Background
The World Unites
The 195 Project was founded in 2020 during a period of extraordinary global disruption. Its name reflects the belief that moments of structural change can create an opportunity to rethink the relationship between business, capital, philanthropy and society.
Drawing inspiration from the spirit of Bretton Woods, The 195 Project reflects the idea that periods of economic upheaval can create space for new thinking. Founded by Calvin Lo following discussions with economists, philanthropists and peers in wealth management, the initiative focuses on long-term questions surrounding business, capital, philanthropy and society.
The initiative began by examining the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over time, its focus has broadened to a wider question: how can institutions business leaders and holders of capital respond responsibly when established assumptions are disrupted?
The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities that had been building for years, including economic inequality, pressure on labour markets and uneven access to opportunity. The 195 Project began by asking how lessons from earlier periods of economic reconstruction might inform a more resilient response to a new generation of disruption.
Periods of disruption rarely affect everyone equally. Economic shocks can accelerate existing differences in wealth, employment and access to opportunity, while also placing new responsibilities on businesses and holders of capital. The 195 Project considers how private enterprise and philanthropy can contribute constructively when those pressures become more pronounced.
Philanthropy can play an important role in responding to social and economic challenges, but giving alone is not the objective. The more important question is how capital, expertise and long-term thinking can be deployed in ways that expand opportunity, strengthen communities and create lasting value.
Effective philanthropy requires the same qualities expected of responsible enterprise: judgement, discipline, accountability and an understanding of long-term consequences. The 195 Project was created to encourage informed discussion around these questions and to explore how lessons from business, economics and philanthropy can inform one another.
Responsible business is not only about financial performance. It also requires an understanding of how decisions affect employees, communities and the wider economy. The 195 Project explores how commercial success, sound judgement and social responsibility can coexist, and how long-term value can be measured by more than financial return alone.
“Periods of disruption force us to question assumptions that once seemed permanent. The challenge is not simply to restore what existed before, but to consider what can be built better.”
Calvin Lo
Responsibility and Long-Term Value
Capital can create opportunity, but its deployment also carries responsibility. Businesses, investors and institutions must consider not only financial return, but the environments in which capital operates, including governance, transparency and the long-term consequences of their decisions.
The principles that emerged from Bretton Woods belonged to a very different economic era, but the underlying challenge remains familiar: how can markets adapt to profound change while maintaining stability, trust and opportunity? The 195 Project uses that historical perspective as a starting point rather than a prescription for the present.
For Calvin Lo, philanthropy and responsible business share a common requirement: understanding where capital can make a meaningful and lasting difference. The 195 Project therefore approaches giving not simply as an act of generosity, but as a question of judgement, responsibility and long-term impact.
