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NCRP VP and Chief External Affairs Officer Russell Roybal and LGBTQIA+ advocate Dolores Huerta
NCRP VP & Chief External Affairs Officer Russell Roybal and lifelong LGBTQIA+ advocate Dolores Huerta

A few weeks ago, I presented an award to Dolores Huerta at the annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in San Diego. Dolores co-founded the United Farm Workers, and at 94 is still fighting the good fight. In my remarks I said, “For Dolores, justice is indivisible, and she has long recognized that the struggle for LGBTQ rights is inseparable from the broader fight for human dignity and liberation.”

Dolores and Harvey were contemporaries. They marched together, organized together, and they called attention to the injustices faced by farmworkers and queer people…they dissented…together. That was nearly 50 years ago.

Fast forward to today, to a world where dissent is increasingly criminalized as we continue the annual season of Pride celebrations — the vibrant tapestry of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer (LGBTQ+) pride stands as a testament to the power of resistance. From its humble beginnings as a commemoration of the riots at the Stonewall Inn in 1969 to the global celebrations we see today, pride has always been, at its core, a protest. However, as governments and institutions around the world clamp down on dissent, the very essence of pride – its radical roots – is under threat.

The criminalization of dissent takes many forms, from outright suppression of protests to the enactment of laws targeting marginalized communities. In recent years, we’ve witnessed a troubling trend of governments stifling dissent under the guise of maintaining order or preserving so-called traditional values. This crackdown is particularly pronounced when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, as authoritarian regimes and conservative lawmakers seek to erase the hard-won gains of the queer community and literally criminalize our very lives.

But pride refuses to be silenced. It stands as a defiant declaration of existence in the face of oppression, a celebration of diversity, and a demand for liberation. Each pride parade is a reclaiming of public space, a rejection of shame, and a reclamation of power. It is a reminder that the personal is political and that our very existence is an act of resistance.

Pride is Political

At its core, pride is a protest against the criminalization of our identities. It is a refusal to be confined to the shadows, to be denied our humanity, and to be stripped of our rights. In countries where being LGBTQ+ is still illegal, pride takes on an even greater significance, serving as a beacon of hope for those living under the shadow of persecution.

But pride is not just a protest against external forces; it is also a call to action within our own communities. As we fight against the criminalization of dissent, we must also confront the ways in which oppression manifests within our own ranks. Pride must be inclusive, intersectional, and accessible to all members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially those who are most marginalized. We must all advance together and leave no part of us behind.

In recent years, we’ve seen a growing push to depoliticize pride, to turn it into a sanitized, corporate-sponsored spectacle devoid of its radical roots. But to do so is to betray the very essence of pride and the countless activists who risked everything to make it possible. Pride was born out of struggle, and it must remain a space for protest if it is to retain its power.

A Call to Action – This Pride Month and Beyond

As we navigate these turbulent times, it is more important than ever to remember the radical origins of pride and the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights. We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent or apathetic in the face of injustice. We must continue to resist, to organize, and to demand change.

The bottom line is that philanthropy has a role and responsibility in the creation of this change. Funders for LGBTQ Issues continues to be a leader in this change. They are releasing the 2022 Resource Tracking Report: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Grantmaking by U.S. Foundations in the next two weeks. The 20th edition of the annual Resource Tracking Report not only provides a snapshot of funding for queer communities and issues across the country in 2022, it also reveals gaps in funding and highlights opportunities for US-based foundations to make strategic funding decisions that best support domestic LGBTQ communities and issues within the current philanthropic and political landscape.

If philanthropy hopes to become a place of refuge for LGBTQ+ people, they must include more LGBTQ+ staff. A 2022 survey from Change Philanthropy showed that while gay and transgendered people are protected against employment discrimination under the Title VII Civil Rights Act of 1964, nearly half of all LGBTQ people working in philanthropy are not open about their sexuality to most of their coworkers and trans people working in philanthropy account for a just 1.5% of board and staff in philanthropic institutions.

With wealthy right-wing extremists gearing up through Project 2025—for the elimination of LGBTQ+ civil rights law agencies and offices, it is clear that the attack on bodily autonomy is at dire risk. That is why philanthropy must take action now.

As Audre Lorde reminds us, “your silence will not protect you.” We must speak out against the criminalization of dissent, both within our communities and in the world at large. We must stand in solidarity with all those who are fighting for justice and equality, knowing that our struggles are interconnected.

