Supply Chain Activators Could Boost Philanthropic Equity and Impact
Ben Jones writes in SSIR that now is the time to build some muscle into the underdeveloped system for getting funds to grassroots grantees
Watching commercial supply chains falter during the pandemic got Ben Jones, director of strategic partnerships at Multiplier, thinking about what philanthropy could learn from these breakdowns. In this article published in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jones proposes how the philanthropic sector could build a more robust supply chain using “activators,” an emerging class of midsection partners that not only move money but also help grantees use it effectively.
Strengthening the Philanthropic Supply Chain
By Ben Jones
Among COVID-19’s most startling revelations has been the centrality of supply chains to everything: One link breaks down, and suddenly we’re hoarding toilet paper, turning T-shirts into masks, or paying over top dollar for a used car. Philanthropy’s supply chain — the path from funder to fundee — has shown its vulnerability too, as foundations and other major donors, especially in the pandemic’s early months, have scrambled to get money quickly yet thoughtfully to grassroots organizations serving the hardest-hit communities.
For philanthropy, though, the revelation hasn’t been the shocking breakdown of a seemingly high-performing supply chain, but the underdevelopment of the supply chain’s midsection. The sector’s supply chain isn’t something it’s thought about systematically, and we should use this moment to build some muscle into it.
If it were easy to move philanthropic funding to the people and places where it will do the most good, with enough due diligence and oversight to ensure timely impact, we’d already be doing it all the time. The good news is that it’s not as hard as it seems. We are hitting the mark some of the time, and we can make our supply chain more effective and efficient — with an eye toward racial and economic justice — by building out its under-recognized middle.
Big philanthropic institutions have enormous capacity, but they’re not designed to be nimble, and they are sitting increasingly uncomfortably in their power positions. Spurred by last year’s economic shutdown and racial justice protests, funders are re-examining their grantmaking processes, creating opportunities for an emerging class of supply-chain partners that go beyond simply moving money. At the accelerator Multiplier, we describe these partners as “activators,” because they have a more propulsive, impact-focused approach compared to traditional, transactional philanthropic intermediaries. Philanthropic activators create ongoing relationships with both ends of the supply chain, providing purpose-built structures for funders to deploy charitable funds intelligently and quickly, and helping grantees build the capacity and infrastructure to use funds effectively. Like the catalysts of chemical reactions, they set a transformation in motion, in this case turning gift money into an engine for social and environmental impact. Activators are perfectly situated in the philanthropy supply chain’s midsection to change big amounts of money into small grants and loans, create open competition for funds in a just and equitable way, mobilize money for grassroots advocacy, and forge better connections between funders and communities.
Read the full story in Stanford Social Innovation Review.
