February 07, 2023 “Community Knows What Community Needs.” Inside CZI’s Participatory Grantmaking Program February 07, 2023/ Mike Scutari The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative just wrapped up its second year of grantmaking led in part by community members. CZI’s Curtis Yancy explains the program’s mechanics, lessons learned and what’s next.Read More
January 18, 2023 How Both ENDS Director Danielle Hirsch Is Using Philanthropy, Advocacy and More to Shift Power January 18, 2023/ Mandy Van Deven Both ENDS is a Netherlands-based organization that is challenging power dynamics in philanthropy in a number of ways. Director Danielle Hirsch talks about the group’s journey, its approach and why discomfort is a good thing.Read More
October 03, 2022 IP Explainer: The Debate Over Who Should Make Funding Decisions October 03, 2022/ IP Staff Philanthropy is difficult to navigate. That’s why we’ve produced a series of explainers to demystify the basics. Today, we summarize a key debate happening in the sector: Who should decide what gets funded?Read More
September 29, 2022 What Does it Look Like to Truly Shift Power in Philanthropy? Here Are 3 Real World Examples September 29, 2022/ Deb Nelson, Guest Contributor Deb Nelson of the Just Economy Institute recounts cases in which overturning funding models made a profound impact. In all of them, collaboration between people of different races, classes and generations were key.Read More
September 22, 2022 A Major Funder Is Overhauling How it Backs Local Arts Groups. What Will That Mean for Grantees? September 22, 2022/ Mike Scutari Part of an ongoing effort to be more equitable, MacArthur is transitioning to a participatory regranting partnership to support Chicago’s small to midsized arts organizations. How will grantees be impacted? Read More
September 12, 2022 How the Brooklyn Community Foundation Brings Grantmaking to the People September 12, 2022/ Wendy Paris Interest in participatory grantmaking has grown over time, but few have embraced it like the Brooklyn Community Foundation. Here’s a look at how BCF centers community decision-makers in its elder funding and elsewhere.Read More
August 02, 2022 Imagining a World Where Philanthropy Is Obsolete: Conversations on the Future of the Sector August 02, 2022/ Mandy Van Deven How does philanthropy need to change to meet the moment? How can funders envision a better future? These questions and more were the subject of a recent conference challenging the status quo of finance and giving. Read More
April 12, 2022 Seven Questions with Helen Mountford, President and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation April 12, 2022/ Michael Kavate The international climate intermediary fund has a new leader who envisions some “shifts and accelerations” for the grantmaker. We spoke with her about those plans and more.Read More
March 08, 2022 What Happens When Environmental Movement Leaders Make Funding Decisions? March 08, 2022/ Michael Kavate One year in, participatory grantmaking project Mosaic offers insights into what it looks like when environmental groups direct funding. Leaders point to powerful collaborative projects and new movement infrastructure.Read More
January 27, 2022 Should Philanthropic Advisors Have a Version of Fiduciary Duty to Donors? January 27, 2022/ Michael E. Hartmann, Guest Contributor Investment advisors are ethically and legally required to place clients’ interests ahead of their own. Michael E. Hartmann of the Center for Strategic Giving asks whether philanthropic staff and advisors should have a similar duty.Read More
January 20, 2022 Answering the Call: One Foundation’s Approach to Shifting Power and Funding Racial Justice January 20, 2022/ Hanna Mahon and Luke Newton, Guest Contributors Since 2020, philanthropy has had to reckon with historic uprisings demanding racial justice. In this guest opinion, the Pink House Foundation’s leadership share how they responded, including handing over decision-making power.Read More
December 16, 2021 Act of Trust: How a Billionaire's Letting 20,000 People Give Away $1 Million December 16, 2021/ Philip Rojc It’s becoming a holiday tradition—Ray Dalio’s giving out thousands of charitable gift cards for recipients to donate where they choose. On one hand, it’s just another festive charity campaign. But it’s also kind of revolutionary.Read More
November 23, 2021 Seeking Better Ways to Give, an Arts Funder Asked Grantees to Award Funding to Their Peers November 23, 2021/ Mike Scutari New York City-based Art Matters piloted a program in which previous grant recipients acted as grantmakers. Director Abbey Williams explains why it was needed and what other funders can learn from their experience.Read More
November 04, 2021 With a New Program, a Native-Focused Funder Embraces a Trust-Based Grantmaking Model November 04, 2021/ Paul Karon The Potlatch Fund, which supports tribal communities in the Northwest, is embracing trust-based funding to reduce grantmaking barriers and let people on the ground steer funds to where they're needed most.Read More
October 27, 2021 Three Lessons for Funders Exploring Participatory Decision-Making October 27, 2021/ Sunanna Chand and Miho Kubagawa, Guest Contributors The Reinvention Lab and NewSchools Venture Fund piloted a program earlier this year to test what happens when funding decisions are made by people from the communities they serve. Leaders report back on their findings. Read More
October 08, 2021 How Philanthropy Can Follow the Lead of Girls of Color October 08, 2021/ Kyndall Clark Osibodu, Guest Contributor Guest contributor Kyndall Clark Osibodu shares insight into how philanthropy can lift up girls of color as funding leaders, rather than just as beneficiaries.Read More
August 25, 2021 “Have All Voices Be Heard.” Inside a Community Foundation's Bold Participatory Grantmaking Effort August 25, 2021/ Mike Scutari In 2018, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving launched an ambitious participatory grantmaking program—29 funds in 29 towns. With money starting to flow, a foundation staffer talks lessons learned and what comes next.Read More
August 17, 2021 We Set Out to Share Power Through Participatory Grantmaking in Africa. Here’s What We Learned August 17, 2021/ Chernor Bah and John M. Kabia, Guest Contributors Global philanthropy remains largely an elitist, top-down process. In this guest post, leaders from two human rights groups share what they learned from a joint participatory grantmaking effort in Sierra Leone.Read More
August 04, 2021 How an International Women’s Fund Became the World’s Largest Participatory Grantmaker August 04, 2021/ Mike Scutari In 2021, Mama Cash became the world’s largest fully participatory grantmaker. We check in with grants manager Coco Jervis about how the funder came to embrace a practice that disrupts entrenched power dynamics.Read More
July 29, 2021 Funder Spotlight: A Brief Look at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation July 29, 2021/ Philip Rojc This sporty Midwestern funder has over a billion in the bank, big spend-down plans and a fondness for parks and recreation. Here’s what you need to know about the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.Read More