Learning Out Loud: Insights From our 2024 Grantmaker Survey

By Chantias Ford

12/2/2024

“Our grantee partners noticed a difference in the way we practice grantmaking from other more traditional foundations and have expressed a great deal of appreciation and respect for a process based on trust.” 
– Anonymous survey participant

In the summer of 2024, we launched the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s third annual grantmaker survey. We were thrilled to hear from over 573 of you—a significant increase from the 396 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!

Through the survey, we heard from a diverse array of grantmaking professionals at various types of funding institutions. Respondents represented a variety of demographic identities, locations, and levels in their trust-based journey.  

The data illuminated some key findings, including the top personal motivations for pursuing trust-based philanthropy, terminology reception and usage, organizational shifts to trust-based practices and operations, and contributing factors for organizational change.  Through this research, we have a deeper understanding of how trust-based philanthropy is being explored, practiced, and embodied, and what funders think will help to sustain and grow this approach from the margins to the mainstream.

The trust-based movement has grown incredibly over the last several years. This data highlights various opportunities for the work moving forward, including continuing to reinforce a holistic understanding and adoption of the approach, deeper networking for funders on the journey, and highlighting the impact of trust-based philanthropy.

We’re excited to share more about this next chapter, bolstered by the research presented here on where we currently stand.

“This should be the standard practice in philanthropy!”
– Anonymous survey participant

Chantias Ford is the Director of Programs and Strategic Learning at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project.