Working across faith lines to help the most vulnerable in our world
Our mission is to bring together the world’s leading philanthropists of all faiths to join forces and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges of our day, through interfaith collaboration.
Inaugural Faith & Philanthropy Summit – The Vatican, October 2022
The Galileo Foundation, in partnership with the Global Compact on Education, the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, the Jewish Funders Network and the UBS Optimus Foundation, launched the inaugural ‘Faith and Philanthropy Summit’ in October 2022 in the Casina Pius IV in Vatican City with the approval of His Holiness Pope Francis and participation of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope’s Secretary of State, and by Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
On February 4th 2020 at the Pontifical Academy, the Holy Father remarked:
“Currently, the 50 richest people possess the equivalent of US$ 2.2 trillion. The Pope said that, on their own, they could finance “medical care and education for every poor child in the world, either through taxes and/or philanthropy” and save millions of lives every year.”
President of the Galileo Foundation, John McCaffrey, said “The 2022 Faith and Philanthropy Summit is the first time that philanthropy has been formally addressed at the Vatican.
Bringing together philanthropists from all faith backgrounds reflects the Holy Father’s desire to celebrate the fraternity of the universal Family.
All of the world’s religions encourage charitable acts and alms-giving as a central tenet of their faiths. Pope Francis has reminded us on many occasions about the obligation to give back, to look after the poor and the most vulnerable, and how philanthropy can play an important role in this.
As the world emerges from the global pandemic with fresh eyes, it is surely the right moment to celebrate the role that Philanthropy has played during the past two years, and the vital role that it will play in the future to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Bringing together 145 leading philanthropists from five different faith groups, joining forces to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The Summit theme was:
“If Faith can move mountains, how can we harness faith-inspired Philanthropy to feed the hungry, free the oppressed and help every person fulfil their potential?”
Read more here:
How The Galileo Foundation Brought Together Leading Philanthropists For The First Faith And Philanthropy Summit (forbes.com)
Prophets of Philanthropy Awards
The first ‘Prophets of Philanthropy Awards’ were presented in October 2022 at the Vatican. The inaugural recipients of the awards were:
Jeff Bezos and Chef Jose Andres who founded the World Central Kitchen which has provided over 200 million meals to those in need around the world and is currently working on the ground in Ukraine and Gaza where WCK has established 150 field kitchens.
Ted Turner for his game changing benefaction to the United Nations Foundation in 1997 to protect the Earth (his daughter Laura Turner Seydel received the award on behalf of her father)
Denis O’Brien, Irish philanthropist and Digicell founder, for his work in Haiti and Papua New Guinea building 188 schools for 60,000 students as well as training 1700 teachers and school principals. President Bill Clinton honoured Mr. O’Brien with this accolade.
The Second Summit – Blenheim Palace – Oct 8th-10th, 2024
ANNOUNCING
Peace & Philanthropy: Healing Our Common Home and Each Other
Blenheim Palace, October 8-10, 2024
The second Summit will take place in the unrivalled setting of Blenheim Palace near Oxford between October 8th and 10th. As well as being the largest private palace in the United Kingdom, Blenheim is also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
The theme for the Summit is ‘Peace and Philanthropy: Healing Our Common Home and Each Other’. 100 leading philanthropists and thought leaders will convene to consider how to work together to tackle some of the world’s most pressing needs. Three panels will explore how philanthropists can work together to protect our Oceans, build Peace in our troubled world, and protect the world’s Children. Our partners include the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists and the Jewish Funders Network. There will also be discussions on Inter-generational Philanthropy and Faith Investing.
The Summit is an invitation-only event which operates under Chatham House rules of confidentiality. Guests must either be recommended by an existing delegate who attended the Rome Summit in 2022, or be invited to attend by the Galileo Foundation President and/or Trustees.
All those philanthropists invited will be asked to make a donation to the Galileo Foundation to support its work fighting human trafficking and promoting interfaith dialogue and collaboration, as well as specially commissioned projects relating to protection of the Oceans and the Environment.
More details can be obtained by emailing summit@galileofoundation.org.