Pride is more than just a parade; it is a symbol of hope, resilience, and resistance. It is a reminder that despite the forces arrayed against us, we will not be silenced. As long as injustice exists, pride will endure as a beacon of hope, lighting the way forward towards a more just and inclusive world.

 

Russell Roybal is the Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer at NCRP. As a Latinx, male-bodied, non-binary queer leader, their activism is rooted in a tradition of public service and the pursuit of social justice.

In 1976, a group of courageous nonprofit leaders decided they would attempt to hold philanthropy accountable to the needs of communities who had been marginalized in society. They made the important decision to transition from an ad hoc coalition, the Donee Group, to a permanent organization and thus birthed the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. A grant from the Rockefeller Foundation provided the initial seed money. 

In this issue of Responsive Philanthropy, we look back at the most important accomplishments of NCRP’s first 45 years and look forward to how philanthropy can be better both in the near-future and another 45 years from now. 

In “NCRP at 45: What it means to be philanthropy’s critical friend,” I reflect on NCRP’s first 45 years, from Bob Bothwell’s amazing leadership in the 20th century, to the incredible work done under Rick Cohen, to my own tenure that began in 2007. While NCRP has done research and advocacy on many different philanthropic issues during that time, what our greatest accomplishments have in common is that they have fallen into 2 important and related areas: accountability and social justice.  

Daniel Lee, NCRP’s board vice-chair who recently stepped down after 13 outstanding years leading Levi Strauss Foundation, discusses the lessons the foundation – and its parent company – learned from working directly with grassroots leaders in “Working with grassroots leaders has changed our foundation (and business) for the better.” 

Lee writes, “We believe this work reflects the new reality that business and politics are intertwined – and that companies and their foundations have a critical role to play in defending our democracy and in shaping the future.” 

Lee is not the only philanthropy leader using NCRP’s anniversary to look into the future. We asked 7 visionary leaders from across the sector to answer the question “What should philanthropy look like 45 years from now?” They gave us a variety of answers, with some seeing a future where philanthropy has more power to do good, and others seeing a future where philanthropy plays a much smaller role. 

In its 45 years, NCRP has benefitted from incredible leadership on its board. We asked each of our 7 previous board chairs to tell us which accomplishments they think are NCRP’s most important. Read what they have to say in “’Disruption is my jam’: 7 Former board chairs discuss NCRP’s greatest accomplishments.” 

We hope you enjoy this issue of Responsive Philanthropy. Do you have a favorite NCRP accomplishment or an idea for how philanthropy should look in the future? Email us at community@ncrp.org and let us know! 

Or what does it mean to be bold and Black in Charlotte, North Carolina, right now? 

Three years ago, I read a report stating that, out of the tens of billions of dollars in annual philanthropic giving by U.S. foundations, an estimated  2% of funding  from the nation’s largest foundations is specifically directed to Black communities. While I knew funding to Black-led organizations was inequitable, I had no concept of the scale of neglect.

The reports keep coming, and nothing appears to have changed except for the worse. Studies also point to the dearth of national foundations that even fund nonprofit organizations based in the South.

These data sharpened my once-vague understanding of the funding landscape to an acute awakening to the insidious practices of funders that unfairly advantage white-led nonprofits over Black ones, a matter further compounded in the South.

Then last week, I read the new report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), “Black Funding Denied: Community Foundation Support for Black Communities.”

It disclosed data on philanthropic giving to Black communities by Charlotte’s community foundation, which hosts my collective giving circle’s fund. Of Foundation for the Carolinas’ giving, an estimated average of only 0.5% is allocated to Black communities, in a region where 22% of the population is Black.

For decades, I have witnessed the bias and heard accounts from Black nonprofit founders and leaders about chronic underfunding by philanthropic institutions. It is part of a pattern referred to as “foundation redlining,” borrowing the term about policy and tactics that resulted in segregated housing patterns and a wealth gap that still plague cities, including Charlotte, today.

Probing this issue compelled me and fellow members of New Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP Charlotte) giving circle to organize The Bold Project.

The Bold Project: An NGAAP Charlotte Initiative for Black Organizations Leading Differently provides a framework for our grantmaking, thought leadership and civic engagement with local Black-led nonprofits.

The Bold Project also serves as a communitywide call to action for funders to attend to and repair the funding gap that results from giving preference to white-led nonprofits and effectively abandoning Black communities and sabotaging Black-led nonprofits.

