Sustainable Development Goals -
Will we reach the 2030 Target?
September 18-26, 2020 is Global Goals Week. For those who are not familiar with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), they were established by the United Nations in 2015 with the message that no-one should be left behind. More importantly is they aim to achieve these goals by 2030

How does the world come together to ensure that we can achieve this lofty goal of "Nobody left behind?" We have a decade, will we get there? What does this mean for NGO's (non-governmental organizations), philanthropists, businesses and governments? This edition looks into the SDG's and how they can be applied to your own philanthropy, questions you can work towards answering, and ways you can encourage your network to adopt the relevant SDGs.
17 Sustainable Dev Goals
What are the Sustainable Development Goals?
Can we really measure these complex issues? If so, how are we doing it?
The SDGs were adopted in 2015 by the United Nations. These 17 goals support the entire global ecosystem; in other words, they are not designed to target only those who live in the Developing World or on the margins of our community. Ultimately the SDGs strive to bring people together around a common target of improving human life and societies.

Feeding into the SDG Goals are 169 targets and over 200 indicators. For those who are into systems mapping and impact measurement, the UN has published the 2020 Sustainable Development Report which includes the raw data and an analysis as to where we are at, and what it will take to achieve each goal.
One of the conundrums that the 17 Goals pose is the inherent conflict between economic prosperity and addressing climate change. In Thomas Homer-Dixon's latest book, Commanding Hope: The Power We Have to Renew a World in Peril, he brings to light this issue. As funders we have to be comfortable with this paradox, where we can be striving for parity and equity while at the same time also working towards ensuring that our planet's ecosystem is healthy and can sustain life for generations to come.

For more on Homer-Dixon's latest work, watch this WordFest interview between political pundit, Zain Velji and Thomas on the social-environmental-political conundrum.
Why are the SDG's important and relevant to my philanthropy?
One of the common refrains we hear from our clients is around transparency and effectiveness. The SDGs address these concerns as well as others that funders have in the following ways:
  1. They are a universally adopted metric for measuring complex social challenges;
  2. They engage all layers of our social ecosystem - NGO's, business, government and individuals;
  3. The indicators are easily accessible. You don't need a PhD to integrate these goals into your foundation or business and you certainly don't need a data scientist to crunch the numbers;
  4. By connecting your philanthropy/foundation/business with the SDGs you are joining a global community of strategic philanthropists and impact investors thereby providing you with opportunities to leverage and amplify your impact.
Where do I start? How do I integrate the SDG's into my giving?
Plan, Measure & Share
A series illustrating a question_ thinking of a solution and the idea to solve the problem. For larger images you can download them all separately.
As with anything you should always start with WHY.
Why is this approach important to your foundation or your giving?
How will it enhance what you are doing? What will it take to get you to that objective?

It's about creating a plan.
Your plan should lay out how the priorities of your foundation align with the SDGs that you have chosen to address.

You can't manage that which you don't measure.
What we mean by this is, build in your evaluation and feedback loops from the outset. Go into the planning process with a way to measure your progress.

Share what you learn.
The SDGs are Global as should be your findings. What worked, what didn't, why? What can others learn from your experience? How did you pivot? At what point? These learnings will help improve decision making for your own foundation and for others who read the report.
60-ish Seconds of Philanthropy
Why are the Sustainable Development Goals Important?

What the heck are these Sustainable Development Goals that I keep hearing about? How do they affect my life and my philanthropy? Can these be used as benchmarks against the deployment of my capital? This week’s 60’ish Seconds of #Philanthropy explores, “Why are the Sustainable Development Goals Important?”

Other recent topics:

Have a question you'd like answered in a 60'ish Seconds of Philanthropy video? Drop us a line with your idea.
SDG Resources
So You Want to Change the World, eh? Funder Collaborations
The Rockefeller Foundation through the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors published a handbook on integrating the SDGs into your foundation.
For other 2020 workshop offerings and information about our past sessions please visit our website.
What we are Reading
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We are always updating our bookshelf. Check out the latest additions to our library. Including Melinda Gates' book Moment of Lift, Margaret Heffernan's Willful Blindness and Getting to Maybe by Frances Westley and Brenda Zimmerman.

Have a book recommendation? Please send us the suggestion and we will add it to the list.

Happy Reading!
About Our Services
Building off of almost a combined 50 years of experience in the Non-Profit, Tech and Finance sectors, Karma & Cents provides families, individuals and businesses with support around legacy planning, transition management, impact investing and philanthropy.

To learn more about how we operate, please visit our website - Karma & Cents