Keeping Up with the Caseys...

Because the COVID pandemic affected everyone but emphasized the inequities in most societies, it has also raised questions about philanthropic approaches to addressing those inequities. Carmen Rojas, PhD (she/her) , President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation , has been examining all aspects of that Foundation's approaches to philanthropy and encouraging others to do the same.

In a recent article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review , "Seeding a More Just Future," Dr. Rojas calls out shifts in the philanthropic sector. If you are a philanthropist or a nonprofit trying to create change, as we are at Hands of Peace by empowering #Israeli, #Palestinian and American #youth through #dialogue, #skillsbasededuction and #socialaction, it is worth reading the whole article linked above, and thinking about whether you are keeping up with these shifts as described below.

For instance, I've noticed that some of the smallest grants require extensive applications, multiple document attachments and budgets to the penny, making it less likely that small organizations will apply, even though every grant is more meaningful to grassroots organizations.

Says Dr. Rojas:

"The first shift is “how” our work has radically changed in the last two years. A sector that was once dominated by burdensome applications, the unrealistic expectations of the $25,000 grant that would transform society, and a desire for attribution has let these practices go in service of greater ease, transparency, and relationship. Strategic philanthropy is being abandoned for trust-based philanthropy. Many philanthropic leaders are openly interrogating the norms within their institutions that have hindered movements for racial and economic justice. Multi-year general operating support, shorter applications, and reports collected through interaction and relationship are now more commonplace practices. These shifts in how we do our work are making it possible for many leaders to lead as opposed to solely spending their time and gifts fundraising.

The next shift is the honest ways that many institutions are openly supporting the world of ideas. For a long time, philanthropy has narrated itself as a benevolent force without ideological commitments. Lots of billionaires and billion-dollar institutions were just “trying things to make the world better” without clearly articulating the ways they were putting their fingers—or better yet, entire hands—on the scale for specific ideological projects with political, economic, and social consequences. Two places where this has been felt is in the privatization of public schools and the bolstering of police forces with philanthropic resources. It has been a relief to see a handful of funders explicitly name the ways their institutions are supporting non-partisan ideological projects. For example, in both @Marguerite Casey Foundation's Freedom Scholar awards and Hewlett Foundation's Economy and Society Initiative, our institutions are funding and advancing ideas toward a vision of the world we believe is possible.

The last shift is the situational awareness of philanthropy within our current political and economic moment. Our democracy has been on the brink for nearly a decade and our economy has not met the needs of working people for generations. The threat of authoritarianism, greater visibility of white supremacy, and plutocratic political norms are real and so many philanthropic institutions are naming and engaging them in their work. Institutions that were once frozen due to fear of being perceived as too political or partisan are clear that turning a blind eye to these realities will not make them go away."

Asking Board members, staff, supporters and, most importantly, our intended beneficiaries to consider whether we are keeping up with these shifts is a great way to start a conversation on how to have greater mission-specific impact.