While many foundations and philanthropists understand the importance of organizing — Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, to name a few — philanthropy writ large has yet to embrace power building through community organizing as a key tool for change, relying instead on a theory of change that is rooted in research, analysis, and communications. According to an analysis provided for this article by The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, grassroots organizing funding only made up about 0.1 percent of total grantmaking from 2014-2018. Among the few funders that do believe change happens because of organizing, many focus on a narrow portfolio of issues; they are willing to support base building to win victories on that issue but not to build power more broadly.
Read more in The Forge.
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