Two weeks ago, I met with a colleague who was invited to a convening of funders in Seattle. He reported that the funders present were wringing their hands, unsure of what their foundations should be doing to respond to the rapid dismantling of democracy and the exponential increase in suffering communities are facing.
This week, David Callahan of Inside Philanthropy wrote a post on LinkedIn reporting similar dynamics of tentativeness among funders across the sector. David suggests several possible reasons for the hesitation, including shellshock from the cruelty and chaos unleashed by this administration, as well as funders’ lack of knowledge and confidence as to what strategies would work to counter it. While David and I agree on a lot of things, it’s this last point he makes where we may differ in opinions:
“Third, there’s only so much that funders can or should do to lead. Philanthropy’s main role is to support civil society groups, who rightly should be out front in the pushback to Trump’s actions. If those organizations aren’t coalescing around a set of promising big strategies — and there’s no sign they are — funders have limited options. They can’t bankroll grand new plans to fight MAGA if such plans don’t yet exist.
“Or, as one foundation CEO told me, ‘People keep yelling at us to give out more money, but for what?’”
Continue reading “Funders, here’s the blueprint for saving democracy”
