Series: Trust-Based Philanthropy in 4D
Centering Equity and Power-Sharing in Philanthropic Practices, Culture, Structures, and Leadership
The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, in partnership with the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Blue Sky Funders Forum, and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders, presents a four-part webinar series on using trust-based values to guide your philanthropy’s grantmaking practices, culture, structures, and leadership.
While some may view trust-based philanthropy as the sector’s latest fixation or a self-styled catchphrase to publicly signal trust, practitioner-advocates of this approach have experienced its potential to inspire much deeper work — the work of reimagining the systems, norms, and beliefs that have held philanthropy back from realizing its vision of a better world for all of us. A full expression of trust-based philanthropy invites funders to bring values of equity and power-sharing to the forefront – and use them to guide all dimensions of our philanthropy, from decision-making to culture-setting to systems design. This trust-based, values-centered approach – which diverges from the scrutinous, compliance-oriented culture of traditional philanthropy – has gained momentum in the past several years as funders recognize the need to build trust and transparency in order to successfully tackle the complexities of today’s world.
While trust-based philanthropy tends to be most associated with a core set of practices such as unrestricted funding and streamlined paperwork, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s four-dimensional (4D) framework invites us to consider how our grantmaking practices are intrinsically linked to our internal culture, structures, and leadership. Trust-Based Philanthropy in 4D offers a framework for being proactive in building trust and alleviating power imbalances across the various dimensions of a grantmaking organization, regardless of your starting point.
In this webinar series, we break down each of the four dimensions, spotlight examples from foundation leaders who have intentionally worked to align their grantmaking with trust-based and equity-centered values, and offer concrete steps you can take to apply these concepts within the context of your grantmaking organization.
Session #1: Values + Grantmaking Practices
Hosted on February 3, 2022.
Speakers:
Sarah Walczyk, Executive Director, Satterberg Foundation
Jill Miller, President, bi3
Yolonda Lavender, Grant Program & Partnerships Director, Stryker Johnston Foundation
Yolanda Coentro, President & CEO, Institute for Nonprofit Practice
Overview:
Trust-based philanthropy offers an alternative to traditional philanthropic practice by applying equity-centered, power-conscious values in the way we approach all aspects of grantmaking. This translates to leading with trust rather than distrust, respecting the time and expertise of nonprofit partners, and prioritizing relationship-building and mutual learning over scrutiny and transaction.
This session explores the core values that are fundamental to a trust-based approach, and the six grantmaking practices that help advance a healthier and more equitable nonprofit sector: 1) multiyear unrestricted funding, 2) doing the homework, 3) simplifying and streamlining paperwork, 4) being transparent and responsive, 5) soliciting and acting on feedback, and 6) offering support beyond the check. Hear concrete examples from foundation leaders that have operationalized these practices, as they share the details of transformation, their learnings along the way, and their approach to bringing along staff and boards on this journey.
Session #2: Culture
Hosted on March 3, 2022.
Speakers:
Dimple Abichandani, Executive Director, General Service Foundation
Pia Infante, Co-Executive Director, The Whitman Institute
Shruti Jayaraman, Chief Investments Officer, Chicago Beyond
Kim Moore Bailey, CEO, Justice Outside
Overview:
In order to nurture a trust-based culture, we must understand our starting point. The majority of institutions operate within a white dominant cultural context, wherein perceptions of trustworthiness and achievement are skewed in favor of those who have had access to – and have assimilated to – white dominant norms. In this default culture, we also tend to prioritize wealth over the communities we serve – as indicated in commonly used phrases such as return on investment, proof of concept, and even program “officer.”
This spotlight elevates the voices of philanthropy leaders who have prioritized culture-building within their organizations. They share strategies they are deploying to foster a sense of connection and collaboration, and what they’re doing to build and sustain trust internally so that they can advance their trust-based goals externally.
Session #3: Structures
Hosted on March 31, 2022.
Speakers:
Carrie Avery, President, The Durfee Foundation
Gabriela Alcalde, Executive Director, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation
Brittney Gaspari, Vice President, Community Investment, The Winston-Salem Foundation
Solomé Lemma, Executive Director, Thousand Currents
Overview:
An organization’s structures — its hierarchies, systems, policies, standardized processes, and technologies — are deeply connected to culture and values.
A full commitment to trust-based philanthropy requires funders to take a close look at our various structural elements through a trust-based lens – especially grant management systems, grant agreements, hiring practices, evaluation metrics, and decision-making structures. Because of the compliance-oriented culture that informs much of philanthropy, even the best-intentioned grantmaking organizations may find that their structures and processes inadvertently perpetuate power imbalances, obstructing their ability to fully operationalize trust-based philanthropy.
In this session, foundation leaders share their journeys of reviewing and assessing specific structures within their organizations and how they are using emergent learning to iterate and evolve their systems and processes in order to create an infrastructure of trust.
Session #4: Leadership
Hosted on May 5, 2022.
Speakers:
John Esterle, Co-Executive Director, The Whitman Institute
Jorge Blandón, Board Chair, The Whitman Institute
Brenda Solorzano, CEO, Headwaters Foundation
Mailee Walker, Executive Director, Claneil Foundation
Overview:
An organization’s leadership team plays a key role in upholding and reinforcing values and culture—not just by what is said, but what is done.
For this reason, trust-based philanthropy is most successful when there is buy-in and modeling from leadership. In a trust-based context, leaders strive to be collaborative and facilitative, focused on lifting up the whole team and building trust internally rather than consolidating power and influence at the trustee level. Most importantly, they lead by embodying values of humility, equity, and transparency — with a willingness to give up some of their power in service of the organization's greater purpose.
In this final session of the 4D series, we hear from practitioners who have embraced self-reflective practices to cultivate their own trust-based leadership, reimagining their roles and their trustees’ roles to advance a more intentional trust-based culture within their organizations.