A renewed appreciation for philanthropy has given me a particular delight to support non profits. I am available to speak at fundraisers, or to support directors by providing insights about what happens ‘on the ground’ to wealthy donors who may not fully understand the situations that a philanthropy is seeking to impact.

Philanthropy, imperfect as it is, is a necessary part of a healthy world. I served on a number of non-profit boards and saw first-hand how conflicts of interest and mismanaged resources had worn down the interest and belief in non-profit work for a time. I myself took a brief hiatus from philanthropy, pouring my energies into restoring abandoned places in Iceland, Italy, and the USA, working on the houses and gardens with my own hands. The time of working on the tangible, simpler things, gave me time to regain a vision for the necessary interplay between philanthropy and commercialism, between the physical and spiritual realities.

Today my philanthropic work is mostly selecting and supporting projects in South America, Africa, and Asia, through Switzerland’s Gottlieb Naef Stiftung in Switzerland. The foundation works to enhance education and develop skills training for those in disadvantaged communities, with a particular focus on agrarian communities who face tremendous change and must be equipped to navigate and negotiate.

The young among us are often the most willing to discuss. They often have a that are join classrooms or clubs as a guest lecturer. Recently, guest lectures have focused on the ethics of technology / artificial intelligence, both in universities (including PhD level) and secondary schools.