Room to Read is a global nonprofit working to address educational, gender and economic inequities affecting children around the world. Since its launch in 2000, the NGO has deployed almost US$1bn to deliver foundational learning to more than 52 million children, including thousands across Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.

Its literacy pillar comprises teacher training, the publishing of local language books, and the development of school and community libraries. And through its Girls Education Programme, it delivers life skills education, mentorship and other community engagement.

Room to Read’s latest initiative, She Creates Change, is a global multimedia storytelling campaign designed to empower adolescent girls with educational content and life skills.

For CEO, Dr Geetha Murali, the mission to empower girls is deeply personal. Both her grandmothers were child brides, but her mother, the eldest of seven, refused. “She redirected an entire lineage towards alternative futures, and I am a living example of the ripple effect,” Murali tells the Shaping Philanthropy podcast.

“If it's not enough to see educating girls as a moral imperative, it is also just smart economics,” she explained. “Every extra year of school increases a girl's future income.”

Room to Read has been working in the Middle East for several years and has recently scaled up its work in response to regional conflicts.

In Gaza, the NGO partnered with ANERA to distribute locally-authored Palestinian children's books and educational materials to displaced families. In Lebanon, Room to Read has supported 125 non-formal education centres, providing 69,000 children with both books and safe spaces for learning. 

And in Jordan, through a partnership with the Queen Rania Foundation, it has established 43 public school libraries and adapted 40 Arabic storybooks for national use. 

In November, Room to Read announced it was launching a US$75m fundraising initiative to expand its African programming (currently in South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zambia) and deliver foundational literacy and life skills to eight million children on the continent.

Listen to the full interview with Anissa Punjani to hear more from Murali about how reading transforms lives and why investing in girls’ education is the smartest move for global progress.

Read more about Room to Read on the Circle website here.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

In this special live recording of the Shaping Philanthropy podcast, Nafez Dakkak,  shares the story behind launching Anara Impact Capital, a groundbreaking US$50 million fund to support startups across MENA focused on learning, climate, and well-being. 

Anchored by Alfanar Venture Philanthropy, Anara is the first regionally-backed impact investment fund of its kind.

The episode opens with a personal reflection on growing up in occupied Palestine and Dakkak’s decision to pivot from neuroscience to economics at Yale. “I realised that if I became a neurosurgeon, I'd be saving one person at a time, but if I could do something at a societal level, it would be a lot more important.”

Speaking to an audience of practitioners, advisors, entrepreneurs, foundation staff, and humanitarians at the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI), Dakkak outlined Anara’s investment strategy and the importance of working closely with founders to help them scale regionally and beyond. “The best way to predict the future is to create it,” he said.

While acknowledging the growth of the region’s venture capital scene, he highlighted that only 5 percent of funding currently goes to learning, climate, and well-being—compared to 20 percent globally. 

Drawing on his experience at the Queen Rania Foundation, where he led the creation of the Edraak learning platform, Dakkak spoke passionately about the need to raise literacy standards and move beyond flashy tech solutions. “We learn to read, but then we read to learn—and if our kids can't read to learn, then what?”

Funders include Dara Holdings, the family office of Saudi businesswoman Lubna Olayan, several other family offices, and a European development bank providing first-loss capital. Dakkak acknowledged the challenges of securing regional backers, citing cultural hesitations around publicly discussing impact. “We're trying to create a movement and start something new—and that doesn't happen unless we can share these stories.”

He also addressed the recent withdrawal of USAID funding, describing it as painful in the short term but potentially beneficial in the long run. “I hope it’s going to create more sustainable and locally-based solutions that are culturally attuned.”

Finally, Dakkak emphasised that impact investing is not a panacea. “There will always be a need for philanthropy. I'm not asking an entrepreneur to come and figure out the capitalist market-based solution to famine in Sudan—that needs direct humanitarian aid.”

