Essential Shifts in Funding Practices

Last summer, we witnessed many institutions and nonprofits denounce systemic racism amid the world’s sharp focus on George Floyd’s murder and the larger Black liberation movement, yet few organizations have moved toward tangible action. A recent report from PolicyLink and Bridgespan Group found that of the $11.9 billion in philanthropic capital publicly pledged to support racial equity, only $1.5 billion is trackable.

It’s true that transformative movements are never singular and always a long-term process, and philanthropy must play a critical role in resourcing the infrastructure, ecosystem building, and sustainability of those movements over time — but what can explain the profound disconnect between pledged funding and payout? How can philanthropy better and more quickly support these social change movements while creating genuine relationships with movement leaders and realizing a Just Transition?

Movement Strategy Center (MSC) believes that the problems can be at least partially attributed to the institutional racism embedded within the systems of philanthropy and traditional grantmaking. We — intermediaries, foundations, funders, and philanthropists — must reevaluate what works and what causes more harm than good. The racial reckoning of 2020 has led many organizations to adopt stricter racial-bias programs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives; but compliance is not enough when “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Like it or not, humanity — and, of course, philanthropy — is inclined to take the path of least resistance. To make any strategy successful, whether related to DEI initiatives or in social justice work, we need to not only set goals but foster values-aligned character traits and culture. Social activist and philosopher Grace Lee Boggs warns, “whenever an organization is in a crisis, it is necessary to look at your concepts and be critical of them because they may have turned into traps.” Plainly, we have to name it to change it. We have to admit that even as many nonprofits work to improve equity, White Supremacy is embedded in our culture and our organizations. And to change structures and systems we must also change how we think, the way we live, and even who we are. Everyone who participates in the movement ecosystem — community leaders, organizers, policymakers, corporate donors, and philanthropists who fund the organizations pushing for the change — all have an essential and evolving role to play in shifting social systems and practices.

To decolonize philanthropy, and support this crucial movement work, we must be open to the concept of Emergent Strategy policies and culture building. Emergent Strategy, a book and framework written by facilitator adrienne maree brown, suggests that western culture tends to work against the emergent strategies and processes that are realized over time as intended goals collide with the shifting realities at hand. The writer explains that “emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions.” By being cognizant of how needs and environments change — including a holistic focus on authentic relationships and the evolving needs of movement leaders — philanthropy can reshape their values and what they’re advocating for.

It’s a concept that MSC subscribes to. Executive Director Carla Dartis says, “if philanthropy is really about reaching an outcome of social justice, it also needs to be about a set of practices that engage multiple partners on the ground and in the boardroom, and it needs to be about the changing environment.” She continued, “as a result, the work is going to change. And it is out of that space that you can really advocate for the people.”

Mohini Tadikonda, MSC’s Chief Advancement Officer, agrees: “philanthropy needs to put it all on the table and commit to learning and evolving together. We need to admit to what we do not understand and commit to overcoming it.” Self-Accountability and reflection are essential in repairing generations of racial bias when White Supremacy is prevalent. And that goes hand in hand with the need to move money into the communities that need it most. To do that we need to change the policies and cultural practices that allow internal bias to persist. Part of that relates to any philanthropic endeavor that boasts perpetuity — because forever is often at the expense of the very communities these organizations aim to heal, and is at odds with the concept of Emergent Strategy.

At MSC, we support organizations that tackle social justice causes centering on the interconnected issues of racial, gender, and environmental inequity. Our infrastructure supports partners seeking to foster deep-rooted connections, collaboration, cross-pollination, and evolution. Our approach centers on responding to the needs of groups, and supporting them without imposing artificial processes and deadlines or irrational expectations. “These groups are not coming from a structure that is valued within capitalism — there are no customers, no-one is buying anything, no-one is profiting. You can’t expect or exert specific performance or achievement goals as if these groups are businesses,” Dartis adds.

