Series: The Fundamentals of Trust-Based Philanthropy
In this two-part series, a collaboration with Arizona Grantmakers Forum and the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, we walk through the fundamentals of trust-based philanthropy.
Recently, trust-based philanthropy has gained traction as more funders look to align values of equity, community, and opportunity with the ways they show up with their nonprofit grantees. This has pushed many in the field to reimagine burdensome, transactional, and top-down grantmaking approaches into practices, cultures, structures, and leadership styles that build relationships, cultivate mutual learning, and center trust with nonprofits.
With perspectives from foundation leaders, we explore why this approach has taken hold for so many funders, how it can catalyze learnings and impact, and what it actually looks like in practice. This series equips viewers with a deeper understanding of the core values and practices of a trust-based approach, clear examples of what it looks like to put trust-based philanthropy into practice, and action steps they can explore as a strategy to build more productive and mutually beneficial partnerships with grantee organizations.
Session #1: The 6 Grantmaking Practices
Overview:
There is a values-to-practice gap in traditional philanthropy. Many foundations do their work in the name of building community, advancing equity, and increasing opportunity; however our sector’s most common grantmaking practices rarely reflect those values. Project-restricted grants, unclear grant guidelines, lengthy paperwork requirements, and unrealistic impact measures have come to be the status quo, with little regard for the expertise of the nonprofits we support. Not only does this perpetuate a top-down power dynamic that makes it virtually impossible to build trust and transparency; it also obstructs nonprofits’ ability to innovate, grow, and achieve their intended impact.
Trust-based philanthropy offers a different approach, rooted in leading with trust rather than distrust, respecting the time and expertise of nonprofit partners, and prioritizing relationship-building and mutual learning over scrutiny and transaction. In this session, we explore the potential and possibilities of a trust-based approach and the six grantmaking practices that help advance a healthier and more equitable nonprofit sector: 1) multiyear unrestricted funding, 2) doing the homework, 3) simplifying and streamlining paperwork, 4) being transparent and responsive, 5) soliciting and acting on feedback, and 6) offering support beyond the check. Foundation leaders that have operationalized these practices share concrete examples, the details of their transformation, their learnings along the way, and their approach to bringing along staff and boards on this journey.
Hosted on October 11, 2022.
Featured Speakers:
Sarah Walczyk, Executive Director, Satterberg Foundation
Amalia Luxardo, CEO, Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona
Jeaiza Quinones Ivory, Director of Community Investments, Community Foundation For Southern Arizona
Shaady Salehi, (moderator) Executive Director, Trust-Based Philanthropy Project
Session #2: Cultivating Structures, Cultures, and Leadership for Trust-Based Grantmaking
Overview:
Trust-based philanthropy can show us the way toward co-creating a sector in which community and nonprofit leaders are valued, supported, and trusted. For this vision to become the norm in philanthropy, funders must center trust in every dimension of our work, both internally and externally. This begins with clarifying values that acknowledge and address issues of power and equity—and then applying those values to reimagine our organizational culture, structure(s), leadership approach, and grantmaking practices. For many funders, this equity-oriented culture-building is the work of trust-based philanthropy, but there isn't a neat and tidy checklist of how to do it.
So what does it actually look like to embrace this approach fully, not just in our grantmaking practices, but in our values, culture, and leadership? What are the benefits of reimagining staff and board roles so that they work hand-in-hand in support of nonprofit leaders? And how can we work through barriers and roadblocks to achieve a new vision of philanthropy wherein we partner with—and learn from—nonprofit leaders to improve our overall impact and joy? In this session, we hear practical examples of how foundation leaders are working to put in place trust-based cultures, structures, and leadership and how that is helping them cultivate trust, joy, learning, and impact.
Hosted on November 15, 2022
Featured Speakers:
Brenda Solórzano, CEO, Headwaters Foundation
Sarah Walczyk, Executive Director, Satterberg Foundation
Joyce Medina Harper, Executive Director, Dougherty Foundation
Shaady Salehi, Executive Director, Trust-Based Philanthropy Project