Participatory Grantmaking's Approach to Mindful Giving
A new report says a growing number of funders are responding to demands that they be more accountable, transparent, and collaborative through participatory grantmaking.
The report from GrantCraft, a service of Foundation Center, explains:
Participatory grantmakers not only acknowledge and talk about power; they break down barriers that keep people powerless through an approach that realigns incentives, cedes control, and upends entrenched hierarchies around funding decisions. This is important, says research by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, because, “As a grantmaker, you cannot truly strive for and advance equity until you understand your own power and privilege in society and in relation to your grantees.”
Deciding Together: Shifting power and resources through participatory grantmaking acknowledges that participatory grantmaking "is a lever for disrupting and democratizing philanthropy."
Among the benefits of participatory philanthropy, states the report, are that it allows for a more thoughtful and informed decision-making process; it strengthens trust and credibility between donors and the constituencies with whom they work; and it promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in both the process and the outcomes.
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