Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales UAI

What Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales UAI does

CEFIS (Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales) is an academic research and training center founded in 2015 and housed within the School of Government of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI), a private Chilean university. Its functional mandate is to strengthen the philanthropic and social-investment ecosystem in Chile and Latin America by producing applied research and delivering professional education to foundation leaders, corporate social responsibility teams, family offices, civil society organizations, and government entities.

The center's core products fall into two streams. The educational portfolio includes the Diplomado en Dirección de Fundaciones y Proyectos Sociales (a multi-cohort diploma co-delivered with UAI's Business School), plus specialized courses on social-impact measurement ('De la Intuición a la Evidencia', 10+ editions, 110+ alumni), compliance and governance, financial sustainability and fundraising, and public-policy advocacy. The research portfolio includes the recurring Barómetro de la Filantropía en Chile, the Latin American SDG localization report, the ODS Toolkit repository, practical guides, and policy contributions. The underlying technology is a content/research publishing platform built on the UAI website and associated microsites (ods.uai.cl, construircomunidadessostenibles.uai.cl); there is no proprietary AI/ML or software product.

CEFIS earns revenue primarily through tuition from its professional education programs (pricing available upon inquiry, structured as multi-year contracts with discount campaigns and alliances) and through international research grants and partnerships with institutions such as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford PACS, Indiana Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, University of Zurich, CEPAL, and PEW Charitable Trusts. The center is funded by UAI parent resources and operates as a non-commercial, non-profit academic entity; there are no venture or external equity investors. Headcount is small (5 employees) and the leadership team comprises Director Emilia González (since April 2023), former Director Magdalena Aninat, and Research Coordinator Rocío Vallespín. Geographic reach has expanded beyond Chile to Colombia and Mexico, with alumni and participants from across Latin America.

Name

Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales UAI

Legal name

Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales (CEFIS)

Website

https://cefis.uai.cl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CEFIS UAI is a Santiago-based academic research and training center within Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez that delivers professional diploma programs, specialized courses, and applied research on philanthropy and social investment to foundations, corporates, family offices, government, and civil society organizations across Chile and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santiago

HQ country

Chile

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Education Programs: Revenue generated from diploma programs, courses, and training programs on philanthropy management, impact measurement, and social investment strategies offered to professionals from foundations, companies, and civil society organizations.
2. Research and Publications: Research studies, reports, and publications on philanthropy trends, impact investment, and social investment in Chile and Latin America.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CEFIS is an academic research and education center within Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez that delivers professional diploma programs and specialized courses on philanthropy management, social impact measurement, governance, compliance, and fundraising for foundation leaders and civil society professionals. It also produces applied research, including the annual Barómetro de la Filantropía en Chile and Latin American philanthropy reports, and convenes seminars, podcasts, and policy advocacy initiatives for the philanthropic ecosystem.

Product overview

CEFIS (Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales) is an educational research center at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez focused on strengthening philanthropy and social investment in Chile and Latin America. The organization offers a portfolio of professional development programs including the Diplomado en Dirección de Fundaciones y Proyectos Sociales (core diploma), and specialized courses such as 'De la Intuición a la Evidencia' for social impact measurement, Compliance and Governance, financial sustainability and fundraising, and public policy advocacy. Beyond education, CEFIS produces research including the Barómetro de la Filantropía en Chile (annual), Latin American SDG reports, practical guides for sustainable communities, and maintains an SDG toolkit repository. The center also produces podcasts on philanthropy trends and organizes seminars and conferences to foster dialogue on philanthropy development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ODS y Comunidades Sostenibles: Project focused on localizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote sustainable communities in Latin America, supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
• Barómetro de la Filantropía en Chile

