Decolonizing philanthropy · Event recap
If the role of philanthropy is to advance social change, racial justice, and equity, how do we grapple with the systemic racism embedded in the nonprofit sector?
At a recent panel discussion hosted by Aperio Philanthropy and the George H. Heyman, Jr. Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising, nonprofit leaders gathered to wrestle with this question and discuss the decolonization of philanthropy.
Moderator:
George Suttles (he/him) – Executive Director, Commonfund Institute
Panelists:
Cynthia Heard (she/her) – Chief Operating Officer, Los Angeles Urban League
Hali Lee (she/her) – Founding Partner, Radiant Strategies, Asian Women Giving Circle
Rickke Mananzala (he/him) – Executive Director, New York Foundation
The panelists shared their thoughts and expertise on how wealth inequality and systemic racism contribute to a broken system of philanthropy and identified a path forward, sharing examples of organizations that are challenging existing methods of distributing resources. We explored these questions:
What does decolonizing philanthropy mean and how do we get there?
What does collective, democratized philanthropy look like?
What should be the role of institutional funders in social change?
What opportunities are there for people of color to lead change as philanthropists themselves?
Setting the stage: What does it mean to decolonize philanthropy?
This conversation is based on the shared understanding that philanthropy itself must change in order to advance social change. America’s long and sordid history of colonization still impacts how resources are distributed throughout society, including the nonprofit sector.
To kick off the conversation, Hali Lee shared a quote from Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva. “Money is like water. Water can be a precious life-giving resource. But what happens when water is dammed, or when a water cannon is fired on protesters in subzero temperatures?” Villanueva writes. “Money should be a tool of love, to facilitate relationships — to help us thrive, rather than to hurt and divide us. If it’s used for sacred, life-giving, restorative purposes, it can be medicine. Money, used as medicine, can help us decolonize.”
Money is just money; it is the organization and distribution of the money that makes a difference. Hali said, “I’m Korean American. Our culture has a concept called the ‘geh’,” a practice of collective charitable giving. Cultures all around the world have similar traditions and “connecting to these can make philanthropy in America less white,” Hali said.
In addition to reforming the distribution of funds, Cynthia Heard said, funders must “relinquish control and trust the processes of the organizations receiving the funds.” Rickke Mananzala agreed: “if we want organizations and movements to succeed, we have to find ways to resource this work in a way that shifts powers from the funders to the grassroots organizers.”
Shifting toward a collectivist approach
Cynthia called on funders to invest in local leaders and programs, to fund collaboration instead of creating competition, and to award unrestricted funding to organizations. “We should all toast to MacKenzie Scott, in my opinion,” said Cynthia, citing Scott as an example of a funder who awards unrestricted funds to people of color leading anti-racism work.
Hali shifted the conversation towards how communities can democratize philanthropy with an abundance mindset. “Let’s build the party we want to be at,” Hali said, “we can also build our own institutions, our own abundance.” Hali shared about her work with the Donors of Color Network and the Asian Women Giving Circle, two groups moving millions of dollars towards organizations with missions that promote freedom, justice, and equity for all.
Moderator George Suttles shared about his involvement with the NYC Racial Equity Endowment Fund, an organization that pools resources toward unrestricted support for resourced Black nonprofit and social impact leaders in New York City. Hali emphasized the deep need for a shift towards a collectivist outlook in philanthropy: “[there’s an] idea of moving from ‘me’ to ‘we,’ moving from an individual hero stance… to a ‘we’ position.”
Working inside and outside of the system
The conversation around decolonization is nuanced. Some people hold the perspective that the system is fundamentally fractured and needs to be torn down and rebuilt differently. Others advocate for incremental change, tending and mending the system. The panelists shared their viewpoints and offer ideas about what it might look like to balance these two opposing outlooks.
Hali quoted Farhad Ebrahimi of the Chorus Foundation saying, “Philanthropy is a transitional form… we invite change but change takes time.”
