Partners for a new Economy

Partners for a New Economy (P4NE) is an international philanthropic fund established in 2015 by the MAVA, Oak, Marisla, and KR Foundations. The organisation emerged from a recognition among its founders that isolated conservation projects were not addressing the root causes of worsening environmental crises. P4NE’s aim is to support initiatives that connect economic systems directly to environmental and social outcomes, focusing on projects that challenge conventional economic thinking and practice. It operates as a fund hosted by the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, with resources pooled by its funding partners and governance overseen by a board made up of their representatives. P4NE primarily works through grant-making, targeting efforts in areas such as money and banking reform, alternative business ownership models, and new economic narratives. In its first year, it awarded six grants totalling USD 2.7 million, with early projects including research on central banks and sustainability, and strengthening local currencies. In 2017, it increased its grant portfolio to USD 3 million, expanding into alternative governance and ownership structures like steward and employee ownership. Recent projects supported by P4NE include efforts to shift investor behaviour on environmental risk, promote systemic economic reform, and build collaborations between environmental, economic, and social justice movements. The organisation also hosts annual gatherings and leadership programmes to strengthen collective knowledge and grow a network of economic reform advocates, with much of its activity centred in Europe but with a global perspective. Staff are based in the UK and Switzerland, but its work spans international boundaries.