Endowment Support to Help Drive Systems Change
The recent Stanford Social Innovation Review article “BIPOC Organizations and the Hamster Wheel of Philanthropy” discusses the challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) organizations in the philanthropic sector, arguing that philanthropy has a tendency to favor white-led organizations and projects that often don’t address the root causes of social problems. This has created a vicious cycle where BIPOC organizations are forced to chase funding opportunities instead of focusing on meaningful systems change work.
The authors, Grace Azenabor, Mariam Mansury, Jasmine Arai & Gabriel Kasper, propose several solutions to these challenges, including contributing to endowments of non profits serving people of color. The Shifting Systems Initiative has long recognized the value of funders using a
trust-based approach and giving long-term, general operating support as an enabler of systems work. (See, for example, Shifting Power to Shift Systems: Insights & Tools for Funders).
A focus on contributing to an endowment takes that a step further by helping to ensure that the non-profit has a stable source of funding that is not dependent on annual fundraising campaigns. Benefits of this approach include:
Long-term funding: Because typical endowments provide funding in perpetuity, non- profits can focus on long-term systems change goals that may take years or even decades to achieve so they can plan for the long-term.
Stability for experimentation: Non-profits can use endowment funds to try new approaches and initiatives that may not have immediate results but could have a significant impact in the long run. With a larger endowment, non-profits can take calculated risks and engage in experimentation that may not be feasible with more short-term funding sources.
Leverage for partnerships: Long-term financial stability can help non-profits better negotiate partnerships and collaborations with other organizations, businesses, and policymakers to drive systems change at a larger scale.
Community-driven solutions: Non-profits serving people of color are often rooted in their communities and have a deep understanding of the systemic issues that affect their constituents. Endowments can provide funding for community-led solutions and initiatives that address these issues. This community-driven approach can lead to more sustainable and impactful systems change.
By ceding power to those who are closest to their communities, and therefore have the best understanding of their needs, philanthropy can create transformative, systemic change. Funders should consider endowment contributions as one additional tool in their toolbox towards creating that change.
Contributed by Renee Karibi-Whyte and Caroline Suozzi.
