Should philanthropic organizations partner with social movements?

As philanthropy becomes even more prominent as a part of the international development funding framework, philanthropic organizations have work to do to confront systems of oppression and colonization on which they were often built — and to break those cycles. A new report by grantmaking organization Grassroots International has concluded that one of the most effective ways of doing so in the current moment is becoming more of a partner to burgeoning social movements. “There’s this feeling of things coming to a head in terms of the multiple crises that are upon us, especially the climate crisis, vis-a-vis rising authoritarianism and militarism. If we’re going to defend life, we really need to take a different way forward. Social movements are presenting these ways,” Christina Schiavoni, senior communications coordinator at Grassroots International, told Devex. The report calls out “the harm done by philanthropy” over the decades — it references the likes of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan who built their wealth during the Industrial Revolution but did so while exacerbating inequalities — and lists eight reasons funding social movements could be a way of “reversing wrongdoings by returning wealth to the communities from which it was extracted.” These include the fact that social movements are built upon root cause analysis, which means any solutions are likely to be transformative, often address issues pertaining to both people and planet, and have the ability to save lives. The global food sovereignty movement has seen success, for example, in creating regional action plans to advance food security; the clean air movement in Thailand has forced the development of a clean air act, which it is hoped will avoid lives lost to cancers and lung disease; and the #NiUnaMenos movement against gender-based violence in Latin America has led to new laws being implemented in Argentina and the creation of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity to better protect women from femicide. “It is a way of practicing philanthropy that is aligned with the visions and values of social movements.” --— Christina Schiavoni, senior communications coordinator, Grassroots International Collective action can advance progress, especially when the world is in what Katherina Rosqueta, founding executive director at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy, calls “an era of much more political polarization.” “When you have political polarization, different stakeholders who have different perspectives on what the right thing is to do can't come together to advance good policy that could help everybody,” she explained. This makes traditional policy advancement difficult. Supporting social movements is another way of creating sustainable change. One of CHIP’s frameworks discusses the tradeoffs and risks of funding different strategies, including advocacy, and states that despite the high reputational and political risk that comes with supporting a specific cause, it can lead to more sustainable change. “Is the social movement’s aim consistent with the funders’ mission? If so, then, funders can look for existing nonprofits with capabilities to contribute to that movement,” Rosqueta said. Grassroots’ report states that by financing social movements, philanthropies can “directly resource the power-building efforts that are necessary to create deep transformation in systems, structures, and culture toward social, economic, and ecological justice.” Doing this while being cognizant of the wrongdoings that created philanthropies in the first place is what the report refers to as “solidarity philanthropy.” “It is a way of practicing philanthropy that is aligned with the visions and values of social movements, and in a way that embodies internationalism and solidarity in ongoing praxis with social movements,” Schiavoni said. It centers justice and creates a space for organizing, according to the report, which compiles 40 years of grantmaking into lessons for global grantmakers and humanitarian aid funders on how to work with social movements. These include channeling “stolen wealth” to the global south, offering flexible funding, supporting public foundations, and joining a donor network. Right now, Schiavoni doesn’t believe that giving in this way is something that’s widely practiced. “The donors are the ones that need to be working harder to understand how impact can happen.” --— Katherina Rosqueta, founding executive director, Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania As it stands, foundations currently hold upwards of $1.5 trillion, but only a small fraction of philanthropic funds make it to social movements on the ground. In the United States, only 10% of money given by grantmakers in 2021 went to advocacy efforts, while less than 1% in Europe went to grassroots and movement-building. Even less is thought to be channeled into movements in the global south. This is likely worsening amid global aid cuts. “They need so much more funding. They need all of us to organize from within our own corners to work to change the system together with them,” said Boston-based Schiavoni. To support that, the report will be supplemented by a tool kit to be released in 2026 to detail how to put some of these ideas into practice. Rosqueta, who is also faculty codirector at the High Impact Philanthropy Academy, which runs a course for grantmakers on how to unlock the potential of their philanthropic activity, suggested funders look for existing nonprofits with capabilities to contribute to its own aims and explained that philanthropy doesn’t have to be specific to the giving of wealth but could also mean engaging in other ways — such as advocacy and public education efforts, working with the media to change the narrative around a cause, or impact investing. “Those are all ways that philanthropy can punch above its weight and create greater change,” she said. “The donors are the ones that need to be working harder to understand how impact can happen,” Rosqueta said. “How are these organizations making change happen, and how can I enable that? That’s where the conversation needs to go.”