LinkedIn Root Causes Fund: Pioneering a New Wave of Corporate Philanthropy for Global Social Justice - Using a Practice of Participatory Grantmaking

I wrote this three-part (Part 1, Part 3) series with the hopes of encouraging the social sector to do more to support the justice-oriented leaders and organizations doing the work of liberation day in and day out. I hope my fellow social impact practitioners and impact champions will be encouraged and learn from my journey.

At the start of this project, I acknowledged that no matter how deep my analysis of anti-Black racism, misogynoir, colonization, and Indigenous history and practices was, it remained imperative to incorporate community expert voices throughout the process. Additionally, LinkedIn, as a company, doesn't have the salient credibility, relationships, or network in this space, nor should it be the sole arbiter of power and truth when it comes to engaging with Black and Indigenous communities in Brazil.?

Participatory grantmaking is ultimately about ceding power, bringing lived experience and community expertise to the decision-making table, and co-creating a shared vision of impact.?

I admittedly didn't know where to start in this process, which is why I asked the amazing Jandira Queiroz, a Brazilian facilitator, to consult with the LinkedIn team through this process and identify the right Black and Indigenous community advisors for the Brazilian pilot. Jandira has over 15 years of experience in campaign strategy for human rights, gender equity, LGBTQIA+, and minorities. She currently works with Global & Collective, an international social change collective led by women and people of color.?

Through establishing trust and shared values, together, we onboarded a powerful and wisdom-filled trio of women — Marcelle Decothé, Sandra Silva, and Lua Couto, — with vast expertise in working in social movements to help us along this journey.?

As a collective, we defined the following high-level shared philanthropic criteria to guide our grantmaking efforts. We aimed to support organizations that were:??

• Black and Indigenous-led and a majority of the organization’s staff were of Black and Indigenous descent.
• Focused on economic power and built on the perspective of structural mobility. We searched for organizations that make the connection between their justice work and socio-economic opportunities for under-represented groups and individuals; adopt a decolonial approach to their social justice work; and don’t reinforce extractivist or capitalist systems, by focusing on employability as a way to achieve greater purchasing power.
• Located in diverse geographies. We aimed to include a mix of organizations that are founded, based, and/or work in diverse places that have historically been overlooked and underfunded, including: Peripheries and favelas; Northern and Northeast regions of Brazil; Rural communities; and traditional peoples’ lands and territories, such as Quilombolas, Ribeirinhos, Catadoras, African-Brazilian religious communities, and others, including those in the Amazon, Rainforest, Hinterland (Sert?o), Pantanal etc.
• Positively impacted by this funding, meaning that our donation should not represent a work overload on the organization’s operational capacity and should allow for institutional development.

As as collective, we used the full version of this criteria to award five amazing organizations with long-term unrestricted grants:

1. Das Pretas (LinkedIn, Instagram) – A social innovation and technology lab dedicated to promoting socio-inclusive empowerment and awareness of marginalized communities in Brazil. The organization's work includes providing access to education for Black female entrepreneurs in marginalized areas, digital inclusion, and advocacy for significant policy changes supporting the development of the Black population.?

• Leader: Priscila Gama (LinkedIn, Instagram)

2. Associa??o Mulheres Quilombolas Em A??o Dandara dos Palmares (Instagram) – Founded by Quilombola women, the organization aims to empower individuals affected by social inequalities and domestic violence. Its focus is on generating economic mobility, creating jobs, and advocating for more equitable community outcomes.?

• Leader: Sirlene Santos (LinkedIn)

3. Associa??o das Mulheres Munduruku Wakoborun –?

The association, formed by hundreds of Munduruku women, has a mission to support the resistance movement of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu people. Their objectives include increasing the participation of warrior women in decision-making, exploring alternative income-generating avenues, advocating for the demarcation of indigenous lands, and defending Munduruku territories against destructive projects.

• Leader: Collective Indigenous Leadership

4. Sim Eu Sou do Meio (LinkedIn, Instagram) – The organization is dedicated to lifting the community out of social, economic, and political invisibility by championing the digital and technological inclusion of young individuals and women aged 35 and above, with a strong emphasis on workforce entry. Sim! Eu Sou do Meio also engages in educational, cultural, and sports activities, fostering socio-productive inclusion to generate income through entrepreneurship. This includes activities such as baking, pastry making, eyebrow design, eyelash extensions, and hair braiding, catering to both cis and trans women. In 2023, the organization directly impacted 1,250 students and provided over 4,500 monthly services through the Raízes do Meio Solidarity Kitchen.

• Leader: Deborah Silva (LinkedIn, Instagram)

5. Malungu (Instagram): Malungu is a non-profit civil association established by Quilombola communities in the State of Pará, Brazil, advocating for human rights based on the pillars of resistance, identity, and rights. It emerged as one of the outcomes of the struggles waged by Quilombola women and men who, since the late 1980s, have been demanding the guarantee of their territorial rights. To better coordinate with communities across all municipalities, Malungu has five Regional Coordinations, each with its respective Quilombola representatives responsible for daily actions in the communities.

• Leader: Collective Leadership

In a participatory grantmaking process, any false humility exemplified by the funding source taints the collective world-building and vision casting that is usually fostered by participatory grantmaking. For our team, real humility leads us to a healthy place of deference to Sandra, Marcelle, and Lua.?

Being able to soak in their wisdom and discard our preconceived notions of justice was actually a liberating experience for us. Not having all the answers or being the source of truth gave us the space to learn and grow. It was truly refreshing and underscored the importance of collectivism and communal actions that I’ll explore further in part three.