John Harvey has over two decades of professional experience in global philanthropy and is an acknowledged and respected leader in its advancement.
As Managing Director for Global Philanthropy at the Council on Foundations, John introduced an unprecedented level of training programs related to global philanthropy, including multiple trainings on cross-border grantmaking practice. Additionally, John helped to launch the Global Philanthropy Working Group (GPWG) at the US State Department. GPWG plays a leading role in bringing about regulatory reform to US-based cross-border grantmaking and expenditure responsibility.
Working closely with colleagues in South Africa, John developed an online toolkit on accountability and transparency in philanthropy and social investment for WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support). John conducted a benchmarking study for Spain’s largest foundation, the “la Caixa” Foundation, and supported the McKnight Foundation on a strategic review of their South East Asia program. In 2013, John worked with the Rockefeller Foundation to convene “Talent Management for Innovative and Impactful Philanthropy in the 21st Century,” a symposium that brought together colleagues from 20 foundations and 16 countries. John currently serves on the editorial board of Alliance magazine, a publication focusing on talent within global philanthropy.
During John’s decade-long tenure as founding Executive Director of Grantmakers Without Borders (now EDGE Funders Alliance), a funder affinity group whose members fund social change programs globally, he coordinated the convening of 10 conferences, led donor delegations to Haiti and Central America, and coordinated research on disaster response grantmaking and microfinance. John is also co-founder of New England International Donors, whose aim is to increase the quantity and quality of global giving originating from New England. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.