Learning out loud by sharing ideas, with curiosity and humility, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project blog features updates from the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project as well as stories from grantmakers and nonprofits sharing their lessons, questions, and aha-moments about their experience with trust-based philanthropy.
While a significant number of grantmakers are actively operationalizing trust-based philanthropy within their organizations, many find friction when it comes to making the case with certain stakeholders. Hearing critiques help us to refine and reiterate our talking points in a way that meets people where they are.
While philanthropy can and often does support nonprofits to create a positive impact, philanthropy also has a track record of unintended negative consequences for the organizations and communities we serve. Stacey Faella, executive director of the Woodcock Foundation shares what it looks like to apply a trust-based approach to impact investing and offers next steps on what funders & investors can do.
The perspectives in this supplement with Stanford Social Innovation Review shed light on what trust-based philanthropy all about, and what it looks like in a range of contexts. They reinforce that trust-based philanthropy is highly strategic, deeply relational, and sometimes messy; and that this work is necessary in order to advance a more just and equitable future.
One of the most oversimplified misperceptions of trust-based philanthropy is that it is about giving money with no strings attached. This opens the door for critics to make unfounded claims about trust-based philanthropy as loose, unstrategic, and lacking in accountability and outcomes.
Philanthropy is full of trends. We oversaturate the field with programming, resources, and think-pieces responding to the latest buzz. We write reports, host roundtables, and do interviews elevating the “hot topics” funders are grappling with. So why are we still talking about trust-based philanthropy?
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is pleased to announce this multi-part series exploring the relationship between trust-based philanthropy and racial equity including why a racial equity lens is needed, what a racial equity lens is in a trust-based approach, and how to operationalize it.
The rise of trust-based philanthropy has led to a dramatic increase in funders referring to themselves as “trust-based.” Some of those funders are genuinely committed to the nuanced and iterative work of trust-based philanthropy, which requires a willingness to confront power imbalances and systemic inequities across all dimensions of our work.
Ever wonder where the name “trust-based philanthropy” came from? The roots of the framework and movement trace back to The Whitman Institute (TWI), a San Francisco-based grantmaking institution that sunsetted in 2022. The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project team sat down with Pia Infante, former Co-Executive Director of The Whitman Institute, to get the scoop.
On Monday July 31, members of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project peer exchange gathered to explore how funders could be more accessible to first-time and prospective grantees. Explore the key takeaways from our conversation on how funders can step up and be more accessible to prospective and first-time grantees.
In 2020, philanthropy came together in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, making pledges to create a more collective effort around supporting BIPOC communities. Three years later, what is philanthropy actively doing to support and build trust with BIPOC communities?
Vanessa Stevens, Director of Innovation and Influencing at Global Fund for Children asked some of her colleagues about how their experiences working at community-based organizations have shaped their values and decisions today as grantmakers. Here’s what they said.
"I believe that if we funders were honest with ourselves, we would all agree that the old ways of working are not getting us to the place we need to reach as a sector, or as a society." Brenda Solorzano, Headwaters Foundation
Senior Fellow, Pia Infante reflects on a previous letter thanking MacKenzie Scott, for what was then referred to as her “trust-based philanthropy” approach. Despite some shared values, there are some key differences in the “how” of it all. “I now realize it was a bit hasty to label Scott’s effort “trust-based philanthropy.”
Guest blogger Nina Lagpacan, Program Officer at Oceankind shares her trust-based journey and reflects on the six practices as a vehicle to inspire and transform philanthropy.
In January 2023, we launched the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s second annual grantmaker survey. We were thrilled to hear from almost 400 of you- over twice as many responses as last year! Thank you to every single person who took the time to respond to this year’s survey - we are truly grateful for the insights that your individual and collective feedback offers!
This is part two of a blog series developed in collaboration with the Fund for an Inclusive California (F4ICA), a trust-based collaborative fund dedicated to advancing community-driven solutions to housing justice across California.
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is pleased to announce a six-part webinar series addressing common questions, clarifying misconceptions, and exploring ways to overcome obstacles in implementing trust-based philanthropy.
Guest blogger, Andrew Spector takes a closer look at the level of trust between nonprofits, foundations, and beneficiaries. Why don’t many nonprofits trust beneficiaries more? Why don’t many foundations trust nonprofits more, and vice versa? What could all parties do to build and deepen trust with each other? How is this lack of trust limiting philanthropic impact?
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project was thrilled to welcome Chantias Ford to our team this year as the new Director of Programs. Chantias brings an abundance of skill, passion, and heart to the role. Get to know her more in the Q & A below.
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project was thrilled to welcome Danielle LaJoie to our team in January 2023 as Senior Manager of Partnerships & Programming. Danielle brings a long history in philanthropy to the role, dating back to her youth! Get to know her more in the Q & A below.
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project was thrilled to welcome Eleni Refu to our team this year as the new Senior Manager of Knowledge & Resources. Eleni brings a rich set of experiences and wisdom to the role. Get to know her more in the Q & A below.
In our December 2022 newsletter, we confirmed that the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project still plans to wind down at the end of 2024. To be clear, this does not mean that the trust-based philanthropy movement is going away. We at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project want to be responsible and intentional about how we support the next chapter of this movement.
Earlier this year, I happily took on the role of Senior Fellow with the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project – driven by a sense that there was unfinished business from my previous role co-directing The Whitman Institute. These six months or so later, I have a slightly different purview.
In the summer of 2021, Sahar Driver, a veteran documentary impact producer and researcher, reached out to me with a proposition: would I help her launch a new initiative to fund, support and connect people of color-led and serving organizations in the documentary sector?
*Photo courtesy of Erica Lewis, Unsplash.
In July and August 2022, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project conducted three focus groups among nonprofit executive directors to understand how and whether they were experiencing shifts in power dynamics in their funder relationships.
It has been just a few short months since The Whitman Institute, my beloved former institution, closed its doors for good. This ending was a deliberate one. While those of us on the team ended with a dual sense of pride and completion, I had a lingering sense of unfinished business.
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project welcomed a new team member this summer, Rashanda Freeman, Communications & Engagement Lead. Get to know what brought her to Trust-Based Philanthropy, her ties to arts & culture, and what she’s looking forward to in the Q+A below.
This post originally appeared on the bi3 blog. It has been reprinted here with permission.
There is a common misconception about trust-based philanthropy as extending “unconditional trust.” While the approach centers on building trusted relationships with grantees, this does not mean funders should abandon all expectations for mutual accountability and evaluation and learning. Quite the contrary, trust-based philanthropy is about building funder-grantee relationships grounded in power-sharing, transparency and mutual accountability to achieve the greatest impact.
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is partnering with the Fund for an Inclusive California (F4ICA) to chart a course for how philanthropy can reimagine learning and evaluation in alignment with community priorities. In this series, F4ICA will provide an overview of how they are reshaping learning and evaluation (L&E), delve into a case study of how they've partnered with community advisors to ensure L&E informs community-driven grantmaking and share practical steps and tools for peers in philanthropy interested in reimagining L&E at their own institution.
When COVID-19 hit eastern Kenya, it shuttered entertainment spaces, brought strict curfews, and even stricter social distancing laws. Facing a sudden loss of income, some local sex workers turned to our grantee, EMAC, for help. They, in turn, came to us with a novel idea: training sex workers to become chicken farmers, giving them a sustainable source of income during the pandemic.