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Yousuf Caires is the executive director of Expo City Dubai Foundation, a new nonprofit organisation established by Expo City Dubai Authority to take forward the legacy of the Expo Live programme.

In this episode of Shaping Philanthropy, Yousuf talks about why Dubai is so committed to supporting social entrepreneurs and how the new foundation is giving UAE university graduates the chance to launch new ventures through its Changemakers Academy.

“We are trying to create a new wave of grassroots entrepreneurs and create a bridge for graduating students who feel like it’s the right time to start their own business,” he says. 

“If you've ever been an entrepreneur, even if you failed many times, that experience is forever and it will benefit you whether you continue on that path or change paths because it is a great learning process, so I really think more people should give it a try.” 

Expo Live supported 5.8 million people and Yousuf says the plan is to double that in the next four years, with a renewed focus on MENA, where he says opportunity sits alongside crisis.

“The mission of Expo City Dubai Foundation is to focus on the right ideas, in the right hands, doing the right thing, creating a positive impact in our society or in the environment, whether it's in the UAE or abroad,” he explains.

On creating a “triple bottom line”, he says: “I would love that all future businesses are social enterprises.. .with an equal commitment to driving financial returns for investors, but also driving a positive impact in society.”

During this wide-ranging conversation with Anissa Punjani, Yousuf also talks about his own entrepreneurial journey with Palmade, a social enterprise he runs with his wife, using discarded palm leaves to make biodegradable cutlery.

“The idea came from wondering how can we replace single use plastic and deal with that global problem using a local solution, using a raw material that's right here,” he says.

Yousuf is also the founder of the Milele Zanzibar Foundation, the largest NGO in Zanzibar, whose mission is to better channel diaspora and Gulf funding to accelerate progress in health, livelihoods, and education.

He shares the origin story of the foundation and describes how its programmes are supporting economic growth but within the wider context of social development and women’s empowerment.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Sunil Lalvani is a social entrepreneur and impact advocate who transitioned from running a global electronics business to tackling one of the world’s most urgent challenges, sustainable access to safe water. 

As the founder and CEO of Project Maji (Swahili for water), he now spends his time managing a network of solar-powered water kiosks to ensure long-term, cost-effective solutions for communities across Africa.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, Project Maji provides more than 300 million litres of clean water to some 400,000 people across rural Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda every year by combining frontline community work with technology and data platforms.

In this wide-ranging interview for the Shaping Philanthropy podcast, Sunil shares how it all began, how he’s brought his family along with him, and what he’s learned about running an NGO operating in Africa.

Sunil reflects candidly about how his approach to money has changed since launching Project Maji and how he’s become more mindful about consumption and waste.

“I run Project Maji like a business, that’s in my DNA, but our North Star is not making a profit, it is about how much impact we can have,” he says.

The conversation with host Anissa Punjani is jam-packed with useful advice for anyone thinking about starting their own nonprofit or expanding a family business CSR initiative.

Dubai-based Sunil also makes a clear appeal to donors to trust the NGOs they fund, and to stop overthinking overheads and running costs.

“We need to reframe how we think about donations,” he says, frustrated that investors have no qualms trusting people to make a profit on their behalf, but when money is being given away, they want to scrutinize how each dollar is spent.

Making the case for supporting water projects, Sunil adds: “Every single day, a thousand kids die due to preventable waterborne diseases…That's how serious this is… So, solving water is a sensible prudent investment, it needn’t be looked at as charity.” 

Read more about Sunil's work on Circle here and watch a short documentary about Project Maji here. 

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

"Money alone is not the solution to the challenges we have today. The solution is to get us to change how we how we act.” 

That is one of messages shared by Maria Ahlström-Bondestam, a fifth-gen Finnish philanthropist, during her interview on Shaping Philanthropy.

Speaking down the line from Helsinki, Maria shares her family’s journey into philanthropy, explains the focus on women and girls, how she measures impact, and why she takes collaboration so seriously.

