CMW International Conference
CMW International Conference

2025

CMW International Conference

We host annual conferences in one of our members’ country to connect with our global members and exchange valuable insights.

2024

CMW International Conference

We host annual conferences in one of our members’ country to connect with our global members and exchange valuable insights.

About the Conference

Confidence and trust

The International Conference of Charity Monitors: Confidence and Trust was held at Ersta Konferens in Stockholm, hosted by Svensk Insamlingskontroll

The event brought together international leaders and experts in charity monitoring to discuss how evaluation, transparency, and shared standards can strengthen public trust in nonprofit organizations.

 

The program featured a wide range of topics, including global trends in charity monitoring, donor behavior in the Nordic countries, the role of philanthropy in Europe, and how trust is built in times of crisis—highlighted by a case study on fundraising in wartime Ukraine. The conference also included expert insights on disaster medicine, civic engagement, and innovative fundraising models such as the Swedish Postcode Lottery.

With contributions from CMW member organizations across the USA, France, the Netherlands, Burkina Faso, Spain and Sweden, the conference offered a unique opportunity for cross-border dialogue.

It concluded with reflections on the significance of the Swedish 90-account system in fostering transparency and donor confidence. 

 

Conference Details

Date: Stockholm, Sweden | May 8, 2025

Hosted by: Svensk Insamlingskontroll

Ersta Konferens, Ersta terrass, Erstagatan 1K, Stockholm

Conference Itinerary

Thursday, May 8th

9:00
Registration, coffee and sandwich

9:30
Welcome and introduction

  • Sven Johannisson, President, Svensk Insamlingskontroll
  • Lena Hörnblad, Secretary General, Svensk Insamlingskontroll
  • Moderator, Anne Burgess

9:45
The role of the evaluator to build trust – Ana Benavides, President, CMW

10:00
Monitors Around the World, Evaluation, tradition, innovation and trends

  • Association Burkinabe de Funsraising (Burkina Fasso) – Omer Sanou (Consultant)
  • BBB Wise Giving Alliance (USA) – Elvia Castro, Associate Director
  • CBF (Netherlands) – Harmienke Kloeze, CEO
  • Don en Confiance (France) – Rachel Guez, CEO
  • Moderator: Ana Benavides, CEO of Fundación Lealtad and president of CMW

10:40
Break

11:00
Philantropy in Europe – Johan Vamstad, Associate Professor of Political Science, the Centre for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University.

11:30
Donor behaviour in the Nordic Countries – Mårten Palmefors, Senior Analyst at Giva Sverige.

12:00
Lunch 

13:00
To work with disaster medicine in humanitarian crisis – Johan von Schreeb, Professor of Global Disaster Medicine at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet. He has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) since 1989 and has participated in numerous field missions worldwide.

13:45
Trust and Fundraising in Wartime Ukraine – Professor Magnus Karlsson, Head of the Centre for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University, discusses tentative conclusions from two survey studies conducted in Sweden and Ukraine on civic engagement, trust, common values, and the will to fight for one’s country. He shows how fundraising in
Ukraine emerges as an important part of civil society and thus as a sign of civil resistance.

14:30
Coffee Break

15:00
The Power of Postcodes –  The Swedish Postcode Lottery – part of Postcode Lottery Group – provides trust based long-term funding to charities fighting for a healthier, fairer, greener world. Today the Postcode Lottery is Sweden’s largest private donor to the civil sector. Anders Årbrandt, Managing Director, shows how what starts in a postcode can fulfil dreams and change the world.

15:20
The 90-account: A Key to Public Engagement and Educational Campaigns – Kristina Henschen, Secretary General of Radiohjälpen, and Staffan Schelin, Financial Manager, highlights the value of the 90-account in fundraising campaigns aired by
Sweden’s National Public Service (TV and Radio).

