As international aid budgets tighten and traditional grantmaking models come under increasing strain, a growing number of funders are asking a harder question than how to localize aid: How do you most effectively and sustainably finance local civil society?
For the Radical Flexibility Fund, the answer has not been to create yet another pooled fund or thematic window, but to rethink the financial architecture that underpins civil society itself — experimenting with loans, recoverable grants, and participatory governance structures that shift both capital and decision-making power closer to communities.
“We create new pathways and mechanisms to sustainably and equitably fund civil society, and find ways of shifting power to communities,” said Riva Kantowitz, founder and CEO of Radical Flexibility Fund, during a recent Pro Funding Briefing.