A co-founder of the Eva Ahlström Foundation, and the Ahlström Collective Impact inititive, Maria makes the case for influential families to speak up to right wrongs and calls on fellow philanthropists to use their networks and power to speak up for forgotten people.

“We all are role models,” she says. “Either good ones or bad ones and that is somethig we have to remember as members of society. People can be inspired by us, but they can also be put off by us.”

Maria, who trained as a pediatric nurse and went on to work for UNICEF, recalls how her family’s first investment of € 200,000 into a water and sanitation project in a village in India, went on to be scaled by the government to impact 10 million children.

She also talks legacy, values, and finding a cause. “Think about what really matters to you,” she says. “What are your passionate about? What would you like to change?  And then have a go… Don’t overthink it.”

During the interview, our host, Anissa Punjani, also asks Maria about her inclusion in a recently-released study into next-gen wealth and impact.

Maria was was of more than 60 people from across 30 countries who was interviewed for LGT Philanthropy Advisory’s Wealth for Impact report, which explores themes of privilege, responsibility, and personal values, and how wealth is created, invested, spent, given, and transferred.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Nina Hoas and Silvia Bastante de Unverhau from LGT Philanthropy Advisory join Anissa Punjani to discuss their new research paper Wealth for impact: global perspectives from the next generations of wealth holders.

This deep-dive study is based on interviews with more than 60 individuals from 30 different countries, aged between 18 to 77. It examines how wealth holders perceive privilege, responsibility, and personal values, and explores how this wealth is created, invested, spent, given, and transferred.

The report comes as the world stands on the brink on an unprecedented transfer of wealth, with all eyes on the next generation, whose actions are set to re-shape financial landscapes as well as wider society. 

During their interview, Hoas and Bastante de Unverhau talk about where the idea for the study came from and highlight some of the key findings, including a strong focus on values, how next-gens are seeking out more blended approaches to giving and impact, and a surprising openness when discussing what is often a taboo topic.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Guy Cave, president of the Legatum Foundation, joins the podcast to tell us about Legatum's new humanitarian initiative.

The Resilio Fund, which is due to be officially launched in 2025, aims to mobilise US$100m in its first five years to support grassroots organisations based in a range of crisis zones including Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Lebanon.

The idea, explained Guy in this interview with Anissa Punjani, is to funnel cash directly to people in humanitarian need, rather than rely on money to trickle down through institutions. 

“We’re supporting a very local approach that’s looking at getting behind what communities are already doing to help themselves,” he said. “These microgrants are totally what we would call ‘trust based’ - they can spend however they think is right.”

Resilio, like Legatum’s other funds, was tested first as a pilot. Beginning in 2021, it has been active across half a dozen countries, including Myanmar, where village communities displaced by aerial bombardments were able to receive cash for food within 24 hours, and in Sudan, where youth volunteers have mobilised to help communities affected by violent conflict.

“At a practical level, it’s fast and efficient, because with cash people can buy things locally,” Guy said. “It also means they have a real sense of ownership, and it gives them dignity.” And he added that post-grant evaluations had also shown how many recipients had used first grants to fund survival but then moved towards strengthening their resilience to be better prepared for future disasters.

During the interview, recorded at Legatum’s HQ in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Guy also talked about how another of the Foundation’s pilot programmes, a justice initiative targeting people stuck in pre-trial detention, was helping to reduce overcrowding in Ugandan prisons.

Other topics explored in the interview include the importance of measuring impact (not just "input") and how good partnerships are key to effective collaboration.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Nick Grono, the CEO of The Freedom Fund, the world’s first private donor fund dedicated to tackling slavery around the world, joins Anissa Punjani for this episode of Shaping Philanthropy to talk about his new book on nonprofit leadership.

Nick has had a long and rich career spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors. A corporate lawyer by training with a spell at an investment bank, Goldman Sachs, he has been chief of staff to the Australian attorney general, spent ten years at International Crisis Group, latterly as deputy president and chief operating officer, and served as a board member or chair of several leading non-profit and advocacy organisations, including Girls Not Brides and Global Witness. 