Urgency exists in dismantling old structures and reimagining how to allocate philanthropic dollars in fair and just ways.

Equity audits and new funding measures are required to blunt the negative impact of bias and anti-Black racism, reduce barriers to accessing capital for operations, and address the damage caused by long-running patterns of funding inequity. The data and the times demand boldness.

But, in a region fond of subtlety, confounding euphemisms, and centuries-old face-saving lies over hard truths and candor, what does bold look like?

Illuminated Charlotte skyline. Photo credit: Alvin C Jacobs Jr.

Illuminated Charlotte skyline. Photo credit: Alvin C Jacobs Jr.

Being boldly Black and free

If you are from the South, you already know that behind the smiles and pleasantries — and that famous hospitality — linger deep-seated hostilities. I perceive it as a simmering brew of concentrated privilege and power with heaps of confusion and contradiction, spiked with aged worries and wounds.

Born, bred and schooled in North Carolina, I know the culture well. My family roots, on both sides, are easily traced for 8 or more generations in this state. I probably rank as expert in our quirky pronunciations, idioms, delicacies, pastimes and, too, our civic pathologies.

For years lyrics sung by another native daughter, Nina Simone, about the value of being “young, gifted and Black” resonated deeply. Now a much less young Southern woman, I am pondering: What is it to be bold and Black?

I pose these questions publicly in the hope that as I grapple with this, you also will reflect deeply on these tough questions. Perhaps we can find our respective answers and respond together.

Constant questioning seems fitting since friends can attest my resolution at the top of the year was to be an interrogator — a kind one, yet an interrogator nonetheless. I have found, in Southern culture, asking questions is a form of boldness.

This moment requires sharper understanding of bold, that speaks to our urgency. Let’s go further than a dictionary, where nuanced definitions span from “fearless,” “unafraid” and “daring before danger” to “adventurous” and “free” to “standing out prominently.”

What does bold mean when life, liberty and limb are literally on the line for us and our communities?

Fearlessness rings true, because I have experienced that being Black and bold just might mean winding up black and blue, in every sense. In the fight for justice, boldness and Blackness can bring harsh repercussions: psychological, physical and fiscal.

When I question the high stakes of speaking out and challenging “the establishment,” I draw on examples set by seeming unafraid Black Southerners, like Dorothy Counts, Reginald Hawkins and John Lewis, and I know I must persist.

The connotation that intrigues me most is to be free. Which stirs the question: How can we emancipate ourselves from constraints of the past? That is, how can we be bold in ways that liberate us all right now?

Coronavirus, unconscionable police brutality, protests for racial equality and data on dire funding inequities provide compelling reasons to assert our collective liberties to accelerate justice.

While my perspective is that of a Black Southerner, these questions are perhaps even more pertinent to white Southerners and Charlotte residents with other regional and racial identities.

In his book “Why We Can’t Wait,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, “the straitjackets of race prejudice and discrimination do not wear only southern labels.” Yes, the South has its own brand of racialized restraints that we must reckon with and reconcile at this pivotal moment.

Our region is not alone though, as headlines from Minneapolis to Portland to Kenosha confirm. As Malcolm X boldly suggested: We all are Southerners.

This is 21st century America, and I want to be free; however, I know none of us is truly free until all of us are free.

Data in the NCRP report provides new insight on structural blocks in philanthropy. We can clearly see how funders are culpable, as prime contributors to social and economic immobility for Black people as well as brown people — immobility as in locking out whole swaths of the community from vital resources and opportunity, in essence chaining us to undesirable conditions and outcomes.

I venture to call out philanthropy’s inequities for the shame that it is. I dare to question the concentration of wealth, accumulated at the expense of Black and brown people, that then rigs the system to deny us equity and mobility. To progress we must burst the charmed bubble of philanthropy with data and truth.

Drawing from another Southern-born woman, the intrepid Ida B. Wells: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” I urge you to join me in turning on the lights and holding funders accountable, if we may be so bold.

Valaida Fullwood is the award-winning author of “Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists,” creator of The Soul of Philanthropy exhibit, and a founding member of New Generation of African American Philanthropists, a collective giving circle in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her achievements in philanthropy were acknowledged this year by ABFE, which named her its 2020 Trailblazer. Valaida can be reached on LinkedIn and at valaida.com.

 

Jolted by a stream of recent events, I have been reminded of the value and myriad benefits of Black-led giving circles and why I am a member of 1.