15:45
Closure – Lena Hörnblad, Svensk Insamlingskontroll

Welcome and introduction

  • Sven Johannisson, President, Svensk Insamlingskontroll
  • Lena Hörnblad, Secretary General, Svensk Insamlingskontroll
  • Moderator, Anne Burgess
  •  

The role of the evaluator to build trust

  • Ana Benavides, President, CMW
  •  

Monitors Around the World, Evaluation, tradition, innovation and trends

  • Association Burkinabe de Funsraising (Burkina Fasso) – Omer Sanou (Consultant)
  • BBB Wise Giving Alliance (USA) – Elvia Castro, Associate Director
  • CBF (Netherlands) – Harmienke Kloeze, CEO
  • Don en Confiance (France) – Rachel Guez, CEO
  • Moderator: Ana Benavides, CEO of Fundación Lealtad and president of CMW

Philantropy in Europe 

  • Johan Vamstad, Associate Professor of Political Science, the Centre for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University.

Donor behaviour in the Nordic Countries

  • Mårten Palmefors, Senior Analyst at Giva Sverige.

To work with disaster medicine in humanitarian crisis

  • Johan von Schreeb, Professor of Global Disaster Medicine at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet. He has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) since 1989 and has participated in numerous field missions worldwide.

Trust and Fundraising in Wartime Ukraine

  • Professor Magnus Karlsson, Head of the Centre for Civil Society Research at Marie Cederschiöld University, discusses tentative conclusions from two survey studies conducted in Sweden and Ukraine on civic engagement, trust, common values, and the will to fight for one’s country. He shows how fundraising in Ukraine emerges as an important part of civil society and thus as a sign of civil resistance.

The Power of Postcodes

  • The Swedish Postcode Lottery – part of Postcode Lottery Group – provides trust based long-term funding to charities fighting for a healthier, fairer, greener world. Today the Postcode Lottery is Sweden’s largest private donor to the civil sector. 
  • Anders Årbrandt, Managing Director, shows how what starts in a postcode can fulfil dreams and change the world.

The 90-account: A Key to Public Engagement and Educational Campaigns

  • Kristina Henschen, Secretary General of Radiohjälpen, and Staffan Schelin, Financial Manager, highlights the value of the 90-account in fundraising campaigns aired by Sweden’s National Public Service (TV and Radio).

Featured Speakers

Ana Benavides

CEO of Fundación Lealtad and president of Charity Monitoring Worldwide

Asha Curran

CEO of GivingTuesday

Barbara O’Reilly, CFRE

Principal, Windmill Hill Consulting

Jon Bergdoll

Associate Director of Data Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University

Brady Josephson

VP of Marketing & Growth at charity:water

Burkhard Wilke

Executive Director of the German Central Institute for social Issues

Jane Wales

Vice President of the Aspen Institute

Julia Ritz Toffoli

Principal Behavioral Designer ideas42 on the Giving Team

Kim Slone

Executive Vice President for Development and Community Health at The American Heart Association.

Nathan Chappell

Leader, public speaker, inventor and award-winning author

Paige Rice

Researcher

Sara Lomelin

CEO of Philanthropy Together

Discover more

Previous CMW Conferences

2017 Berlin, Germany

CHANGING SPACES FOR CHARITIES

The Impact on Monitoring Agencies

6th of June 2017

Hosted by: In cooperation with Stiftung DZI, Germany

Venue: Bahn Tower, Potsdamer Platz, Berlin-Mitte

Agenda

10:00 Welcome

Gerhard TIMM, Board Member DZI

Martina ZIEGERER, President ICFO

Moderation: Burkhard WILKE, Executive Director DZI

Part 1: Changing Spaces for Charities: External and Internal Challenges and Possibilities

10:15 A Changing Space for Civil Society – Scientific Perspectives Impulse Statements