To support social change movements, we must also recognize that long-term fundamental mindset change is required to elevate these concepts. To do that, funds should be unrestricted and should, ideally, not expire. “When we are fueled with a scarcity mindset, as so many of our communities have been conditioned to be, organizations scramble to do as much as they can before the funds run out,” said Dartis. She continued, “this causes people to take shortcuts that we can not afford when we are attempting to build and sustain equity.” In other words, long term sustainability for grassroots organizations requires the resources and flexibility to support work without burnout — because thriving and robust movements need thriving and robust staff and infrastructure. It’s important to remember that while love is at the center of movement work, it does not pay the bills.

Further, the mainstream understanding of philanthropy today is derived from a White supremacist, capitalist, and patriarchal frame of thinking. We must consider how the tenets of White Supremacy Culture like, “Perfectionism,” “Concentration of Power,” and the objectivity of “Progress is Bigger and/or More” have contributed to the roadblocks that BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA movement leaders, activists, and communities face when they are asked to out-organize racist laws, systems, institutions, and policies without funding and support. These platitudes and bureaucratic hoops can set up those on the ground to fail.

Social change funders are embracing general operating support for these communities, and that is great for optics. But funding often gets caught in a bottleneck on its way into the hands of the communities who need it most; or that funding expires just as the communities are seeing the impacts of that hard work. We cannot let symbolism overtake substance.

It comes down to trust. adrienne maree brown reminds us, “trust your people, and they will become trustworthy.” This vital lesson in Emergent Strategysummarizes what many in philanthropic circles are beginning to learn. Foundations have to change their habits to build trust; and they have to add diversity to their staff and their boards. They need to listen to the folks who are actually out there doing the work — and not just the elites in their conference rooms. When funders understand that systemic racism — and their cultural blinders — are the root cause of massive and growing economic and social disparities, they will seek to break down silos around funding priorities; and they will work to create funder and organizer coalitions that foster accountability and experimentation that can lead to important positive shifts.

When White wealth — any wealth — is moved into a space without cultural awareness, and where decisions should be made by people who are not traditional gatekeepers and decision makers, it needs to be done without unreasonable stipulations or any sense of superiority. The Building Movement Project (BMP) released a report that found people of the global majority “do not reap the advantages of leadership to the same extent as their White peers, as indicated by the extent to which common frustrations and challenges among nonprofit staff persist for leaders of color while they seem to ease for White respondents who have reached leadership positions.” It begs the question: are the individuals in these leadership positions evolving? Are they culturally competent? Open?

Philanthropic habits must change, and the solution won’t be the same for every partnership. It can mean building relationships with program officers and movement leaders through phone call updates and not just reports. MSC works with each partner organization in ways that work for them, in ways that support and care for movement leaders, and support the ongoing engagement that builds collective leadership. Decentralization can be slower and more resource intensive, but investment in coaching, financial and administrative support, leadership development, and capacity building supports and enables frontline success and longevity while allowing for experimentation and learning.

Philanthropy for social movements must begin to level the playing field and move away from the current hierarchies that temporarily fund outcomes rather than sustainably funding relationships. A way of contextualizing a reprioritization of support to BIPOC-led movement organizations is to consider reparations. Edgar Villanueva of Decolonizing Wealth said this is “a direct way to use money as medicine. Humans have used money wrongfully. We’ve made money more important than human life. We’ve allowed it to divide us. We forget that we gave money its meaning and its power.” Reparations are a commitment to trust, a commitment to relearning, and a commitment to fundamentally change the embedded culture of White Supremacy.

Boggs’ asserted that “a revolution that is based on people exercising creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of mankind,” and that “these are the times to grow our souls.” MSC believes this: communities have the answers, and we just have to listen. Not only should they have a seat at the table, but they should set the agenda so the solutions center on love and can be tailored to the shifting needs at hand.

Everyone has a role to play in Movement building. Philanthropy’s primary function should be rooted in radical trust that supports the practices behind equitability and diversity. This community-centered funding and fundraising, with a focus on the types of engagement that sustain movement building for the long term, can contribute to a radical and deep network that strategically navigates toward a future we envision: of interdependence, of liberation, and of resilience.