Empowering Change: Grassroots Models and Trust-Based Philanthropy

“What do you think of when you hear the word POWER”? This was the question we put to our audience at the start of our session at last month’s Grantmakers in Health Annual Conference. Responses highlighted the deep interrogation of this question currently taking place across philanthropy as funders seek the right relationship with the power they hold, share, and cede.  

Along with our co-panelists Dr. Sulma Gandhi of the Stupski Foundation and Lauren Wilkie of Point Source Youth, we hosted “Show Me the Money: Bold Approaches to Shifting Power to the Grassroots,” exploring several innovative models designed to get resources closer to local communities, while challenging assumptions in philanthropy. For many funders, sharing power with communities can be daunting, but through our discussions on three experimental approaches, we learned some key lessons on why leaning into a power shift helps optimize the impact of our investments. Below, we share some key takeaways from our discussions about each of these models: 

Direct Cash Transfer models Lauren Wilkie dug into the nuts and bolts of direct cash transfer (DCT) to address youth homelessness. Research on DCT has shown that it works to get and keep young people housed, is cost-effective, and simple in nature– organizations provide young people with cash in a safe way so they can decide what is most needed in their lives. This approach also creates the space for optional youth-centered support, such as peer navigation, higher education and career counseling, leadership development and traditional case management. 

• Our takeaway – Power can shift by challenging assumptions. Lauren shared that there is no need to track how the young person uses the cash. In fact, many DCT programs do not track this, although they can opt to. While we have been working with funders to help move towards more trust-based philanthropy approaches, hearing real-life examples of releasing power (tracking, monitoring, or dictating use of funds) helped us see where we can continue to challenge our own assumptions around what we ‘need to know’, in order to create more trusting relationships essential for sustainable social change. 

Intermediary funding and incubation models Marysol Fernández Harvey shared key lessons learned from a microgranting and incubation model resourcing grassroots organizations, projects, and people doing innovative work within and at the intersections of the HIV movement. She highlighted the impact of investing resources in community-based organizations to allow them to step into their power as leaders in their community. This not only moves dollars to projects traditionally locked out of philanthropic resources, but also to provide essential capacity strengthening, coaching, and network building to support a broader, more interdependent, and more sustainable movement ecosystem.  

• Our takeaway – Power is abundant. As we shift traditional sources of power and decision-making to community partners, we open up new opportunities to leverage and expand our expertise and resources. By centering relationships and the idea of power with – rather than power over – we are more able to show up not just as funders, but as true collaborators in a broader ecosystem of community rooted change-making. Marysol described the ways she is centering trust-building with grantees and communities to create space for each of us to step into our power.  

Trust-Based Philanthropy in Practice Dr. Sulma Gandhi’s approach in Hawai’i is deeply embedded in a trust-based model, centering relationships as the core of social change. In addition to concrete examples of reducing administrative burden to increase trust (such as one-page letters of agreement and zero written grantee reports), she told the story of a recent retreat Stupski created with local CEOs from across the islands, giving people time and space to nurture real relationships that are essential to coordinated and sustainable work.

Did you know?

There is only one page of information that is legally necessary to give an organization a grant. One step towards building trust is looking at the administrative aspects of the funder/grantee relationship and ways to ease the administrative burden of often under-resourced organizations. 

Aligned with Dr. Gandhi’s presentation, Stupski Foundation has also launched an incredible podcast called “Break Fake Rules” where discussions with leaders (and rule-breakers!) in philanthropy focus on identifying and breaking self-imposed “rules” in the field to better serve community.   

• Our takeaway – Power is not a bad word. Part of shifting power is acknowledging the power we have, as individuals in philanthropy and as institutions in society, and using this power to create lasting change. Dr. Gandhi focused on the power of connecting people, creating spaces to have vulberable conversations, and showing up with other funders to challenge the field to “break fake rules.” 

Discussions around and tools for trust-based philanthropy are not new. We increasingly see the idea of power coming to the forefront in the sector – it was the entire focus of the Philanthropy NY Annual Meeting, as well as a central theme across several sessions at Grantmakers in Health – but the call for real change is growing louder. Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network has described power as “the ability to impact and affect the conditions of your own life and the lives of others.” We are excited to uplift small and big ways to shift, cede and use power that are worth exploring for your own grantmaking. 

You can learn more about the models our panelists’ discussed by visiting their curated Reading List here.