Philanthropy without Borders was founded by Caliopy Glaros. As a fundraising expert, intercultural trainer, and cultural anthropologist, Caliopy’s work is informed by a decade of on-the-ground experience in over 30 countries, as well as designing and facilitating programs in more than 40 nations on five continents. Before launching her own practice, Caliopy led the fundraising department for an international NGO and independently consulted nonprofits, government entities, and higher education institutions.
Part strategist, part facilitator, part project manager, Caliopy supports teams in developing programs that connect donors directly to the causes they champion. Having once been in the exact situation as many of her clients, she understands that a successful donor engagement program needs expert fundraising strategy, smooth implementation, and deep cross-cultural acumen. Today, she draws from her unique skills in all three areas to provide comprehensive solutions to nonprofits, philanthropic groups, social benefit corporations, and foundations.
Caliopy has an academic background in Anthropology and Adult Learning, and is a certified trainer in Intercultural Communication. She currently serves as the Philanthropy Ambassador for the Transformational Travel Council (TTC); and as the former Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access for the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
As someone who has grown up bi-nationally and tri-culturally, she speaks three languages and has perpetual difficulty answering the question “where are you from?”
She and a small team of resource experts and fellow fundraisers make up the “we” of Philanthropy without Borders. To learn more about her work, check out the articles she authors for this website or get in touch with her directly.
What We Believe
The future of philanthropy is in major gifts. As government funding changes with each new administration and shifting priorities, it’s getting ever riskier to rely on grants alone. Online campaigns can be short-lived and rarely lead to long-term donors. The funding that prevails with time and trend is the funding that comes from your closest supporters. These people have brought you this far and they will carry your work further if you can show them the impact of their support.
Showing is more powerful than telling. Nothing is more inspirational than experiencing the impact firsthand. You’ve told your story successfully many times through mailings, videos, presentations, and social media, but now it’s time to take it to the next level. Asking for a bigger investment requires a bigger approach. By giving your donors a transformative experience online or in the field, they will be all the more ready to deepen their commitment.
Donors want to be part of your success story. Your donors share your vision and commitment to a better world, and they want to be a part of seeing it happen. They may not all want to be in the spotlight but they do want to know their investment has made an impact.
Adults learn best through experience and exposure. Decades of research in adult learning has proven that we learn and retain the most through hands-on experiences. Remember the feeling you had the first time you saw the impact of your organization’s work? What did that feeling catalyze in you? If you want your donors to experience that same feeling, you’ve got to give them that same experience. Show them the impact and you will see transformations occur.
We thrive because of our differences, not in spite of them. Our lives are made richer by the diversity of life on this planet. We believe in the value of all life and celebrate the vibrancy and complexity that this diversity gives us. Our nonprofit partners are working to uplift human, animal, and environmental life to create a better and more equitable world for us all. Our purpose is to elevate that work by connecting donors to impact of their philanthropy.