Products and services

• Diplomado en Dirección de Fundaciones y Proyectos Sociales Professional diploma program focused on leadership and organizational management skills for generating social impact, offered jointly by the UAI School of Government and Business School for foundation leaders and social investment professionals.
• Curso De la Intuición a la Evidencia Course teaching strategic evaluation tools for measuring impacts in social and environmental programs, delivered multiple times for professionals working in philanthropy and social organizations.
• Curso de Compliance y Gobernanza Efectiva para Organizaciones Sociales Specialized course for non-profit organizations focusing on compliance, accountability, and corporate governance strengthening.
• Curso de estrategias de sostenibilidad financiera y fundraising Course focused on financial sustainability strategies and fundraising practices for social organizations and foundations.
• Curso de incidencia en Políticas Públicas en Organizaciones Sociales Course on advocacy and public policy engagement for leaders of social organizations.
• ODS Toolkit - Repositorio de Herramientas ODS Repository of SDG-related tools and resources for philanthropy organizations to integrate the 2030 Agenda into their work.
• Guía para Construir Comunidades Sostenibles Interactive guide for promoting participatory diagnostics toward sustainable community development, produced as part of the SDG localization initiative.
• Barómetro de la Filantropía en Chile Annual measurement study tracking philanthropy trends, foundation practices, and donation limitations in Chile.
• Reporte Latinoamericano Filantropía y Comunidades Sostenibles: Localizando los ODS Latin American report on philanthropy and sustainable communities focusing on SDG localization efforts across the region.
• Podcast ODS y Comunidades Sostenibles en América Latina Podcast series exploring SDG localization and sustainable communities featuring Latin American organizations and experts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 110 professionals trained in impact evaluation through the 'De la Intuición a la Evidencia' course across 10+ editions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• CEPAL (ECLAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023CEFIS presented the Reporte Filantropía y ODS at CEPAL's forum, alongside partner organizations, contributing to regional sustainable development discussions.
• WWF ChilecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joint organization of events on environmental philanthropy to strengthen collaboration among environmental organizations in Chile.
• Comunidad de Organizaciones SolidariascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaboration on the launch of Standards for Management Strengthening and Best Practices, providing a self-diagnosis tool for civil society organizations to evaluate capabilities in transparency, management, and governance.
• Fundación CoronacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in the ODS localization initiative, supporting the Red de Ciudades Cómo Vamos in Colombia for territorial SDG implementation.
• PEW Charitable TrustsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CEFIS research coordinator participated in PEW convenings on philanthropy and civil society development.
• Stanford University PACSflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021CEFIS signed an alliance with Stanford PACS to develop the Latin American version of research from Stanford's Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society. The partnership includes developing a Guide to Effective Philanthropy with a Latin American expert committee.
• AmCham ChilecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaboration on sustainability studies and joint workshops with business leaders to address economic reactivation strategies and sustainable business integration.
• Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y FamiliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Public-private alliance where CEFIS delivered training courses for the Ministry, enhancing public cooperation and social investment capabilities.
• University of ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2019Joint development of the Impact Investing & Sustainable Finance course, delivered at UAI with professors from the University of Zurich's Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth.
• The ImPactcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2019International network collaborating with CEFIS and University of Zurich on impact investing education programs.
• AEF Chile (Asociación de Empresas Familiares)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Joint organization of family philanthropy events and programs, including the Encuentros de Filantropía Familiar to strengthen family foundation leadership.
• Harvard Kennedy School of GovernmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017CEFIS collaborated with Harvard's Hauser Institute to develop Chile's report for the Global Philanthropy Report 2018, the first international mapping measuring the institutional philanthropy sector across 39 countries. This partnership established CEFIS as a key international research partner.
• Lilly Family School of Philanthropy - Indiana UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017CEFIS participated as the Chilean expert entity for the Global Philanthropy Environment Index 2018 and 2020, reviewing the legal and sociocultural ecosystem for donations and civil society organizations in 79 countries.
• BID InvestminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Presentation of due diligence of investments in Chile through the Impact Investing course program.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Center for Civil Society Studies (Johns Hopkins University): Johns Hopkins' research center producing the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project and related studies on global civil society. Comparable as an academic center producing internationally recognized research on nonprofit ecosystems.
• Hauser Institute for Civil Society (Harvard Kennedy School): Harvard's research center on philanthropy and civil society that co-produced the Global Philanthropy Report in which CEFIS served as Chilean research partner. Closely comparable in mission, research output, and educational convening activities.
• Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS): Stanford University's research and education center on philanthropy and civil society. Directly comparable as a university-based center producing research, educational programs, and convening activities on philanthropic practice, and as a formal partner of CEFIS.
• Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (Indiana University): Academic school dedicated to philanthropy research and education at Indiana University. Directly comparable as a university-affiliated center producing philanthropy research (Global Philanthropy Environment Index) and educational programs, with which CEFIS has collaborated.

Regional players

• Avina Foundation: Latin American foundation promoting sustainable development through philanthropic and strategic partnerships across the region. Comparable as a major LatAm philanthropy actor, but operates primarily as a grantmaker rather than a training/research provider.
• Centro Mexicano para la Filantropía (CEMEFI): Mexican philanthropy promotion center focused on strengthening civil society organizations and corporate philanthropy in Mexico. Comparable as a regional hub for philanthropy capacity building and research in Latin America, but operating primarily in Mexico rather than Chile.
• INSPER: Brazilian private institution focused on business, public policy, and social impact education. Comparable as a Latin American educational institution with programs touching social investment, impact measurement, and nonprofit leadership, but with broader business school scope.

Others

• Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS): Global network of philanthropy infrastructure organizations. Comparable as a coordinator and convener in the global philanthropy ecosystem, including Latin American members, but operates as a membership network rather than a direct training/research provider.

Broad incumbents

• Council on Foundations: US-based membership association for foundations providing education, research, and advocacy for the philanthropic sector. Comparable in advocacy, education, and research focus, but US-centric and broader in scope than CEFIS's Latin American academic orientation.
• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): Global philanthropy infrastructure organization providing advisory, grantmaking, and research services to donors and nonprofits. Comparable as a major player in the global philanthropy ecosystem but with broader scope and larger scale than CEFIS's regional academic focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GobiernoUAI/status/1841543405014548965
• Facebookfacebook.com/uai.universidad
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cefisuai
• Instagraminstagram.com/cefisuai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centro de Filantropía e Inversiones Sociales UAI