Hardly alone in this consciousness, I recently joined 2 chroniclers and members of giving circles to write “The Sweetness of Circles.”

In that opinion piece, we share our collective views on why giving circles have growing appeal among Black Americans in these trying times. This parallel piece, a twist on the other, delves into my own giving circle story and revelation.

Thirteen years ago, I was part of a group that formed New Generation of African American Philanthropists (NGAAP-Charlotte), a giving circle based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

My peers and I, after months of deliberation, crafted a mission centered on promoting philanthropy – the giving of time, talent and treasure – among African Americans with the goal of enhancing the quality of life within our communities.

Pooling our resources with the intent of leading social change was no small feat. During the initial 18 months of forming the group, we consciously waded through 400 years of ancestral anxieties and societal realities to arrive at establishing a collective fund.

We navigated such issues as structural racism, the denial and extraction of Black wealth, fractured trust within and across race and class, and the effects of economic insecurity.

Thankfully, shared cultural roots and hunger to do more in the community propelled us through. Self-determination was a powerful motivator.

Freedom to live out our values, practice grantmaking on our terms, dream up a bold name and more was at times even exhilarating.

Attention and investment in cultivating Black-led giving circles got a boost in 2003 when community organizers Darryl Lester and Athan Lindsay gained support from Ford Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation to promote Black giving circles across the South.

The rationale for their initiative was based on fast-changing demographics in Southern cities and slow-to-progress dynamics prevalent in philanthropic institutions.

They knew of the leadership qualities, financial assets and social capital present, yet undervalued, among the growing number of young Black adults in these communities and the great many Black retirees returning to their Southern roots.

Found in these same cities were community foundations, which were often viewed as bastions of White wealth and privilege, and deemed disconnected from local Black communities.

Black-led giving circles with funds held at community foundations were envisioned as a strategy to disrupt old patterns, clear away barriers to engagement and perhaps shift racial inequities in philanthropy at a local level.

The strategy launched with a belief that stronger ties between Black donors and community foundations could produce mutual benefits as well as gains for the larger community. Hearing the premise, I was intrigued.

Today, after more than a dozen years and nearly 40 members, NGAAP-Charlotte has leveraged resources totaling more than $1.6 million through grantmaking, voluntarism, civic engagement and collaboration.

We have supported a variety of grantee partners, ranging from start-up nonprofits to long-established institutions.

Our support is aimed, strategically, at projects and organizations routinely neglected by other forms of philanthropy.

True to our mission, we have elevated philanthropy in Black communities, near and far, through innovative multimedia storytelling, celebrations of culture and guidance to new giving circles.

Our small-dollar investments and in-kind contributions are fortified by members’ insights and will, gained through lived experiences, cultural connections and proximity to underserved communities.

Years before Charlotte’s 2016 uprising, NGAAP Charlotte articulated social justice as a funding priority, the first local grantmaker to do so.

Often catalysts under the radar, we are sharpening our focus on Black-led social change and intensifying our collective influence to accelerate progress toward a fairer and thus truer New South.

Excruciating in its wrongness, one recent experience stands out in re-affirming our circle’s creation and mission.

After accepting an invitation to an event on the local philanthropy scene, I found myself an accidental token.

In a sea of one hundred or so white faces, who were mingling and chatting, and also serving the drinks and food, I realized I was the sole Black guest and, too, the only guest of color – telling in a city where Whites are the minority.

The evening’s most unsettling point came when the featured speaker, a white man, began probing Black lives, with economic mobility data and project plans, as he stood before a nearly all-white audience.

The incongruity likely went unnoticed by presumably well-intentioned donors, who sipped wine and nibbled from pretty plates as the speaker delivered sobering facts.

Transfixed, I pondered what impact the group might expect with the most marginalized and isolated Black people when it had failed to draw more than one Black donor that night.

Moments like that one enliven my dedication to New Generation of African American Philanthropists. I think back to our origin and that 16-year-old theory of change. As is often the case with Blackness, to exist is to resist.

Until greater evidence of racial equality and equitable ways in philanthropy, I remain strident about the necessity of “for us, by us” philanthropy and Black-led giving circles. To bend a phrase: the Blacker the circle, the sweeter the justice.

Valaida Fullwood is author of Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists, creator of The Soul of Philanthropy exhibit and co-founder of New Generation of African American Philanthropists, a giving circle in Charlotte, North Carolina. Read “The Sweetness of Circles” for more on the country’s Black-led giving circles.

