What is Trust-Based Philanthropy?

Trust-based philanthropy flips the script on conventional philanthropy.

Trust-based philanthropy advances a just and equitable society by alleviating the inherent power imbalances between funders, nonprofits, and communities. With a commitment to shifting power, advancing equity, and building mutually accountable relationships, trust-based philanthropy positions funders as collaborators working alongside nonprofits to meet the needs and dreams of communities who are most removed from conventional power structures.

Read more about trust-based philanthropy’s values. 

A cornerstone of trust-based philanthropy is a set of grantmaking practices that facilitate trust and transparency between funders and nonprofits. 

These grantmaking practices — including giving multiyear unrestricted funding, doing the homework, streamlining paperwork, being transparent and responsive, soliciting and acting on feedback, and offering support beyond the check — provide nonprofits with the flexibility and support they need to tackle the complexity and unpredictability of their work.

Read more about the six grantmaking practices of trust-based philanthropy. 

Beyond a grantmaking approach, trust-based philanthropy offers a cultural reorientation that centers the needs and dreams of communities.

While trust-based philanthropy often starts with alleviating burdens on nonprofits in order to shift unequal power dynamics, trust is not the end goal. Trust-based philanthropy’s north star is a world where philanthropists and nonprofits collaborate with a shared sense of accountability to the communities they serve and support. This orientation usually requires grantmakers to reexamine other aspects of their work such as: board and staff roles; learning and evaluation practices; grants management systems; and other organizational norms and structures that may inhibit aspirations of trust-based and collective accountability.

For this reason, a holistic commitment to trust-based philanthropy invites practitioners to apply trust-based values across four key dimensions of their work: culture, structures, leadership, and practices.