(Illustration by Andrea Mongia)
Philanthropy is crucial to sustaining and strengthening democracy, now more than ever. Trust-based philanthropy, like democracy, happens through practice. Both require commitment, rigor, and adaptivity. As this supplement has shown, some philanthropic leaders and institutions are exercising democratic, trust-based practices that could contribute to a more manifest multiracial democracy in our time.
The Future of Philanthropy Is Trust-Based
The trust-based philanthropy movement has grown in rapid time, but there are still basic misunderstandings about this approach and its bold vision for a more just and democratic society. This supplement illustrates what a trust-based approach really means, why it is essential to effective philanthropy, and what will be possible if more funders embrace it. Sponsored by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project
If funders understand our collective goal to be strengthening and sustaining democracy, especially as democracy has come under attack around the world, trust-based philanthropy has a major role to play. To illustrate the connection between an embodied practice of democracy and trust-based philanthropy, I highlight the work of three powerful leaders: Brenda Solorzano, a trust-based funder in Montana; Aria Florant, a movement leader bringing reparations and repair to the work of philanthropy; and Kierra Johnson, the executive director of a national LGBTQ+ justice nonprofit.
Invest in community wisdom. | As the inaugural CEO of the Headwaters Foundation, Brenda Solorzano led a democratic process to build a trust-based foundation in Montana. She began by listening to others. In what she refers to as the 600 Cups of Coffee Tour, she worked her way across western Montana to talk to communities about their lives. For Solorzano, the tour’s purpose was about “having frank conversations with the people of Montana—city officials, tribal communities, health workers, childcare providers, parents, and nonprofit leaders—about health-related issues that were most important to them.” Communities shared their desire for the foundation to “go upstream” to address the root causes of poverty and poor health outcomes among Montanans, and to build more collaboration between organizations and across sectors.
With a committed board and staff that viewed the foundation as a community resource, Headwaters developed a democratic ethos through a trust-based framework. Across differences of perspective, identity, priorities, and history, Headwaters collaborated with nonprofit partners to support community-defined interventions that have contributed to better health outcomes in western Montana. Solorzano’s work represents how funders are forging in building institutions committed to the practice of democracy and trust-building.
Trust requires truth-telling. | “When we think of power as only something that’s likely to abuse us, we often become so counter-dependent on it that we forget our own agency in that scenario. This is actually part of the recipe for authoritarianism,” says Aria Florant, cofounder and CEO of Liberation Ventures.
Florant has worked to help social sector and philanthropic leaders understand the importance of reclaiming our individual and collective power. For Florant, our ability to remake our relationship to power, including financial power, is critical to building a multiracial democracy. “When power can show up differently in the form of trust-based philanthropy,” Florant says, “it makes space for those who have perceived themselves to not have power to feel more of their power and to start to construct relationships that are built on so much more.”
As Florant and others have indicated, building a future where money and resources are equitably shared cannot happen without reckoning with the past. Laura Gerald, the president of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, recently shared that “there is no trust without truth.” Gerald’s call mirrors growing efforts in the sector to encourage donors and funders to examine philanthropy’s history as a product of racial capitalism. There can be no trust-based future without reckoning with the reality that philanthropy exists because of structural inequities.
The work of grappling with the sources of foundation wealth requires both humility and courage, but it is required if our aim is to break inequities once and for all. Luckily, Florant and her collaborators have created a reparations road map that could model shifts beyond philanthropy to make federal-level reparative change.
Realize that the future is our responsibility. | Trust-based philanthropy allows funders to share power, collaborate, and learn from social-movement leaders such as Kierra Johnson, the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. When asked what it would look like if trust-based philanthropy were the norm, Johnson responded that nonprofits and social movements would finally “shift from thinking of ourselves as an identity-based movement to one that is building our democracy—where we are instrumental in infrastructural and cultural solutions to the problems in this country and not having to focus solely on just surviving.”
At the center of Johnson’s work is an intersectional analysis. Without recognizing connections between our often-siloed work, Johnson says, funders and nonprofits provide piecemeal solutions rather than “harnessing our collective power to change the fabric of democracy.” We do not have to look very far to see the interconnected nature of issues or imagine how more intentional alignment would make our work more effective.
The message from Johnson and other movement leaders is clear: Funders need to use our resources and our imaginations to set the conditions for trust. Only then can we achieve structural and cultural change.
In trust-based philanthropy, funders are saying “I trust you” to the communities we serve, many of whom the political, social, and economic systems have consistently failed. Johnson calls on funders to “show us you believe communities have the power to shape society, to build a democracy that we’ve never seen before.”
Practicing Democracy
The ultimate work of trust-based philanthropy is to build a democracy that acknowledges the role of structural racism in the creation of wealth in the United States. One where decision-making takes place in communities rather than behind foundation doors. A democracy that is a daily practice emphasizing the connections between our work and the solutions that collaboration makes possible.
Like democracy, trust-based philanthropy is strengthened through practice. Its impact only grows when it’s implemented collectively. I am grateful to Brenda Solorzano, Aria Florant, Kierra Johnson, the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project staff and steering committee, and our many other colleagues who have helped evolve and strengthen this approach with generosity, humility, and conviction.
My fierce hope is that these models and others weave together to help build a strong, multiracial democracy and trust-based future.
Support SSIR’s coverage of cross-sector solutions to global challenges.
Help us further the reach of innovative ideas. Donate today.
Read more stories by Pia Infante.