The Organizations Helping Philanthropy Navigate Uncertain Political Realities
Titled after one of many words used to describe the 2016 presidential election and our nation’s current political reality — unprecedented — this recent paper by the TCC Group takes a look at a organizations at the center of American philanthropy: PSOs (Philanthropy-Serving Organizations), and funder collaboratives. Philanthropic networks have a unique vantage point from which to witness — and help catalyze — shifts, trends, and momentum in philanthropy, as close partners to grantmakers of all kinds. (Un)precedented: Philanthropy Takes Action in the First Year of a New Political Reality looks at this moment in our nation through the eyes of 27 current and former leaders of PSOs and funder collaboratives.
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) was one of the PSOs featured in the report, whose themes mirror much of our lived reality throughout the past year. We began receiving inquiries from funders who felt compelled to act — some perhaps sparked by the election, others by broader sentiments about the state of civil society that have been present for a long time and felt newly urgent to address.
We found, as the (Un)precedented paper highlights, that a providing a space for funders to learn from their peers was critical in these uncertain times; One of our biggest animating questions was “how do we move forward with imperfect information?” Our political environment really seems to have sparked increased funder collaboration — and much of that collaboration has taken shape within funder networks like ours. As funders experience new (and sometimes unanticipated) challenges, spaces like ours can enable more effective and timely funder responses by providing the resources for informed action.
The reflections featured in this report from a number of our colleagues resonated with us as well, as many of the high-level questions which we’ve also asked and explored. David Biemesderfer of the United Philanthropy Forum expressed a persistent challenge of defining organizational voice and values: “It’s the number one thing we’ve been hearing from leaders. What is our voice as a PSO or as a foundation? How can we and should we be speaking up in a way that we haven’t necessarily done before? What are our values? How do we stay true to them? And how do we stand up when these are not being reflected in the public discourse?”
And as Lori Villarosa of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity shared, we have also witnessed an expanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion:, “[There was already] significant momentum on aspects of racial equity in philanthropy around structural racism or DEI. The election just created a greater sense of urgency.” While this strong focus on equity has shaped grantmaking and funder priorities, it has also shaped internal dynamics as funders embrace the critical work of aligning their internal dynamics to external goals.
A persistent question throughout these recent shifts has been whether the renewed interest and investment we’ve seen and supported will be sustained — whether this movement is reactionary, or the beginning of a structural shift. Nat Chioke Williams of the Black Social Change Funders Network, reflected: “When you have a surge of interest, the thing to do is to build infrastructure and support key activities and organizations and a broader ecosystem. Because the money is eventually going to dry up and what you’ve built can sustain you until your issues get hot again.”
In many ways, the shifts we’ve witnessed from our vantage point as a PSO reflect the shifts we’ve all witnessed in America recently: more than ever, people and organizations are finding — and using — their voice, embracing civic engagement in all its forms, recognizing that diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical strengths, and working together to create change. It’s an extraordinary time, and in many ways, unprecedented. What happens next remains to be seen, but as this report underlines, the role of PSOs in creating a space for funders to learn from and take action together, will be central to propelling philanthropic response.
