Who We Are

For a long time, Stefan has felt out-of-place in the deeply extractive, life-crushing and wealth-concentrating system we live in, especially because of his position on the "winner’s" side. He recently embarked on a learning journey to stop hiding his wealth and privilege, and instead actively use them to support a world that is radically more just, ecological and democratic. Beyond being the funder of this work, he brings to Arising Quo his knowledge of, and access to, the rich and the industry that supports them.

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has a background in strategic design and is a practitioner of transitions — hospicing and composting the dying systems and stewarding the imagination of and seeding of alternatives — those people, ideas and initiatives that are not served by and can’t survive in the status quo. Cassie spends a lot of time listening deeply, attuning to and discerning for new patterns that are trying to emerge and looks at ways to resource, illuminate and nourish them.

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is the founder of Active Philanthropy, a social venture supporting individuals and families to have more impact with their philanthropy. Positioned across the business and philanthropy landscapes, Felicitas acts as a connector and translator between different realities and actors. For over 20 years, she has supported funders to design giving strategies that tackle some of societies’ most pressing problems, with a particular focus on challenges such as the climate crisis, polarisation of societies, and injustices inherent in the current system. Within Arising Quo, Felicitas looks out for potential collaborations with wealth-holders who are unfamiliar to this kind of work but interested in the underlying assumptions and ideas. This includes sharing the narrative of Arising Quo with potential new collaborators.

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comes to Arising Quo from work in climate philanthropy, bringing reflections both on the philanthropic sector and impacts and inequality caused by the climate crisis. He has a scientific background in international politics, geography, ethics and geology and has previously worked on climate and global sustainability in academia and development cooperation. Beyond Arising Quo, Johannes works at Active Philanthropy, which provides both content and infrastructure to the field of climate philanthropy, and also acts as an innovator, bringing approaches and models to the fore that weren’t there before. In this work, Johannes pays particular attention to the intersections between climate and other issues of concern to funders and foundations.

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