prepared by Members of the Tocqueville Forum, Berlin

1. Charities and Democracy, Rupert, Graf STRACHWITZ Maecenata Stiftung

2. Internal Changes, Mareike ALSCHER, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

3. Changes Through the Logic of Civil Society and Citizin, Susanne RATKA, Community Research Project

11:15 Questions and Answers concerning the Introductory Statements

11.30 Shrinking Spaces for NGOs? Practical Experiences and Political Statements

Christine MEISSLER, VENRO / Brot für die Welt, Berlin

11.50 Charities, Monitoring, Regulation in India

Harish VASHISTHA, Credibility Alliance, New Delhi

12:15 Lunchtime

13:15 The New Charity Law in China Transparency and Accountability

Youping Liu, China Charity Alliance, Beijing

13:40 The Chinese NPO Sector Challenges and Potentials

Kristin SHI-KUPFER, MERICS – Mercator Institute for China Studies, Berlin

14:00 Panel Discussion „Changing Spaces“

Christine MEISSLER

Rupert Graf STRACHWITZ

Harish VASHISTHA

Kristin SHI-KUPFER

14:30 Coffee Break

Part 2: OECD /FATF Policy against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing – The Impact on Charities and Monitoring Agencies

15:00 FATF Recommendations and NPO Results of Recent Peer Reviews and Outlook on Evaluating the German Sector

Hanna SURMATZ European Foundation Centre (EFC), Brussels

(Relevant information can be found here: www.fatfplatform.org)

15:20 Preventing Terrorist Financing AND Supporting Humanitarian Aid

Bodo von BORRIES, VENRO, Berlin

15:40 Panel „Charities and Terrorist Financing“

Hanna SURMATZ

Bodo von BORRIES

16:00 Collaboration between Charities as a Potential to develop Spaces for Charities

Art H. TAYLOR, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Washington D.C.

16:20 Wrap-up and Closing Remarks

Martina ZIEGERER, President ICFO

*** Thank you!

Deutsche Bahn Stiftung gGmbH kindly supports the Open Conference 2017 of ICFO and DZI.

*** Please note: Conference language is English

Please arrive at the entrance of BahnTower early enough (09:15 to 09.45) so that you have sufficient time in order to to pass security, take the elevators and to complete registration on 21st Floor.

Because of security procedures at BahnTower, only participants with confirmed registration can be given access to the building.

2016 Oslo, Norway

Raising Trust

May 27, 2016

Hosted by: The International Committee of Fundraising Organizations & The Norwegian control committee for fundraising

Contact: post@innsamlingskontrollen.no

Venue: Deloitte, Dronning Eufemias gate 14, Oslo

The International Committee of Fundraising Organizations & The Norwegian control committee for fundraising would like to welcome to the 2016 ICFO Conference:

The world of fundraising is an exciting field to work in. Meanwhile, a prerequisite for all nonprofit activity is trust. Reputation is crucial if you want to reach the goals that you have set for your organization. Ethical guidelines are necessary, but by themselves not sufficient to ensure trust.

The aim of the conference is to identify the challenges that we face. How can both organizations and the regulatory agencies easier plan for their reputational risks? Throughout the conference, we want you to stay engaged, keep us proactive and help us to shape the future of the nonprofit sector.

About the Speakers

8:30 – 09:00

Registration

9:00 – 09:15

Conference opening & Welcome

  • Why is today’s theme «Confidence & Trust» so important?

Representative from the Norwegian government (TBC),

Chairman of IK & ICFO Representative

9:15 – 9:35

The value of confidence

  • Is there an inborn cheater in everyone?

Øystein Kock-Johansen, Professor, Dr. Philos

9:35 – 10:00

An outsider’s perspective into the world of humanitarian NGOs

Ihab Timraz, Senior consultant for the Executive Master of Management section of the Norwegian Business School

10:15 – 10:40

Ethical Guidelines

  • A need for new or revised guidelines?
  • Special issues for fundraising organizations

More effective monitoring

  • Supplements to financial analysis
  • Overall management controls

Lasse Birkeland, Senior consultant BDO Advisory Services (and deputy to the board of IK)

10:40 – 11:00

The need for onsite control visits

Kjetil Rivelsrud, CEO at Safe Deposit Bank of Norway AS

11:15 – 11:35

Foreign Service Control Unit, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • Function and operation
  • Demands to grant recipients

Nils Haugstveit, Inspector General at the Foreign Service Control Unit, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

11:35 – 12:00

A pre-lunch lecture – A new value norm emerging?