We recently announced NCRP’s new Selections Committee and call for Ambassadors for the 2019 Impact Awards, which was a great way to close out a stellar year.

To share more highlights from 2018, I invited summaries of accomplishments from colleagues, featured below!

Evolution of Philamplify and high praise for Power Moves
Contributed by Lisa Ranghelli, senior director of assessment and special projects

In May, NCRP released Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice. The guide provides a framework and comprehensive set of resources for funders to reflect on the extent to which they build, share and wield power mindfully, with attention to issues of privilege in order to advance racial equity.

Since the release, sector response has been overwhelmingly positive. More than 2,000 people have downloaded the guide, including 855 grantmakers. We’ve kept busy promoting Power Moves and offering opportunities to engage with the project, including:

  • Launching 2 peer learning groups for funders and consultants – a new experiment for NCRP – to support each other as they dig into the guide, test out different ways to use it and provide advice and insights to staff.
  • Hosting 4 webinars, including an overview of the toolkit and deeper dives into building, sharing and wielding power, averaging 265 registrants per webinar.
  • Curating powerful stories from leaders such as Vanessa Daniel of Groundswell Fund, who authored an extremely popular journal article and urgent call to action for NCRP on the gentrification of movements. The article has had an astonishing 7,900 page views in the 3 months since publication.
  • Partnering with Stanford Social Innovation Review to feature 8 distinguished authors in a series of articles on Power in Philanthropy.
  • Partnering with other sector groups on in-person presentations on Power Moves themes, including sessions at conferences hosted by PEAK Grantmaking, Equity in the Center and Race Forward.

New milestones for As the South Grows
Contributed by Ben Barge, senior associate for learning and engagement

In June, NCRP launched the capstone report in our joint As the South Grows initiative with Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP), So Grows the Nation.

The report includes grantmaking dollars on social justice giving for the region and each Southern state, and grassroots recommendations to philanthropy from over 120 interviews. It’s a can’t-miss read for any Southern or national foundation.

But we did not let these learnings sit on a shelf. Over the past 2 years we’ve had hundreds of 1-on-1 calls and 24 presentations with funders and organizers to change the way philanthropy works in the South, culminating in a presentation with GSP this November at the Southeastern Council on Foundations.

We’ve heard from some major national foundations that As the South Grows has changed the way they think about investing in the South.

And some of our key partners in the work were involved in historic voter education and turnout efforts across the region whose transformative impact we are only beginning to understand.

Stay tuned for a survey capturing the impact of this initiative thus far!

Bold thought leadership
Contributed by Aaron Dorfman, president and CEO

As usual, NCRP sounded the alarm when we saw philanthropy failing to do what it should to help the most marginalized.

I partnered with other sector leaders to write an op-ed calling on foundations to do more in Puerto Rico. The piece was first published in the Washington Post and later in the Miami Herald, and came after a moving trip to the island for the CHANGE Philanthropy retreat and learning tour.

Our team also wrote compelling and timely thought pieces on:

NCRP attends 40-50 sector conferences per year, and I was honored to give keynotes for important gatherings like the Yale Philanthropy Conference and the Southern California Grantmakers Family Philanthropy Conference.

Dramatic transformations in Human Resources and Administration
Contributed by Beverley Samuda-Wylder, senior director of human resources and administration

A successful 1st year using the new Bamboo human resource information system software at NCRP helped automate and streamline requesting time off, conducting quarterly assessments to replace annual reviews, tracking work goals, and hiring and onboarding staff.

Our department trained new supervisors and collaborated with senior staff to hire 3 consultants and 7 new team members, including Timi Gerson who joined us in May as vice president and chief content officer and a record 5 interns. We now have 22 team members.

Not always evident is the important role of the executive assistant, a new addition to our executive office. Garnetta Lewis has quietly supported the management of the day-to-day office operations, human resources and accounting. She successfully scheduled more than 600 important high-stakes fundraising and other in-the-field meetings for the CEO and internal staff meetings.

Great strides in fundraising and fiscal growth
Contributed by Kevin Faria, senior director of foundation engagement

NCRP has had several successes in fundraising for our operations this year. We raised more than $2.8 million, the most in NCRP’s 42-year history.

This was almost a 20% jump from our 2017 fiscal year, and more than double what we raised 10 years ago. Part of this growth was due to the receipt of NCRP’s largest grant ever from Borealis Philanthropy’s Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund, currently supported by the W.K. Kellogg and Ford foundations.

