SDGS are becoming, buzzwords, I have been asked whether philanthropy institutions should participate in SDGs. I believe the philanthropy community should engage in any global initiative relevant to its work that contributes to the shared goal of creating a just and prosperous society.

1. the moral fibre of philanthropy has immense benefit
for society, building trust, or gotong royong, a Bahasa
Indonesian term that means working together self-
lessly.Evengrantsentailnon-monetarysupport,such
as affirmation and empowerment.
If governments wish philanthropy communities to
engage vigorously in SDGs, the roles and contribu-
tion of philanthropy organizations, and civil society
in general, need to be well understood. Philanthropy
participation in SDGs should not just mean setting
up a pooling fund. Philanthropy has a lot more to
offer–itsprinciples,valuesandapproaches,aswellas
its human resources.
The problems identified and targeted by the SDGs
shouldbeaddressedthroughlong-termprogramme
and full-cycle intervention. The philanthropy com-
munity is accustomed to responding to such needs.
Unfortunately, government intervention is re-
stricted to its annual budget cycle and often relies on
single-shot, partial and target-specific approaches.
In light of these differences, the government needs
to avoid putting philanthropy organizations in the
same box as government units delivering SDG tar-
gets. Rather, the government needs to capitalize on
philanthropy values and provide policy support to
philanthropy organizations.
Philanthropy organizations have to work together
to better their approaches and impacts in the areas
targetedbySDGs.Collaborationamongphilanthropy
organizations admittedly has not been strong. Some
programmes overlapped while others were under-
financed.Anassociationthatpromotesphilanthropy
organizations’ interests will be key to overcoming an
information shortage on philanthropy needs and ac-
torswithinacountry.Theassociationsoflike-minded
philanthropy actors could encourage or initiate the
establishmentofasoliddatabaseaswellasprompting
conversations to map out philanthropy actors’ roles.
In a nutshell, the philanthropy community should
emphasizealignment,notintegration,whenitcomes
to partnership with the government.
We have to strive to retain freedom to define our
points to create impact. We have to keep our values
as a community that puts compassion toward hu-
man beings and the earth first. Without these values,
we will end up completing programmes while
problems linger – until we have to create another set
of global goals.
The question we need to look at more is how we, as
the philanthropy community, align our works
with the global goals, whose implementation
in the countries is spearheaded by national and
sub-national governments.
The government and the philanthropy community
have different approaches to address the issues tar-
geted by the SDGs. It’s a fact we need to accept. If
managed properly, however, the differences can actu-
allyincitepowerfulcomplementarityandinnovation.
However, the philanthropy community may need to
be aware of a few cautionary notes:
The obsession with quantifiable targets should be
avoided if we want to create meaningful and last-
ing impacts. The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) were translated into quantifiable targets and
indicators. The targets helped national and local gov-
ernments work out their budgets and the public to
monitor progress. The emphasis on figures and num-
bers hampered many potential impacts that could
havebeendelivered,especiallyatlocallevel,however.
We categorically need indicators and quantifi-
able measurement. We want to create community
self-reliance and resilience as opposed to continuous
dependence on external assistance. Thereby, SDG
measurement needs to correct current practice and
create a quality process as it produces outcomes such
as sustainability and empowerment.
Measurementshouldnotbemadeuniformforallcoun-
triesparticipatingintheSDGs.Indonesia,forexample,
is the largest archipelagic country, comprising more
than 17,000 islands and hundreds of ethnic groups. If
philanthropy organizations are expected to partici-
pate in SDGs, the government should allow them to
continuelocal-friendly,culture-sensitiveapproaches,
most of which do not result in quantifiable outputs.
The philanthropy community should contribute
varied resources, not only finance. Volunteerism as
Advancing impacts,
not numbers
Sustainable development goals (SDGs) are becoming buzzwords.
I have been asked whether philanthropy institutions should
participate in SDGs. I believe the philanthropy community should
engage in any global initiative relevant to its work that contributes
to the shared goal of creating a just and prosperous society.
Franky Welirang
is co-chair of the
advisory board of
the Association
of Philanthropy
Indonesia. Email
franky.welirang@
bogasariflour.com
Franky Welirang
special feature why philanthropy should care about the sdgs p31
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