Beyond Trust-Based Philanthropy: Ms. Foundation Report Advocates for Care-Based Giving
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memorial protest in New york for breonna taylor. A new report encourages funders to consider the personal toll experienced by women and non-binary movement leaders. Steve Sanchez Photos/shutterstock
In its influential 2020 report, “Pocket Change: How Women and Girls of Color Do More With Less,” the Ms. Foundation for Women found that total philanthropic giving for women and girls of color in 2017 totaled $356 million — or $5.48 for every woman or girl of color in the U.S. That's a mere 0.5% of the total $66.9 billion that was distributed by foundations that year.
Ms. Foundation's latest report, “Living With Pocket Change: What it Means to Do More With Less,” builds on the findings of its 2020 report and examines the impact that persistent “disinvestment and underinvestment in the leadership of women and nonbinary people of color, as well as the organizations they take.” In addition to presenting real-life examples of the challenges these leaders face, the report also offers several suggestions philanthropists can take to better support women and nonbinary leaders of color.
In particular, the report calls on philanthropy to move beyond trust-based philanthropy — a less-prescriptive approach to giving that gained traction during the pandemic — to what it describes as a care-based approach. For the Ms. Foundation, doing so is especially important given the crucial role women and nonbinary people of color have played in advancing progress throughout U.S. history and the outsized toll the work takes on these movement leaders.
“Women and nonbinary people of color have led nearly every impactful grassroots movement in the United States history to preserve and expand democracy — from the abolition of slavery, suffragette movement, civil rights movements, criminal justice reform and climate justice to fighting for farm workers' rights, fair wages for domestic workers and the end of racial profiling,” the report notes.
Given the recent pushback against this progress — including the erosion of civil rights, women's rights and LGBTQ rights — and the continued attacks against democracy, supporting these leaders is of urgent importance. A lack of adequate support for women and nonbinary people of color is not only harmful for the leaders themselves, it is ultimately to the detriment of the social justice movement ecosystem, as well, the report concludes.
It calls for a “true and full investment” in these leaders by addressing their needs comprehensively and holistically. “We cannot ignore the unique challenges confronted by women and nonbinary people of color in their struggle for funding,” the report says. “They navigate a complex terrain marked by systemic racial and gendered oppression, necessitating a response that goes beyond trust alone. It demands a radical transformation of philanthropic institutions, accountability to communities and repositioning grantees in relation to power and resources, rooted in an ethic of care.”
“A mass exodus”
As the report points out, the chronic lack of adequate support from funders takes an enormous toll on women and nonbinary leaders of color, largely due to the fact that they often find themselves having to play several roles in their work. For example, these leaders have to deal with pressure from both their communities and from philanthropy to accomplish more with less funding. At the same time, they often have to spend much of their time and energy educating funders about the issues and challenges their communities face, all while navigating the power and racial dynamics that exist between funders and grantees. This is in addition to caring for their own families and communities.
Such work, all done with resource constraints, negatively impacts women and nonbinary leaders of color. “The impacts are multiplicative and ultimately compromise their health, wellness and sustainability to continue doing the work,” the report notes.
One of the biggest issues impacting women and nonbinary leaders of color is burnout, which has led to what the report refers to as a “mass exodus of movement leadership,” which in turn threatens the stability of individual organizations as well as the ecosystems of social movements as a whole. The insufficient financial support, which includes small, short-term and restricted grants, makes it all the more difficult for leaders to be able to recruit and retain staff.
Trust-based philanthropy is a trend that has emerged in recent years and includes practices such as multi-year, unrestricted support, as well as simplified applications and grant reporting. The Ms. Foundation report argues that while implementing trust-based philanthropic practices is “an excellent starting point” to reshape the unequal power dynamics between funders and nonprofits, it is simply not enough. That's where care-based philanthropy comes into play.
“Care requires us to consider the unique needs and experiences of historically excluded communities, particularly women and nonbinary people of color, who bear the brunt of systemic racial and gendered oppression. It means investing in their healing, wellbeing, safety and survival,” the report states.
Recommendations for funders
The report offers seven key recommendations for funders interested in better supporting women and nonbinary people of color and the organizations they lead. Chief among the recommendations — the focus of the report — is integrating an ethic of care. This means adequately investing not only in leadership, but in their sustainability and wellbeing. An ethic of care will also minimize emotional labor, make intentional efforts to shift power imbalances, and integrate healing justice approaches in their funding, which includes things like hiring additional staff members or contractors to coordinate or offer wellness services, flexible remote work and time-off policies.
Another suggestion for funders is to develop authentic relationships with women and nonbinary leaders of color. This can be done by understanding and addressing structural racism and how it manifests in philanthropy; encouraging conversations about rest and support sabbaticals; providing support for dignified salaries and benefits; and crucially, starting honest conversations about what support looks like and adjusting their approach based on what organization leaders say.
The report also recommends supporting the long game. Progress rarely happens quickly. Instead, funders should be in it for the long-haul, funding intermediaries and public foundations that are close to communities; supporting cross-movement solidarity work; being transparent by making data and reports available to activists; being open to failure; and being steadfast in times of transition.
Another recommendation is to fund self-directed capacity-building of women and nonbinary leaders of color and organizations. This can be done by offering support before leaders have to ask for it; having resources set aside for unplanned requests; and if the funder doesn’t already offer capacity-building support, by supporting funding intermediaries, foundations and funds that provide both funding and capacity-building.
Other suggestions include breaking down silos in philanthropy by funding collaboratively and across issues; building an evidence base and strengthening accountability; and investing in the wellness, power and influence of women and nonbinary leaders of color.
The report adds that through care, funders can “forge a more just and equitable future, where philanthropy's resources are channeled more effectively to support and sustain the communities that need it most” by continuing to embrace trust-based practices while “embarking on a radical transformation rooted in care.”
“By listening and honoring the experiences and needs of our grantees, we contribute to the emergence of a vibrant movement that propels us toward collective liberation,” the report adds. “Together, we have the power to rewrite the narrative of philanthropy, reimagining it as an instrument of justice, compassion and lasting change.”
The full report can be found here.