Along with nonprofits and individuals, we’re pleased to be sustained financially by more than 125 grantmakers of all types and sizes. Also, 100% of NCRP’s board made a personal donation to NCRP, another sign of their commitment to the organization.

We’re making enormous strides towards our goal of having a $4 million budget by 2026, and with your help we’ll continue our growth.

What did you appreciate the most from NCRP in 2018?

Caitlin Duffy is senior associate for learning and engagement at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Follow @NCRP and @DuffyInDC on Twitter.

Leading national social change organization celebrates 50th anniversary and recognizes courageous leaders in the fight for justice.

It was an emotional moment for me and many others at the Community Change Champions Awards gala, where the Center for Community Change (CCC) passed the presidential torch from Deepak Bhargava to Dorian Warren after nearly 20 years of leadership.

The event also honored social justice leaders in community organizing, philanthropy and government. 

I had the opportunity to work for Deepak when Pablo Eisenberg, one of NCRP’s founders, and Andy Mott led CCC. It was great to see Deepak and Andy at the gala, and bittersweet that Pablo could not be there in person, but his spirit was present among the many former CCC board and staff that attended.

It was a personal opportunity to reflect on the mentorship I received from these three leaders and others on staff during my own tenure, and their collective impact over the span of 50 years.

Melissa Harris-Perry emceed the event, channeling the energy and enthusiasm felt by participants for Dorian Warren, incoming president of CCC, soon-to-be former vice president and president of CCC Action. She solicited sage advice for him from attendees such as director of leadership development Trish Tchume.

https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry/status/1045448897819291648

At the event and in writing, Warren reflected on CCC’s legacy as he laid out a bold vision for 2018 and beyond. It is grounded in CCC’s strategy developed over the last 20 years of combining community organizing with electoral engagement, increasingly focused on motivating infrequent voters and non-voters to go to the polls. He observed,

“For the first time in 50 years, all the forces necessary for progressive political success are beginning to align: The surge for justice in America is undeniably growing; demography is changing the electoral landscape, potentially in our favor; and progressives are building a model for political victory that has been 20 years in the making.

“What animates all of this, of course, is our purpose. We are and have always been about creating and sustaining genuine economic equity while building a model of multi-racial democracy and inclusion never before seen.”

In addition to recognizing Deepak’s legacy, CCC honored several others on the frontlines of creating this vision of an equitable, multi-racial democracy:

  • Champion in Community Organizing: Fair Immigration Reform Movement
  • Champion in Philanthropic Leadership: Barbara Picower, President, The JPB Foundation
  • Champion in Public Service: John Lewis, representing Georgia’s 5th District
  • Emerging Change Champion: John Jairo Lugo, Unidad Latina en Acción

NCRP congratulates all the honorees and looks forward to working with Dorian Warren and the CCC team to create a more fair, just and equitable society!

Lisa Ranghelli (@lisa_rang) is NCRP’s senior director of assessment and special projects.

From the time I started in philanthropy, I have been on a mission to drive more resources (financial and non-financial) to grassroots organizations led by those most impacted by injustices.

Groups like Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP), Neighborhood Funders Group and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) are making it clear that the South and rural communities are areas most in need of these resources.

NCRP and GSP’s recent As the South Grows: So Grows the Nation report makes the case for funding these areas in a way that many funders can understand.

It states, “Between 2011 and 2015, foundations nationwide invested 56 cents per person in the South for every dollar per person they invested nationally. And they provided 30 cents per person for structural change work in the South for every dollar per person nationally.”

The South is underfunded, and structural change work in the region is drastically underfunded.

Working at a foundation committed to social justice and equity, the question is not should we fund these areas, but instead how should we fund these areas.

In our three decades of work at Common Counsel Foundation, we have found that the key to sustainable change and success is trust.

Our grant partners over the years have been at the forefront of every social movement imaginable, and it is because we trust them to do their work.

The key lesson for philanthropy – particularly in funding the South – is that trust needs to be a two-way street.

Funders need to trust that grant partners are doing meaningful work, and grant partners need to trust that funders are being accountable and advocating on their behalf.

This is even more vital in the South, where communities have experienced chronic disinvestment. Funders need to learn from the past and build foundations centered on trust.

When I want to understand what this means in practice, I think back to one of my first in-person conversations at Common Counsel Foundation.

