Forward Global

Forward Global is the current name of The Philanthropy Workshop, which the Rockefeller Foundation set up in New York in 1995 to teach substantial donors how to give strategically. Its history runs through a West Coast programme launched in San Francisco in 2001, a spin-off in 2006 to the London-based Institute for Philanthropy, a merger of the two in 2009 and a rebrand to Forward Global in 2023. It now has offices in London, New York and Vancouver, and reports roughly 300 members deploying about $1 billion a year between them. Membership is by invitation only. The structure is closer to a curriculum than a club: new members start with Essentials, an introductory course built around what the organisation calls head, heart and hands, then take at least two certification-eligible programmes (topic-focused Studios, place-based Global Journeys, or the annual Global Summit) before completing Action Planning, in which members set their own giving strategy with peer feedback. Alongside this sit Action Labs organised by issue, including climate, artificial intelligence, democracy, mental health and wealth transition, weekly breakfast clubs, regional gatherings and a private member app.

How it works

Members are invited to apply, then follow a defined pathway: the Essentials course, at least two certification-eligible programmes (Studios, Global Journeys or the Global Summit), and a concluding Action Planning programme where they set a giving strategy against peer feedback. Continuing activity runs through Action Labs grouped by issue, weekly virtual breakfast clubs, regional gatherings, the annual Global Summit and a private member portal. The organisation also runs matching funds, including a Women's Power and Influence matching fund, and participates in Press Forward.

Typical member

Members are described by the organisation as "individual and family wealth holders who deploy their resources to build a world where all people and the planet can thrive". The membership of roughly 300 collectively deploys about $1 billion a year, implying an average well into the millions per member, though the organisation publishes no wealth or giving threshold.

This is the oldest of the structured donor-education networks and the only one of its peers that runs an actual certification pathway rather than a calendar of events. The Rockefeller Foundation origin still shows in the curriculum-first design. Two things a prospective member cannot learn from the public materials: what it costs and what qualifies you. Membership is stated to be by invitation only, no wealth or giving threshold is published, and no tuition or dues figure appears anywhere on the site, unusual among philanthropic networks, several of which publish their commitment levels plainly. The $1 billion deployed by 300 members is the only quantitative signal of who is in the room. The renaming also needs care in any directory: TPW is still the legal name per the organisation's own history page, tpw.org redirects to the new site, and material published before 2023 uses the old name throughout.

Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.