Within a few days, four people asked me what I “thought of trust-based philanthropy?” I answered that I’m excited by trust-based philanthropy and the broad range of its implementation and innovations. The trust-based philanthropy framework is a values-driven approach, yet there is a robust impact-driven rationale; it makes sense to put resources and authority with those who bear responsibility for success and are closest to the problem. It is no surprise that the sexism, racism, xenophobia, and systemic biases of society are present in philanthropy and the non-profit sector. Yet I’m optimistic that there is ample ground for strategic philanthropy to become more trusting and trustworthy as a vital step toward an equitable field of practice. 

If trust is the underlying principle of the diverse approaches that aim to shift power and privilege in philanthropy, it is worth unpacking trust and the paths to get there. Trust is a belief and a sense of security that personal and institutional actions, decisions, and reactions will occur in a dependable, transparent framework rooted in ethics and integrity. That belief and security emerge in patterns of behavior that make us worthy of trust, hence our common language of “earning trust” and “building trust.” Donors and their grantees create a basis of trust through consistent, ethical behavior and actions toward shared goals.

A full embrace of trust-based philanthropy and all it may embody in sharing power, decentralizing decisions, and being anti-racist is a significant journey for any foundation. Yet the challenge of that path is no reason to delay being a foundation worthy of trust and trusting of others. Two deceptively simple questions might start the ball rolling toward responsive and equitable philanthropy, whatever its label:

  • Do we trust our grantees? and
  • Do our grantees trust us?

If the answer to either question is “No,” there are decisions to make and work to be approached with humility and urgency. And if the answer is a fast or defensive “Yes and Yes,” it may be fruitful and surprising to dig deeper into how you know that is the case and how you show trust to your grantees.

Foundation leaders might fear that trust-building is a long process through the difficult work of culture change, new operating models, and governance change. Foundation trustees and philanthropists may fear a loss of control and power. There is, however, an accelerating first step to change: decide to trust and be trustworthy. Trust can be a decision, and trust can be a commitment that proceeds behavior and action. Decide to trust and be worthy of trust.

Trust flows in two directions; trustworthiness takes trusting others. Can your philanthropy be any more worthy of grantees’ trust than the degree to which you trust your grantees? Don’t we mistrust someone who communicates that they don’t trust us? Does access to your foundation staff, strategy, priority-setting, and grant application process broadcast a trusting or mistrusting message to your grantee partners? Are your funding processes part of the treadmill that tacitly rewards over-promising of results and coverup of failures?

Narratives and culture can be at play regarding trust. A foundation’s first work may be internal rather than external. If, for example, your foundation is less than transparent about funding decisions and strategy shifts, might you suppose grantees are not sharing their actual capacity, intentions, and plans? If your staff lack agency or access to internal decision-making, building an internal culture of trust may be a prerequisite to your frontline staff transmitting trustworthiness to grantee partners.

The good news is that there are many entry points to build a basis of trust and open the door to trust-worthy philanthropy. Transparency may be challenging to adopt but is easy to put into practice. Opening lines of communication may be as simple as disclosing your email addresses and phone numbers on your website and inviting contact and dialogue. Streamlining paperwork, permitting grantees to reallocate funds and report with their own templates, and sharing your funding rubrics and impact measures can be a few days’ effort for a committed team. These are strides, not baby steps, toward an organizational culture that is receptive and tuned to adopt new practices and share decision-making in human-centric and community-centric ways.

Like good listening, trust can be practiced in almost every interaction and strengthened through practice. Trust takes leadership and vigilance in every organizational role. Trust will be betrayed at some point, as the high stakes, money, politics, and power in the orbit of philanthropy can attract corruption and greedy behavior. Those exceptions will prove the rule that trust is vital to effective philanthropy. Your transparent and ethical response to betrayal creates defining moments that establish your integrity and trustworthiness.

Wherever your foundation is on its journey of engaging with stakeholder grantees and their beneficiaries, being responsive to communities, shifting power, confronting sources of wealth, and addressing inequity, you face a choice. You can embark on the journey into the headwind that any potential partner must earn your trust – and you can be sure they’ll demand the same of you. Or you can decide to trust and be trustworthy and experience the excitement of the open road where the question becomes “what next?”

 

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”

George MacDonald (1877)

Photo by Brook Anderson on Unsplash

Don S. Doering

Don S. Doering is the former Executive Director of the JRS Biodiversity Foundation and was Program Officer, Business Officer, and Senior Strategy Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Don has held senior staff positions at the World Resources Institute, Winrock International, and the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Contact: dond@impetusadvising.com and (206) 419-7049