The concept of social change is core to Grantmakers
Without Borders’ identity as an advocate for the disempowered.
Yet within civil society, “social change” has come
to mean many different things to many different people—especially
when one observes the vast range of contexts in which civil society
operates globally.
What exactly does Grantmakers Without Borders mean then by “global
social change philanthropy”? Is it simply
grantmaking that engenders “social change,” however
one chooses to define that term, or is there something more to
it?
For Grantmakers Without Borders, “social change philanthropy”
refers to a specific set of goals, strategies, practices,
and values that grantmakers employ in their work.
With that premise as a starting point, Gw/oB is engaged in an
exploration, in dialogue with grantmakers, activists, academics
and others, to succinctly articulate just what these goals, strategies,
practices and values are.
Though our exploration is ongoing, Gw/oB can now affirm that there
are several key elements that must be present for philanthropy
to be considered “social change”.
Above all else, social change philanthropy is grantmaking
rooted in the ideals of justice, equity, peace, democracy, and
respect for the natural environment.
Pulling out a few of these concepts and phrasing them another
way, grantmaking that does not engender equity cannot be considered
“social change philanthropy”. Grantmaking to projects
that do grave harm to the environment cannot be considered “social
change”.
In addition, Gw/oB maintains that social change philanthropy:
Is based upon a critical analysis of political, economic,
and social systems as a starting point for determining
strategy
Seeks to address fundamental causes of social ills and
bring about systemic change;
Values and respects the wisdom and experience of local communities
in all their diversity, and affirms their power to unite and build
social movements for change;
Serves those most acutely affected by injustice:
low-income communities, women,
children, Indigenous peoples, sexual minorities, and other traditionally
marginalized groups;
Seeks to give voice to the unheard, and power to the powerless;
Employs grantmaking practices that are accountable, transparent
and inclusive and which are highly responsive to the
cultures, capacities and aspirations of grantees
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Grantmakers Without Borders offers a place to discuss, share and
explore the goals and practical steps of global social change
philanthropy. We invite you to share your ideas and experiences
with us in this ongoing
exploration.
Development at the Grassroots
Building Organizational Capacity
Advocacy
Resources for Global Social Change Philanthropy
A critical issue
regarding the meaning of social change is the context in which
the work takes place. For many activists in the US, for
example, “social change” work refers almost exclusively
to community organizing and related activities. Social services
are almost never in the mix. However, in the developing world,
and especially in the global South, one finds a much broader range
of activities falling under the rubric of “social change”.
This differential stems from the very different contexts in which
social change advocates are working in the global South: More
than a billion people in the global South earn less than a dollar
a day. Some 30,000 children there die every day of hunger and
malnutrition-related disease. Hundreds of millions of school-aged
children in the global South have no access to education.
Living truly on the edge, struggling every day for basic survival,
the world’s poorest communities first and foremost must
meet their own basic needs before they can even think about participating
in broader social movements seeking systemic change.
In the context of the global South, then, successful social change
advocates must think about their work somewhat differently than
in the US. In the global South, community organizing is not likely
to succeed when it is not in some way coupled with efforts that
address the urgent needs of people’s daily lives. On the
other hand, if programs fail to articulate poverty in the context
of structural issues, and if there is no effort made to organize
grassroots communities to fight for their own well being, then
the best that can likely be hoped for is poverty alleviation,
not poverty eradication.
An excellent example of this coupling of strategies is the Peasant
Movement of Papaye (MPP), Haiti’s largest peasant movement.
The MPP carries out a wide range of economic development projects,
including reforestation, Creole pig repopulation, and agricultural
development. At the same time, as peasants are organized to join
these projects, they also participate in popular education programs
that explore structural issues such as US foreign policy in Haiti,
economic globalization, and other important political, economic
and social realities. It is in large part because of this coupling
of community organizing and popular education efforts with “tools
and seeds” development that the MPP has become Haiti’s
largest and most successful peasant movements.
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Global Social Change Philanthropy -
Development at the Grassroots -
Building Organizational Capacity - Resources
- Advocacy
