Trust-Based Blog
Reimagining philanthropy begins with learning out loud.
By sharing ideas, with curiosity and humility, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project blog features trust-based grantmakers who talk about their own lessons, questions, and aha-moments along their power-sharing journeys.
Can Shifts In Grantmaking Lead to Deeper Culture Change?
“We’re realizing the power and potential of leading with our values when we think about attracting board and staff who are going to help us evolve the organization.” -Pamela Jons and Mauri Ingram
Community Knows What They Need
“So much of my role is acting as a translator between community and those controlling resources (myself included).” -Patricia Mejia
Chipping Away at Trust-Based Org Change
“I want to tell my peers who resist trust-based shifts: the field is evolving, we need to stop talking about risk and start listening to what our nonprofit partners want and need. There’s sector change happening, and it’s both past-due and important work.” -Suzanne Geary
When We Relinquish Power, Communities Are Better Off
“We can use our privilege to maintain the status quo, or create on-ramps to thriving communities and collective power.” -Julio Marcial
An Organizer-Turned-Funder Reimagines the Status Quo
“We need to change how we think about those who control the wealth and resources and those leading the work to achieve systemic change and racial justice.” -Isabel Sousa Rodriguez
Committing to Trust-Based Philanthropy Holds Us Accountable
“Once you publicly say you’re doing trust-based philanthropy, it puts you on the hook for really doing it.” -Stacey Faella
Trust Is a Process, Not a Destination
“Walking with our partners towards their self-determined goals means moving with mutual accountability.” -Solomé Lemma
Collective Impact Demands Nuance
“It’s the quality and depth of our relationships with partners that makes it okay to sit with conflict.” -Anonymous Storyteller
Ahead of the Grain in Puerto Rico
“If we genuinely listen to communities, there are no boundaries to what can be achieved.” -Alexandra Hertell
We Can’t Sit Content In A Broken System
“How do we center the importance of trust without centering ourselves in the power dynamic that comes with being the funder?” -Mailee Walker & Andrea Bretting
Let’s Talk About Trust ... And Racism
“We need to be conscious about where our trust (and distrust) are coming from, or we will distribute the benefits of this work inequitably.” -Liz Dozier
Let’s Admit Our Mistakes (And Learn From Them)
“There are pitfalls on this journey. The most important thing is to keep learning, document, and incorporate the lesson for the next time.” -Raymael Blackwell
Trust-Based Philanthropy as a Movement Building Strategy
“Achieving our goal is not possible without the organizations on the ground, so we believe supporting their capacity is part of building the movement.” -Farrah Parkes
Let the People Lead, and the Real Work Gets Done
“Our best grantmaking has happened not because of a strategy developed internally, but because we operate as a site of shifted power to begin with.” -Jenn Ching
We’re About Building Relationships, Not Creating Barriers
“We started out by thinking about how everything we did should focus on building relationships rooted in trust.” -Ashley Clark
Our Sector Has an Imperative to Repair Harm
“Philanthropy’s imperative for transformation requires us to repair the harm we have caused as a sector.” -Gabriela Alcalde
Baby Steps: A Community Foundation’s Transformation
“When we move in a different way that honors their time, experience and capacities, our grantee partners see new possibilities in our work together.” -Heather Peeler
Let’s Invest in Fullness, Vibrance, and Joy
“I want funders to start investing in efforts that aren’t just about systems change, but about quality of life.” -Pamela Ross
Not Your Typical Family Foundation
“Our affinity with our grantee partners, with different histories but similar experiences of injustice, has made building trust more possible.” -A. Sparks
In an Ecosystem of Trust, the Possibilities Are Endless
“Ecosystems of trust form a strong network that allow us to move nimbly and make impact happen when it’s needed.” -Philip Li