I was tagging along with a co-worker during a visit with a grant partner up for renewal. From the start, it was clear that there was a lot of trust on both sides of the table.

Towards the end of the conversation, one of the last questions my co-worker asked was, “Do you want us to put you through for renewal?”

At the time, I thought that was a bold question, putting the fate of this grant in the hands of someone who had a vested interest in saying yes.

The grant partner said, “You know, we are good. There are a lot of other up-and-coming groups out there that have more of a need for those funds.”

I was blown away. In thinking about the interaction, the answer itself did not shock me. The shock came from the level of trust and authentic relationship that allowed that type of response to even be an option.

That grant partner could easily have said, “yes, put us through for renewal” and we would have done that. The trust was centered around a belief that one organization cannot undo centuries of harm, but needs other partners in the struggle.

This is a conversation I think back to regularly.

At Common Counsel Foundation, we are trying to build up the case to drive more structural change dollars to the South. During that process, the biggest growth edge has been finding the right philanthropic and grassroots partners with which to walk together.

More importantly, it has been developing trusting relationships rooted in a shared understanding of the scale of the issues, instead of merely a financial exchange of resources.

We have learned a lot during this process. As a national foundation trying to prioritize the South and rural communities in our grantmaking, I wanted to share some key tips on how to develop trusting relationships:

1. Admit that you do not know everything – Often, foundation staff are hired for content or field expertise. However, it is impossible for one person to know everything. To build trusting relationships, you need to be vulnerable. You need to admit that you do not have all the answers or all the knowledge.

2. Embrace discomfort and disagreements – It is okay for there to be disagreements about strategy and understanding. In fact, it is healthy and expected. To have that spark a trusting relationship, the key is having a mindset of embracing that discomfort. In any relationship, there is going to be a level of conflict. It is important to address those feelings in a way in which all sides feel safe and heard.

3. Believe the lived experiences of those on the ground – Philanthropy’s default is to only believe and trust experiences that are backed up by data and research. Academic data and research can sometimes be helpful, but often supplants the lived experiences of directed impacted communities. When we hear the lived experiences of people directly impacted by the issues we seek to address, trust that their experiences are authentic and equally as valuable as non-academic data and research.

4. Do not dangle money at the outset – There is an inherent power dynamic in a funder-nonprofit relationship. For example, philanthropic staff have an easier time getting conversations with grassroots leaders (and other funders) because there is the potential for funding or financial resources. The challenge is to minimize that power. Be upfront that you want to develop a relationship to learn, and that learning will likely not lead to funding dollars. Once money is off the table, you can minimize the power imbalance and build a trusting relationship from the start.

As the saying goes, you need to move at the speed of trust. Change does not happen overnight, and grantmaking practices need to reflect that.

It is our responsibility as funders to fund over the long-term to support grant partners that can fight for structural changes. In the South – and throughout the country – the path towards social justice starts with trust. 

Allistair Mallillin is a program officer at the Common Counsel Foundation.

Between 2011 and 2015, foundations invested 56 cents in the South – per person – for every $1 they invested per person nationally. 

In the two plus years NCRP and GSP have embarked on As the South Grows, we’ve met countless people across the South who have dedicated their lives to deep, lasting change. These courageous leaders confront hard truths, build power strategically, and make sure no one gets left behind.

Despite proven leadership, Southern communities of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, women and girls, justice-involved people, and low-income folks cannot count on the philanthropic sector’s support.

This doesn’t have to be the case. There’s a different path foundations can take: one that will require honesty, and open-ness, and a willingness to question assumptions. It’s one that will be incredibly rewarding, not only for Southern communities, but for the nation.

So Grows the Nation, the fifth and final capstone report in the As the South Grows series, offers that path, with concrete tips for foundation practice, funding comparisons for every Southern state, and tools for foundations to examine the untapped power they have to create change.

Whether you’re a national funder looking to deepen your investment, or a Southern foundation ready to tackle injustice at its roots, this report is for you. We believe, as we note in the report, that “the soil for growing exciting solutions to national problems is deep and fertile in the South; the seeds are present, and foundation staff haven’t turned on the water. It’s time to open the spigot.”

For As the South Grows, So Grows the Nation.  

Ben Barge is senior associate for learning and engagement and Ryan Schlegel is director of research at NCRP. Follow @NCRP on Twitter.

Photo by praline3001. Used under Creative Commons license.