Trust-Based Philanthropy as a Bridge to Equity

Anonymous Storyteller*

I was looking into different ways to get our board to do more racial equity work, which was hard for them. I thought trust-based philanthropy could be a way to get them to acknowledge racial equity because the board wanted to see themselves as trust-based. When they looked at the framework, they thought, “This is us. We are trust-based.” That became a bridge for me to get them to do equity work with language that felt more neutral and not as triggering. Many white people experienced a sense of reawakening in 2020 through the racial uprisings, which was paralleled on our board. That shift in public consciousness plus the trust-based framework has allowed us to move the needle on helping the board understand the relationship between racial equity and trust. We started asking, what does it mean when you have a person of color and a white person trying to build trust and there's a lot of racialized history of distrust within philanthropy? How do we earn and build trust with organizations and amongst our staff and board? All of it takes time.

If we want to communicate respect and trust on a very basic human level, the language around how this particular sector classifies who has power and who doesn’t needs to shift. Take, for example, the title of ‘Program Officer.’ That language communicates a level of policing and control to our grantee partners that impacts our ability to build relationships. It also signals power over which can create barriers to equitable, authentic relationships. Trust requires respect and reciprocity. Many organizations don't feel respected through the grant selection process, or the language we use to call people into it. When I think about reciprocity, I ask, what are ways that I can communicate an openness to feedback and listening to folks? It can be a traumatic process for people who have to reveal their own hurt from racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. in order to “sell” the mission of their organization. We’re thinking about how to shift language and practices in a way that allows people to feel seen, respected, and honored. 

Moving our board to fully embrace equity values and trust-based culture won’t happen overnight. It won’t happen that way for the field either. But it’s important to celebrate the small wins. There was one point recently when we were getting into some decisions about our grantmaking when we were trying to make some quick decisions related to some emergent opportunities. There was some hesitation among the board, out of fear of risk. But then someone on the board said to the rest of them, “Remember, we’re trust-based,” encouraging them to be open to the possibilities. That’s when I thought, “Yes! They grasp this!” They now have a framework to call each other towards more trusting practices.

* While open communication and mutual accountability are core values of trust-based philanthropy, our sector still holds barriers to transparency. Navigating complex power dynamics and the history of oppression that underscores our field takes strategy and courage. Some storytellers may elect to remain anonymous as a part of that navigation process.