Who's Doing the Work? How to Shift Power and Not Just Workloads | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"Real participation means that people with lived experiences are not merely informing a single round of grantmaking but actively shaping strategy, influencing the types of grants and resources provided, and holding funders accountable."

"Instead of a polished slide deck, we taped a single sheet of paper to the wall where we sketched how our foundation develops funding strategies, who was involved, what the timelines look like, and how grant decisions were made. As we walked through the chart, people leaned forward, asked questions, and began suggesting how the process could look differently if those most affected were shaping it from the start."

"That simple sheet of paper embodied the shift we were seeking at Humanity United, to move beyond one-way consultations toward genuine partnerships, and to surface questions about who does the work, who holds the power, and whether participation would change not only what philanthropy funds but, ultimately, who is philanthropy accountable to."

Reimagining Philanthropy advocates for transformative, decolonialized approaches that shift the sector from hierarchical top-down models toward equitable, community-centered practices. Humanity United demonstrates this transformation through a 2021 convening in Kathmandu where migrant worker advocates and survivors from the Global Majority participated in reshaping funding strategies. Rather than presenting polished proposals, the foundation transparently mapped its decision-making processes on a single sheet of paper, inviting participants to suggest fundamental changes. Real participation extends beyond one-time consultations to genuine partnerships where affected communities actively shape strategy, influence grant types and resources, and maintain accountability over funders. This approach fundamentally questions who performs the work, who holds power, and to whom philanthropy remains accountable.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.