Rickke shared about organizations opting to work outside of what they have deemed is an irreparable system. “We’re seeing more LLCs, more cooperatives, and for-profit ventures” to address the same issues nonprofits are seeking to address.
Hali also called for more transparency in donor-advised funds (DAFs). “The best people to organize within Fidelity are Fidelity’s DAF holders,” Hali said. “I also really like what people like Lem White at Possibility Labs are doing… he’s building a DAF structure where you are rewarded for giving more of it away in a certain timeframe.”
Rickke addressed what change can look like within the existing systems, advocating for multi-year general operating support and trust-based philanthropy. Funders must “create more accessibility and understanding about how we fund the work that we fund,” said Rickke. He encouraged funders to think beyond grant-making practices as well. “We are only recently turning an eye to how [our endowment is] invested… moving away from extractive ways of investing in the economy to more regenerative ways.”
Grant-making organizations can make meaningful changes to the system by rethinking the role of a program officer. “Program officers are gatekeepers,” Rickke said. “How do we shift the role of a program officer from a gatekeeper to a facilitator, fundraiser, and organizer of their peers?” Rickke cited the Marguerite Casey Foundation as an organization that has rewritten the job description for their program officers, encouraging connection and facilitation of relationships.
Cynthia called attention to the fact that the impetus for securing funding is put on grant-seeking organizations, diminishing the time and resources spent on their programming. “We have to restructure the dance,” said Cynthia. Cumbersome application processes and extensive reporting requirements create barriers to funding for organizations with already limited capacity. “Typically, in our sector, we talk about what’s efficient for the donor,” said Hali. “Flip it and ask what’s efficient for the executive director.”
“Continue to put the pressure on us as funders,” said Rickke. “Philanthropy is listening.”
Activating donors of color
The panelists highlighted the opportunities for people of color to lead the decolonization of philanthropy. Hali shared the findings of her research, co-authored with Urvashia Vaid and Ashindi Maxton, Philanthropy Always Sounds Like Some Else: A Portrait of High Net Worth Donors of Color. Of the 113 high-net-worth people of color interviewed, “almost a quarter reported liquid net assets north of $30 million,” said Hali. There is untapped wealth among people of color that is largely ignored.
“We must stop seeing philanthropy as a white narrative,” Cynthia added. “Black households have outpaced giving of white households, and there are a growing number of black donors giving nonprofits reasons to be optimistic about the future of giving.”
Finding inspiration and moving forward
In the final moments of the discussion, panelists shared what’s been inspiring them to keep working towards dismantling discriminatory and oppressive systems in philanthropy. “There are groups that are out there charting their own paths to resource their work in ways that are both more sustainable but also more empowering,” said Rickke Mananzala. He shared the work of the Black Feminist Fund, the Trans Justice Funding Project, and the Southern Power Fund, three organizations breaking free from traditional models of philanthropy.
Cynthia Heard repeated the importance of community input in the distribution of resources. “Communities have to continue in this space to mandate accountability,” she said. “To the foundations: deploy your teams to the community to feel the pulse, to trust the pulse, and to move forward… it works.”
Hali Lee shared that she is inspired by people like Farhad Ebrahimi, Lem White, and people thinking outside the philanthropic ecosystem. “The social change ecosystem is a table and all of us have a seat around this table. The work is really big so we all need to do what we can to move these values of equity, justice, and fairness forward. Find your seat at the table… we need all of you, so let’s build this thing together.”
The conversation doesn’t end here. There are more equitable, more innovative ways to approach philanthropy. As Hali said, the work needed to decolonize the sector requires the advocacy and action of all of us.
Kathleen Nicholson
Prior to joining Aperio as Coordinator, Client Services, Kathleen worked in prospect management with the University of Nebraska Foundation, providing strategic support to UNF’s Foundation Relations team, Donor Experience team, Office of Trustee Engagement, and University of Nebraska at Omaha development team.
