Trust-Based Philanthropy

[Michelle Fifis]

I recently came across a two-page guide from the Trust-based Philanthropy Project outlining six trust-based practices that can alleviate power imbalances in grantee relationships. I thought this resource could be helpful for many of you, but I would also love to hear about your experiences with these practices. 

Have you and your teams explored the potential benefits of trust-based philanthropy, or have you already implemented any of the highlighted practices? What challenges have you faced, and what successes have you seen?

[Michelle Fifis]

@jordande, @computerbutler, @Om Prakash, @jakewood and @EllenRossi do you have experiences with trust-based philanthropy that you would be willing to share with the community? Thanks in advance!

[Ingrid_IndexEng]

Thanks for sharing that. We choose our charities, rather than them coming to us for funding, so much doesn't apply.

However I think we align somewhat with 1), 2) and 6), as below:

1) Multi-year unrestricted funding. We don't restrict the uses of the funding and trust the charity to do what it does best. While we have an informal commitment to multi-year funding, this has not been communicated to the charities. I can see how that kind of info might be useful for the charity for forward planning.

2) Do the homework. I researched charities that might align and found a lesser known not-for-profit that works for endangered species. I looked at all their information, board structure, longevity etc before deciding to support them.

6)  Offer support beyond the check. We provide links to the charities we support on our website and in newsletters so that our clients learn about them, and share THEIR newsletters with our team. This means if anyone wants to, they can take action such as signing petitions, writing to Government, attending other support days for the charity. The charities are quite keen to come and talk to our staff on an annual basis, to raise awareness of the value they bring.

[Michelle Fifis]

Thank you so much, @Ingrid_IndexEng! When researching charities, do you have any resources or websites that are particularly helpful?