase the impact and effectiveness of institutional philanthropy for today and for the future. We recognize that there are many conversations underway in the philanthropic world, and we hope this initiative can build on and connect various of these conversations on an international level.

The Initiative intends to investigate:

• current and possible future composition of philanthropy globally;
• innovative philanthropic and social investment practice, particularly those areas that might be leveraged or scaled up to better meet global needs; and
• alternative structures and policies that would allow more effective philanthropy to flourish and move to scale.

This important effort, with start-up support from the F.B. Heron Foundation, will initially convene a number of pioneering philanthropic actors, who are pursuing initiatives that have the potential to reshape institutional philanthropy, along with other innovators, experts, and global thinkers to scan the current and possible future composition of global philanthropy, including the most significant changes underway in certain countries and regions. Additionally, participants will consider particular challenges in the field of philanthropy today to identify barriers to change and explore mechanisms to shift systems. The necessity to work through a plausible solution or solutions will drive the conversation beyond opening positions and assumptions, drawing on the assembled creativity of a diverse group and stimulating questions that will take us well beyond the status quo. The balance of approaches will enable us to lift out core questions and challenges around which to refine the agenda for the initiative. The opening meeting, which is by invitation only, will be held in December 2008.