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The
Community Organizing Toolbox
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GRANTMAKERS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
| There are many reasons why funders have been hesitant to fund organizing efforts. ...[But] organizing is fundamentally about relationship building, and an intersection of the values of community and the interest of individuals. Organizing is about community building and is a process that helps ensure our democratic values and citizenship. Organizing efforts can cut across our diverse society, connecting interests, issues and basic objectives to build community. Organizing also involves the development of leaders and community bridge builders, who should be of special importance to funders. After all, one goal of philanthropy is to build bridges between people to solve problems. Many foundations have retreated from funding organizing, both because of myths and from real experiences. The myths need to be busted and real issues need to be discussed. Foundations need to understand when and why different organizing models work. Organizing needs to be placed within the context of community building. Where does it fit? How does it compare with other techniques and strategies, advocacy, economic development and systems change?49 |
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- San Francisco
Foundation - Forum on Organizing
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ISSUES TO CONSIDER AT THE START
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Other Funders as a Great Resource Grantmakers who are already investing in CO are
more than willing to help other funders explore it as a potential
strategy. They actively seek funding partners for their work. They
know the issues and have advice about how to handle them. They know
the questions that need answering before a foundation can make a
strong commitment to CO. The examples in this section can be used
as a starting point for further investigation and serious conversation
with peers. Assistance for making connections with peer funders
involved with CO is available to NFG members through NFG's Member
Directory, at www.nfg.org, or to nonmembers by emailing nfg@nfg.org.
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This section of the Toolbox addresses a number of key issues that grantmakers may want to address before initiating, strengthening or expanding a CO grantmaking program.
- What are the most important reasons an increasing number of grantmakers are prioritizing CO? Why has a core group of funders made commitments to supporting CO over a long period of time?
- How do funders determine what efforts and organizations within the CO field best fit with their grantmaking objectives?
- What do funders think about CO's impact?
- How do CO's results compare with those of other programs or initiatives in grantmaking portfolios?
- How does CO relate to and affect other grantmaking strategies, particularly those focused on community efforts intended to benefit poor people? How are these connections working?
- What are the challenges to CO's development and how can funders contribute to extending CO's use and impact?
- How can funders evaluate CO to assure funders that grantees are meeting the objectives specified in their proposals, to assist funders in determining the overall value of the strategy for social change, and to help grantees strengthen their organizations and their work?
- What are the specific steps a funder should take in exploring and
developing a CO grantmaking strategy?
49 Joe Brooks, Rowena Pineda, Fred Blackwell, "Introduction," ORGANIZING: A Fundamental Step in Ensuring Citizen Participation in a Democratic Society, San Francisco Foundation, 1996.