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.
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
The Power of Giving Up Power
“When I gave up some of my own personal power, we became a more powerful organization.” -John Esterle
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
We Journey with Partners to Listen and Learn
“Just like we had to reexamine our grantmaking to build trust, we also had to reimagine our learning and evaluation to find more authentic and meaningful ways of articulating change.” -Corey Oser
The Easiest Way to Shift Practice is to Lean on Values
“Shouldn’t we trust the people doing the work to know how to get us there? Why are we the ones deciding which issues are most important?” -Dimple Abichandani
The Joy of Co-Learning and Mutual Accountability
“Satisfaction has never been higher on our program team. With more access to connection, value, and depth, we are more rewarded in our work than ever.” -Brittney Gaspari
Building Trust Means Getting Uncomfortable
“No matter how trust-based you think your foundation is, it's something you consistently have to revisit.” -Brenda Solorzano
From “Confetti Funding” to Effective Citizenship
“For us, evaluation is tied to the self-determination of communities and what they mean by success, not using our jargony words of ‘impact.’” -John Brothers
We Can’t Achieve Impact Without Investing in Relationships
“What does our internal culture need to feel like to do this work together? It needs to feel like everyone’s voice is heard.” -Sarah Walczyk
Trust-Based Philanthropy as a Bridge to Equity
“What does it mean when you are trying to build trust when there is a racialized history of distrust within philanthropy?” -Anonymous Storyteller
That Moment When You Realize the Rules Are Made Up
“When we approach mistakes with a spirit of humility and curiosity, that’s where the trust comes in.” -Carrie Avery
Funders: It’s Time to Talk to Our Legal Teams About Power, Compliance, and Trust-Based Philanthropy
If funders truly want to remove unnecessary roadblocks for grantees, we must begin working alongside our legal and financial teams to understand what we’re asking of grantees and staff, and which of the old ways of doing things perpetuate inequitable practices and create unnecessary burdens under the guise of compliance.
Trust-Based Philanthropy Virtual Summer Learning Series
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, in partnership with Philanthropy Missouri, Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and New Mexico Association of Grantmakers, Philanthropy Colorado, and Connecticut Council on Philanthropy are pleased to announce a 3-part virtual series on the values and practices of what it means to be a trust-based grantmaker.
Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
What happens when a foundation’s work strives to be trust-based, but its internal culture is anything but? We get this question a lot from foundation staff whose workplaces have embedded legacies and structures that seem counter to the core values of a trust-based approach. Here are a few clarifying questions to consider about your role in supporting this work.
How Philanthropy Can Move from Crisis to Transformation
We are in a once-in-a-lifetime opening to transform philanthropy: let's use it, writes Dimple Abichandani, Executive Director of the General Service Foundation. In this moving reflection on the year of COVID, racial justice uprisings, elections, and more, Abichandani writes about the new philanthropy that is ours to create.
There Is No Trust-Based Philanthropy Without Equity
We’re introducing our updated Trust-Based Philanthropy Overview! When it comes to the role of funders, we believe that trust-based philanthropy cannot be operationalized without addressing built-in biases, systemic racism, and other inequalities. This updated Overview reflects our approach, and underscores that we can’t achieve trust-based philanthropy without centering and working toward racial equity.
How bi3 is Building On, and Building In, Trust
When bi3 launched, the trust-based philanthropy movement had not come into being, but their practice was already aligning with the core principles that drive it. Over time, bi3 adopted a more trust-based approach that has made them more effective funders, and also fuels their ability to collectively achieve their mission of transforming health for all people in Greater Cincinnati, and beyond.
We Are Not OK, And You Don’t Have To Be Either
“To watch this deadly violence unfold, incited by our own political leaders, is fresh trauma on top of old. It. Is. Not. OK. We are not ok. We want our philanthropy and nonprofit colleagues—especially those who may feel alone in your institution or community—to know that we see you, and that we are holding you in our response to this collective trauma.”