What Philanthropy Needs is Courage
Anti-trans bills, the rise of white nationalist domestic terrorism, voter suppression and the fall of Roe v Wade are only a few of the ongoing threats to our democracy. And yet, instead of facing these issues head on, some in philanthropy are focused on a misguided call for pluralism that ignores white supremacy, racialized capitalism and other inequities. It’s an approach that places social justice on the same level as ideas that call for the dehumanization and genocide of whole swaths of our population. Vu Le beautifully dissects that call in his latest blog post. As he names, “people and communities most affected by systemic injustice are exhausted. We’re tired of our humanity and ability to exist being debated like some sort of academic exercise. We’re tired of the prioritizing of civility and comfort of the privileged over our safety and wellbeing.”
As the fervor of 2020’s racial reckoning begins to settle, and philanthropy is tempted to retract its funding for social justice efforts, we have a choice to make. We can either sit on our heels and ignore the role that philanthropy plays in maintaining unjust systems or we can step forward with courage to dismantle those systems.
In times like these, there is no such thing as sitting on the sidelines. In order to effect real change and address systemic issues of inequality and discrimination, philanthropy must challenge the status quo and take bold actions. Instead of a call for pluralism that ignores our current political context and the troubling history of philanthropy, what our sector needs instead is a commitment to courageous giving.
Courageous giving requires:
An unapologetically radical approach to philanthropy. “Radical” isn’t a dirty word. As Angela Davis explains, “Radical simply means "grasping things at the root.” We must insist on funding strategies that address the root causes of systemic injustice, even if those root causes implicate our own institutions. Those who are funding the extreme Right are unashamed of their genocidal views, so why does liberal philanthropy insist on limiting its impact by refusing to boldly advocate for and fund radical strategies?
Partnering with organizations who are on the frontlines of social change and led by those who are most impacted by systemic injustice. Those grassroots organizations that have been fighting injustice for decades hold the strategies and expertise necessary to effectively dismantle systemic oppression. Ash-Lee Henderson, Co-Executive Director of the Highlander Center regularly urges philanthropy to “fund us like you want us to win.”
Aggressively funding alternatives to the systems that were designed to maintain racialized capitalism. We must fund social justice innovations at the same level that we fund innovation in other sectors. Groups pushing for prison abolition and more caring ways of being in community are building beautiful alternatives that, with sustained funding, may be able to create scalable solutions.
Adopting a learning stance by developing a liberatory consciousness. Dr. Barbara J Love has developed a framework for liberatory consciousness that funders can use to deepen their understanding of why social injustices exist and develop ways of being to dismantle those injustices. To partner effectively with movement organizations, we must do our own work to understand the various forces at play in maintaining inequities.
Exhibiting courage means being willing to take risks and experiment with new strategies and approaches to social justice. While not every initiative or strategy will necessarily achieve success, it is essential to be prepared to undertake calculated risks to gain insight and develop new perspectives. The survival of those we love and the communities we claim to advocate for depends on it.
