Are You Trying to be Trustworthy?
You don't always have to be in control...
What does it mean to be a “Trust-Based” Donor?
This question, or misunderstandings of what is “Trust-Based Philanthropy,” is coming up a lot these days.
For example, I am sure that readers of Who Gives? are most likely aware of what Bill Ackman has been up to lately. In case you missed it, you can read about his extreme dislike for DEI programs, and his all out campaign to push the former chancellor of Harvard out of her role.
(Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital (Mike Blake/Reuters))
The bottom line is that Ackman regularly throws his power around to benefit himself. He seems to do it without concern or regard for the communities he supposedly supports; rather he seeks to make a point about what he believes is most important. In my opinion, he is a deeply untrustworthy donor.
I expect that any grantee watching his behavior likely shudders at his display.
At the heart of being a supportive donor is a commitment to trustworthiness. Trust is critical for healthy relationships (most importantly funding ones), yet we learn everyday how donors assume that their position affords them high levels of trust and demand that the grantees prove theirs.
Trust requires demonstrating an ability to be responsive, supportive, and capable of centering community voice and influence in your grantmaking. Grantees are required to demonstrate all of these characteristics when seeking funding from donors, but do they experience the same when engaging a wealth holder?
Given the overwhelming amount of controlling behavior and power in the donor community, earnest foundations struggle to demonstrate their trustworthiness. Building trusting relationships is made more challenging when the Ackmans of the world abuse their power on the international stage. One overly controlling donor can be a setback for every trustworthy philanthropist.
Without trust, grantees come into the partnership reluctant to share their perspective. Instead of seeking advice when experiencing challenges or developing strategies that they know work best, they feel pressured to defer to the donor to receive much needed funding.
One overly controlling donor can be a setback for every trustworthy philanthropist
Those of us in the foundation sector who have committed to a more supportive form of donor engagement reject controlling behaviors. And, the movement is growing. At the core of this movement are three critical behaviors (all of which build on the Trust Based Philanthropy framework):
Put the community’s perspective first. Donors committed to being trustworthy support the goals, strategies, tactics, and metrics of their partners.. They recognize that the frontline actors working on America’s greatest challenges know best, and as a funder you show up to support their vision.
Respond to (or go beyond) what the community needs. Trustworthy donors reduce barriers to giving and give at levels the community needs. They put aside fake rules like perpetuity, absorptive capacity, legacy, and intensive due diligence. They move the resources requested of them. If donors want to build more trust, they move more resources than requested. Given the insufficient funding most grantees receive, they are likely nervous about asking for what they truly need. A trustworthy donor rises above that dynamic and gives more.
Share power. Given the Capitalist mindset of American culture, wealth holders hold innate power above all others in society. Trustworthy donors recognize this mindset and work to undo it where they can. Find ways to shift decision making to communities. Eliminating terms, evaluation, and other restrictions demonstrates that you are a partner grantees can trust. Most of all, recognize that the community is responsible for holding grantees accountable, not the donor.
For decades, American philanthropy has failed to meet the moment before us. We have over $1.5T in assets to return to historically marginalized communities. To improve our results and undue historical disparities, donors must demonstrate their trustworthiness or the critical relationships we have with community partners will disintegrate.
In case you missed it…
I joined with one of the great Stupski Foundation alums, Mari Shimabukuro, to share our opinions on one of the most detrimental fake rules in our sector.
Thank you to Northern California Grantmakers for recommending this topic and having the courage to post about it.
The first two episodes featuring Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s Senior Fellow Pia Infante and Stupski’s Director of Postsecondary Success, Jennifer Nguyen, are out now!
Hear from rule breakers in philanthropy, nonprofits, government, and media to learn which challenges they’ve overcome by breaking fake rules and which rules we should commit to breaking together.
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