In this podcast, Nick shares what he has learned – sometimes the hard way – about how to lead teams and organisations. “The things that get you into leadership positions aren't necessarily the things that make you a great leader,” he says, highlighting challenges around managing budgets and responding to Covid-19. 

Nick also talks about the importance of purpose, getting funding from MacKenzie Scott, and impact and how to measure it. "It can be really challenging to measure impact, but our work really benefits by having a better understanding of what we're achieving,” he says.

Other topics explored include the promise – and pitfalls – of collaboration and board relationships, challenges of leading nonprofits, and how he came to write the book and what he hopes it will achieve.

For more about Nick's book, How to lead nonprofits, click here.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Fadi Ghandour is a leading Arab entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social activist.

The founder of logistics company Aramex and start-up accelerator and investment platform Wamda, Fadi is also the brains behind Ruwwad, a pioneering nonprofit community development organisation engaging the private sector to work with disenfranchised communities in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine.

In this wide-ranging interview, he outlines why he favours "entrepreneurial engagement" over "passive grant giving" and the importance of grassroots community engagement and platform building.

UAE-based Fadi makes the case for long-term partnerships over box-ticking and explains why giving is about more than money.

"Change takes a long time, nothing happens overnight. You need to be in it for the long-term, you cannot just hit and run," he says. "You start with trying. Don't be afraid of the errors. Take the first step. The errors are where you learn and then you pivot... that's that's the "can do" mentality."

And he adds: "This is not about how much capital you have. This is about taking the initiative to go out and do… You don't need to solve the problems of the world with what you do, but solve a problem within your community, that's good enough."

Fadi also talks to our host, Anissa Punjani, about the war in Gaza and the needs of people in the West Bank and he calls on regional donors and businesses to think urgently about the "day after" and how they can help rebuild Palestinian lives and businesses.

Other topics covered in the interview include Fadi's optimism for the "new-gen" of regional philanthropists and the influence of his father, Ali Ghandour.

Find out more about Fadi Ghandour and the work of Ruwwad at Circle.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

A philanthropist, an entrepreneur, and a humanitarian diplomat, Lynn Zovighian wears many hats - and all of them passionately.

In this wide-ranging interview for Circle, Lynn joins us down the line from Beirut (where the internet connection is not totally stable) to tell us about her personal philanthropic journey and what drives her to work with crisis-affected communities in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Armenia.

Speaking to our host, Anissa Punjani, Lynn stresses the importance of community engagement, outlines why philanthropists need to work collaboratively with the people they are trying to help if they are to succeed, and calls on donors to relinquish their power. 

Lynn also digs into the details of "Grounded in tradition, looking to the future”, a first-of-its-kind data report exploring next-gen giving trends in the MENA region, produced by Lynn’s Zovighian Partnership (ZP), in partnership with the Pearl Initiative. 

One such trend was that when next-gen women are in positions on power in their family businesses and foundations, they are more like to support women and girls. But when men hold those positions, women and girls are not getting funding.

The data also revealed that many next-gen donors are choosing to give independently of their family vehicles. “They are personalising their giving and bringing in an entrepreneurial drive to their giving,” Lynn explains. “This is very different to our more anecdotal and our more traditional understanding of philanthropy in the region.” 

As well as highlighting the findings from the report, Lynn makes the case for more support for research initiatives to create “grounded data” that can inform future giving and identify gaps in the philanthropic ecosystem.

In a heartfelt message to philanthropists starting out on their giving journey, Lynn concludes by saying: “Whatever you do, it's going to make a difference… Do not be overwhelmed by the magnanimous nature of the causes that you are serving, because every little help counts. Do not believe that you can save the world, but believe and know that you can make a difference then focus on your areas of excellence.”

Read Lynn's Circle article about the importance of data here.
For more about the ZP / Pearl Initiative research report, click here. 

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.