Christian Borch, Journalist and author

12:00 – 13:00

Lunch

13:00 – 13:45

Finding fraud before it finds you

  • How and why are we defrauded?
  • What are the risks to charities and fundraising organizations?
  • Where, how and why we need to look for the red flags rather than waiting for them to be found by others
  • Practical examples

Nigel Iyer & Veronica Morino, Partner of the Hibis Group

14:00 – 14:45

Continued

15:00 – 15:20

Zero tolerance – for what? Reflections on ethics, decency, fallibility and high moral demands

Henrik Syse, Philosopher and Senior Research Fellow Henrik Syse, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)

15:20 – 16:00

What are the MOST important issues the ICFO and fundraising organizations need to do to free themselves from «corruption» (in the widest sense of the word)?

Plenum brain storming session and debate (related to today’s topics and lectures)

Debate leader Nigel Iyer and representatives from fundraising organizations and ICFO

Conference closing


2015 Washington, DC

Advancing Trust in the Charitable Sector

June 12, 2015

Hosted by: BBB Wise Giving Alliance & The International Committee on Fundraising Organizations

Venue: The Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square 801 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001

9:00 to 9:30 a.m.

Introduction and Welcome

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance

Martina Ziegerer, President, ICFO Executive Director, Zewo Foundation (Presentation)

9:30 to 11:00 a.m.

PANEL SESSION 1 Donor Trust in Charity Data Security & Privacy

Donor privacy has been a longstanding issue for charitable organizations but received growing attention in the past year as serious data breaches took place involving credit card transactions at U.S. retailers. This session will seek to identify the legal, technological, and ethical issues facing charities as they seek to strengthen their security of their donor data and online contribution transactions.

Moderator: Frances Henderson, National Director, Privacy Initiatives, CBBB

11:00 to 12:30 Noon

PANEL SESSION 2 | Cultural Differences that Influence Trust in Charities & Fundraising Strategies

As a growing number of American charities expand their fundraising opportunities overseas, they will encounter different cultures and perspectives that can influence their approach to acquiring new donors. This session will seek to identify both the differences and similarities faced by charities in other nations in terms of accountability and other measures to help contributors verify the trustworthiness of organizations.

Moderator: Lindsay Coates, Executive Vice President, InterAction

12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Lunch and Keynote Speaker: ALS Association & The Ice Bucket Challenge 

Carrie Martin Munk, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer

1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

PANEL SESSION 3 | Gaining Donor Trust of New Generations

The landscape of charitable giving as well as the way donors interact with charities has changed dramatically in the past 20 years with the rise of technology. How will charities connect with the Millennial generation and gain their trust? How can they help donors better understand the nonprofit sector and make more effective giving decisions? What does this mean for the future of charity accountability?

Moderator: Stephen M. Delfin, President and CEO of America’s Charities

  • Jean Knaack, Executive Director, Road Runners Club of America
  • Derrick Feldmann, President and Founder, Achieve

3:00 to 4:30 p.m.

PANEL SESSION 4 | Communicating Charity Value and Inspiring Trust

How do American organizations effectively demonstrate to donors that they are making a difference in advancing their stated mission(s)? Will they continue to rely on financial ratios as a signal of trust? What alternatives do they have to gain donor confidence? What role might charity impact (i.e. results reporting) play in this communications challenge? How might accountability standards address these issues and encourage donor trust?

Moderator: Art Taylor, President and CEO, Wise Giving Alliance

4:30 to 4:45 pm

Closing Remarks

2014 Paris, France

The Changning Generosity Landscape: Which Challenges for the Monitoring?

May 23, 2014

Hosted by: Comité de la Charte, the ICFO member organization from France.

Venue: Institut Pasteur, Paris

Morning Session: Oversight of the Generosity Landscape

Moderator Edith Archambault, Volunteer Expert, Comité de la Charte

Afternoon Panels: Moderator: Gérard de la Martinière, Chairperson of Comité de la Charte

How to Cope with Internet?

Multiplication of initiatives (start-ups, platforms) with attractive ideas but maybe a low level of ethics. Which kind of regulation will be required for the crowdfunding? Where shall be the border between public solicitation and private connections? Is there a need to directly monitor the service providers?

