In an Ecosystem of Trust, the Possibilities Are Endless

Philip Li, President, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation

I spent a good part of my career working on the grant seeking side of the equation, where I went through all the hoops of funding cycles. I worked for an organization that did leadership development work and I remember a funder once asking me about our “costs per person,” implying that we weren’t reaching enough people with the funding they provided. I replied with an honest question: “What would the right cost per person be?” and I got a blank stare back in response. 

Years later, when I finally made my way to philanthropy, I wondered if we might be able to do things differently. Much of Robert Sterling Clark Foundation’s approach to general operating support, multi-year funding, and streamlined paperwork stem from my time as a grant seeker. My board and I were in a honeymoon phase when I first learned about trust-based philanthropy and brought it to them, so they said, “Yes, let’s try it for now, but see how it plays out.” That was five years ago now, and it’s still playing out. 

Now, we talk about trust as an ecosystem. There’s trust needed between board and staff, between staff and grantees, and also among our colleagues in the field. Those ecosystems of trust form a strong network that allow us to move nimbly and make impact happen when it’s needed. One example of this is that when COVID hit, we were actually one of the first foundations to respond. New York shut down on a Friday and we came out with our response on the following Monday. We immediately communicated to our grantee partners that we were going to continue their funding, would ease the restrictions on reporting, and would add an additional year of funding to our current agreements. We offered them zoom subscriptions (a novelty at the time). We started hosting informal circles for all the Executive Directors and the Program Directors to meet with each other, because we heard that people were lonely. I began writing a weekly update to all of our grantees with resources related to COVID and beyond — which I still do — to remind them that we’re here for them. 

The main idea behind our COVID response was: Don’t worry about us. Do your work, as best you can right now. The board didn’t understand all of it, but trusted that we were offering something important to the field. I have friends at other foundations that were still deliberating on what kind of response to put out many many months later! But because we had that ecosystem of trust — with our board, with our partners, and with each other — we were able to activate more quickly. 

One thing I say to myself and my colleagues is that our role as grantmakers changes when we use trust-based practices. Instead of being a compliance officer or gatekeeper, we become a thought partner and a shoulder for people to come to when they need it. We’ve been able to see that people can come to us in different ways and express challenges differently. We’ve gotten more straightforward answers about their hardships and have been able to meet some of their needs more strategically. All of this is about working to listen differently, then adapting and responding to what we hear.