At Skoll, lessons on resilience and how to pivot during a crisis

At this year’s Skoll World Forum, there was much discussion on how to best move forward in the wake of extensive U.S. foreign aid cuts that have shaken the global development sector. Opinions varied, depending on who you talked to.

“Funders are facing big changes, and some of them are not used to big changes, so they're having lots of discussions about what to do,” said Doug Galen, CEO of Rippleworks. “Ventures, on the other hand, are facing big changes and just dealing with them head-on, making decisions, and embracing what is happening.”

Resilience in the face of crisis was the theme of a Skoll session led by Rippleworks, a California-based foundation embarking on its 10th year in the social impact space, and Atti Worku, co-CEO of the African Collaborative. According to Galen and Worku, those with experience on the front lines of crisis response were typically less rattled and more optimistic about what lies ahead.

“The way most of the people who do the work on the ground are looking at it is that this is a rare opportunity to rethink how global development works,” Worku said.

Speaking to Devex, Galen and Worku reflected on their discussions at Skoll with fellow leaders in the philanthropy and nonprofit space, shared thoughts on how to pivot quickly in moments of crisis, and what foundations can learn about resilience from locally led ventures.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What themes were top of mind during the Skoll World Forum?

Galen: I feel like it was a “tale of two cities” in that there were themes for funders and for ventures, and they were starkly different in terms of what was happening. On the funding side, there was a U.S.-centric approach of “what is happening and what do we do,” and that was overshadowing a lot of the conversation. But then funders based in Asia were saying, “The sun is rising in philanthropy in our part of the world.”

Meanwhile, the venture side was just hitting the issues straight on. If they need to change their financing model, they're looking at how to change it. If they have to make the hard decision to lay people off, they’re looking for the best ways to do that humanely.

Could you highlight some of the crisis-response strategies that stood out to you during the Skoll discussion or any others that you think are worth more attention?

Galen: From a funding perspective, the first thing is to do the basics: No-questions-asked emergency funding. Second, remove distractions from venture leaders by reducing or eliminating unnecessary requirements that you have regarding how money is being used by the ventures or the need to frequently report back on their progress. Next, increase your payout and take some risk with that. Then the last thing funders are thinking about is how to care for their portfolio, which is great. Double down on your portfolio and take risks on new ventures because we need to continue expanding.

Atti Worku: Another one that I’m seeing on the ground from organizations is collaboration for service delivery, particularly between organizations that are doing similar work but also with local governments in areas where governments are able to step up.

Organizations on the ground are pivoting based on the needs of their community because they're there and because people trust them. When things start to crumble like this, the way they did during COVID, communities often run to the organizations they know are from their community, and they believe that even if they don’t have the resources to support them, they will find a way. So, that's been really promising to see.

How else should funders show up now in the “new normal”?

Galen: Get uncomfortable, and join the challenges that ventures are facing. They live in discomfort every single day, and we should challenge ourselves to be a little uncomfortable. Also, check in with ventures regularly to see what they need and how you might help, and then get out of the way if they don’t need anything.

I dream of a day when we don’t have individual funders making individual decisions but that we come together in either formal or informal collaboratives to reduce the strain on ventures to raise money. I hope this crisis will accelerate that work.

Worku: I think fast and unrestricted funding is not only necessary, but it is actually the way we build resilience. One of the reasons people are struggling right now is that traditional funding models have created dependencies and redundancies. So, removing burdens of application and reporting and really moving money fast, that's what is needed immediately.

Can you share some examples of how locally led organizations have thrived on the front lines during moments of crisis or significant change in the sector?

Worku: There is an organization called CIYOTA, and they’re responding well to the crisis because they’ve been building resilience over the 20 years they’ve been in existence, especially since COVID. They work in 13 refugee camps, serving conflict-affected and internally displaced children and youth from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, Rwanda, and [the Democratic Republic of Congo] in several ways. Their focus includes economic resilience and finding their own solutions, and then sharing these solutions and best practices with other refugee organizations as well.

Their challenge currently is that a lot of other organizations have closed shop and left, and many people are coming to them for support services. These are the types of organizations we should be finding and funding right now, because they are the ones currently responding and are equipped to find solutions in real time.

What ideas came out of the discussions at Skoll that made you most optimistic about the community’s ability to build long-term resilience during times of uncertainty?

Worku: Skoll provided a very unique opportunity to see more funders starting to understand what people on the ground deal with all the time. We always talk about the power dynamic between the funders and the people who do the work on the ground. I think this moment brought everyone to a similar level, because everybody is stressed and nervous. It brings some humility into the room, which makes the conversations go in a very different direction when people meet in person.

Galen: I agree with that, and I am feeling excited and invigorated. There was a quote from one of the Skoll awardees along the lines of “I didn’t work this hard to get here just to get here.” And that’s what Skoll did for me as we’re hitting our 10-year anniversary, wanting more out of the next 10 years. I think a lot of people left this Skoll more determined to take action than in previous years.

For more information on how to navigate leading through uncertainty, please visit:  https://www.rippleworks.org/aid-crisis-response/