How can funders take practical steps toward equity and shared power in their relationships with community-based organizations?

This question shaped a session we led back in June 2021 at the Council on Foundations annual conference. The theme that year was “Raising the Bar”, encouraging philanthropic leaders to rethink their role as agents of change within their organizations and communities.

Bringing together different perspectives, the session featured Sarakk Rith, former Executive Director of PEPY Empowering Youth in Cambodia, Linda DeWolf, co-founder of GoPhilanthropic Foundation, and Emily Bild, then Director of Programs at GoPhilanthropic Foundation. Together, we explored what it really takes to shift power: drawing from PEPY’s experience as a grassroots organization, and GoPhilanthropic’s efforts to rethink its own funding practices.

The conversation sparked honest reflections on what builds sustainability for community-based organizations, the types of support that truly make a difference, and how funders can begin to dismantle the imbalances that often exist in these relationships.

Ahead of the session, we asked ourselves: “If we were to make this practical, what would it look like in day-to-day funding relationships?” Out of those conversations came a list of 10 actionable steps that funders – big or small – can start putting into practice. 

1.     Find the right partners: Ensure the partner organizations you support are deeply rooted in their communities, responding to communities’ needs and priorities and are tapping into local resources and networks. 

2.     Adopt a ‘Listen and Learn’ approach: Do not enter the funding relationship expecting to offer advice or guidance. Your partners are the experts in their community and their work. Your role as a funder is to listen deeply to them and learn what you can do to best support them. 

3.     Focus on your partners’ needs and vision: Likewise, do not expect to be setting the agenda or designing programs. Trust your partners to know what will work or not work in their communities and listen carefully to them to understand their needs and vision for their work. Then look for ways you can help them address those needs and achieve their vision. 

4.     Support core funding needs: Most grassroots organizations struggle to raise funds for core running costs, such as staff salaries, staff training, rent and utility bills. Yet these are all essential to the quality of their programs. Funding these line items – as opposed to limiting funding to specific projects – is key to creating stronger and more sustainable organizations.

5.     Involve your partners in strategic planning and processes: Create space for your partners to provide input into your strategies and plans, for example through a partner Advisory Panel. This will not only empower your partners, but will also help you to make better decisions as you have the opportunity to hear directly from different stakeholders. 

6.     Commit to flexibility across all areas of work: Ensure you are flexible in terms of reallocating funds and in your communications and reporting expectations. This is especially important during crisis situations. 

7.     Build trust: This takes time, but reaching out regularly and being open in your communications, checking in on partners when they are facing challenges, relying on catch up calls rather than written reports, are all key to building trusting relationships. This, in turn, leads to greater honesty and openness, so partners feel comfortable sharing their challenges as well as successes. 

8.     Offer more than just funds: Organizations need funds in order to achieve their goals, but they often require beyond-financial support too – opportunities and spaces to share their work more widely, connections to other funders, leadership training, capacity building support for their teams. Take time to find out what partners need in order to achieve their visions and goals and where possible, help them to access that support. 

9.     Promote cross-learning: Provide opportunities for your partners to network with others and learn from each other. Organizations all have strengths, skills, expertise and experience in different areas. Connecting your partners to each other allows them to support one another, and to share lessons learned and best practices. Building this solidarity also allows organizations and their leaders to feel less alone in the challenges they face. 

10.      Create opportunities for feedback and improvement: Be a learning organization and open to receiving criticism and suggestions! Ask your partners what you could do better or more of, what is helpful to them and what is not. Creating feedback mechanisms (such as anonymous partner feedback surveys) allows you to continuously learn and improve as a funder and strengthens the effectiveness of your work.  

In collaboration with: 

Sarakk Rith

Program Design and MEAL Lead at an education-focused NGO in Cambodia. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of PEPY Empowering Youths, a local organization dedicated to education and youth empowerment. Sarakk is deeply passionate about fostering local leadership and creating meaningful opportunities for young people to thrive. (Get in touch: sarakk.rith@gmail.com)