  • Arnaud Burgot, Vice-chairperson of Association Financement Participatif France, Co-founder of Ulule
  • Philippe Leveque, Executive Officer of Care France
  • Michel Thomas, Representative of “Cour des Comptes”
  • Antoine Vaccaro, Chairperson of Cerphi
  • Bennett Weiner, BBB Wise Giving Alliance
  • Burkhard Wilke, Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen

How to Monitor International Flows of Donations?

Towards multinational networks of charities with the risk of increasing opacity. Tax regimes under pressure and the temptation of protectionism. Potential exposure to money laundering. Monitoring of INGOs. Providing exchanges of information and developing cooperation between monitoring organizations.

  • Jean-Baptiste Carpentier, Executive Officer of Tracfin
  • Jean Chevallier, Volunteer Expert, Comité de la Charte
  • Dominique Lemaistre, Fondation de France
  • Mahieddine Khelladi, Executive Officer of Islamic Relief France
  • John Pellowe, Canadian Council of Christian Charities
  • Martina Ziegerer, Chairperson of ICFO
2013 Taipei, Taiwan

Global Perspective on NGO Accountability and ICT Use in Fundraising – A New Era for Accountability

May 3, 2013

Hosted by: Taiwan NPO Self-Regulation Alliance, the ICFO member organization from Taiwan.

Venue: International Convention Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei

Keynote Address

Nowadays social media is highly used to form social networking. What is more, new technologies create new dimensions in donation. All kinds of high-tech devices are gradually used as tools to make easier access to donors. By this way, it opens up to immense opportunities for NPO worldwide. Nevertheless, accountability and transparency in donation through high-tech devices comes along with doubts and uncertainties from donors. A mechanism for cross border accountability and risk reduction urgently needs to be evolved in this ever-changing Internet age. We must make good use of the existence of opportunities to overcome challenges we are facing today.

Moderator: Sin-Jen Cheng, Standing director, TWNPO

Session 1: Global Perspective

The concept of accountability in NPOs has received significant attention in research and practice, partly because of its importance, but also because it is challenging to define, measure and implement. The nature of accountability is complex, ambiguous and highly context-dependent, especially in this global era of information explosion. The intention that combines experiences from countries could have a better chemistry.

Moderator:Hui Jung Chi, President, the Garden of Hope Foundation

Session 2 : Accountability in Asia

While an active civil society is progressing, then the accountability is an issue that admits of no delay. NPOs need to have a sense of risk, to reform in an open and transparent environment where the public can question the credibility of these organizations all the time. We especially introduce Asian experiences to understand how they work it out respectively.

Sessions 3: Taiwan ICT & Fundraising

In 2009, the amount of smart phone users in Taiwan increased almost 50%. In 2010, more than 1 million smart phones were sold. In this timing of technology transformation, fundraising could be done through multiple tools: social media, cell phones, website use, and online auction. In recent years, the level of technology available to both organizations and to everyday people has changed the way in which nonprofits view the task of fundraising. Many people have access to cell phones and computers, and use the Internet on a daily basis now. Technology is thus a highly effective way to reach people, acquire donations, and organize fundraising activities. Moderator: Adri Kemps, Secretary General, ICFO.

  • E-Invoice on Fundraising & Accountability – Zhi-Shan Lu, Senior System Analyst, Financial Data Center, Ministry of Finance. Taiwan The Ministry of Finance forms an accessible E-Invoice environment for NPO to promote the public use of E-Invoice. It is easy for people to donate, and good for monitoring the transparency of donation on line as well.
  • Taiwan Mobile Phone Fundraising Platform – Josephine Juan, CEO, Taiwan Mobile Foundation, Taiwan. “5180 Instant Donation” is Taiwan’s first telecommunications platform providing a secure mobile micro-donation channel.
  • Fundraising Platform on Website Richy Li, Director, Media Center, YAHOO! Taiwan. YAHOO! provides free channel for Taiwan NPO to upload their messages for fundraising and activities promotion. It also offers free on-line donation services for TWNPO members.


Who We Are

Established in 1958, Charity Monitoring Worldwide is a global authority on charity accountability, devoted to fostering donor trust and upholding the ethical use of donations through rigorous standards and monitoring.