How Philanthropy Can Help to Accelerate Sustainable Development Goals

credit: California Certified Organic Farmers Foundation

"If the class register were anything to go by, education would be one of modern civilization's greatest success stories."

That's what Peter Wilson, a member of the UBS Accelerate Collective, had to say about education in the world's poorest countries, where 90% of children are still unable to read by the end of primary school, per CNBC.

Yet education is one of the few areas where "any charitable organization can pay for an education approach that boosts a handful of children's academic results, but what is the point if the government can't afford to pay for that 'new' initiative after the charity leaves?' Instead, funding provided by the UBS Accelerate Collective is tied directly to measurable outcomes.

In India, for example, the Collective took part in a four-year NGO-run program which tied funding directly to students' test scores when measured against the results of children outside the program.

"The most important aspect is that you're making a commitment of capital alongside like-minded people," Wilson tells CNBC.

The UBS Optimus Foundation, led by Tom Hall, Global Head of Social Impact and Philanthropy at UBS, is working to do just that with its SDG Outcomes initiative, which focuses on clearly measuring the outcomes we're trying to

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