Equitable Intermediary

What is an Equitable Intermediary?

Equitable Intermediaries are committed to aiding grassroots-led groups — particularly those without tax-exempt status and from strategically undervalued communities — while advocating for equity in foundational practices and decision making. Aid from an Equitable Intermediary can include (but is not limited to) funding, administrative support, and programmatic guidance that helps leaders and activists focus on their mission and community without the burdens of running an organization.

As an Equitable Intermediary, Movement Strategy Center (MSC) designs and manages trust-based, participatory grantmaking models prioritizing accessibility, equity, and long-term impact. We support funders seeking to redistribute wealth in ways that dismantle traditional barriers — particularly for groups working within and for strategically undervalued communities; as well as those with limited banking, language access, or grantwriting infrastructure. This includes support for organizations working at the intersections of health equity, community power, and resilience.

At MSC, we work to avoid some of the pitfalls of traditional regranting, which can lack efficiency when it comes to applying and securing funding, and with regard to the time it can take for money to move from a large foundation to leaders on the ground (even then, many groups working on the frontlines remain underfunded). Our services are designed to address a community’s need for resources, and our infrastructure is focused on access and transparency. We believe in shifting power from grantmakers, boards, investors, and the wealthy to the movement leaders and communities on the ground. 

We remain values-aligned with the organizations we offer infrastructure support to and thought partnership with: Movement building is relational work, and our relationships with our programs and partners allows us to be innovative and agile in our approaches. We continue to refine and expand the intermediary services we provide our partners — including communications support, fundraising support, and opportunities to collaborate with other members of our ecosystem — to ensure it’s more than just transactional. It’s transformational. 

Our Shifting Philanthropy series further explores the future of regranting.