In 2014 a group of Global Philanthropists Circle (GPC) members self-convened around the conviction that more should be done to increase awareness of the ideals that drive people to work towards the greater good and created an affinity group called “Spiritual Civilization”. The John Templeton Foundation has been an important partner in this effort since its inception. Together, we have been on a journey to:
• help individual philanthropists nurture practices that increase their own spiritual consciousness and recognize the source of faith, love, compassion, altruism, purpose, ethics and creativity, which guide and inspire them to help others;
• guide philanthropists to more consciously link these values and practices to their philanthropic work; and
• promote more philanthropic programs that aim to disseminate these ideals.
The results have exceeded expectations. More than 100 global philanthropists are active participants in the group. The data from an external evaluation confirms we’ve made significant progress in helping philanthropists increase their self-awareness, deepen their spiritual practice and co-create projects that spread the ideals of spiritual civilization. And many have discovered that, by finding a safe community, they can open themselves up to the awe of nature, find the Divine and a way to serve with love.
We have also influenced the broader philanthropic community. A growing movement of funders of spirituality was created by members of the the Spiritual Civilization group to connect more funders of faith and spirituality. We have also inspired leading philanthropy networks to offer similar programming.
Synergos plans to continue to deepen and expand the work of the Spiritual Civilization group and impact more philanthropists. Markets where we plan to increase our focus, and therefore impact, are US East and West Coast, where we also convene leading Asian philanthropists, Europe and Latin America.
