The participatory grantmaking (PGM) collaboration involved four women’s funds—Women First International Fund, Women Win, Women’s Fund Asia, and Fondo Semillas. Their work was organic and evolved after the initial 13 groups were formed through the Collaboration Labs.
Impact: Meeting the Purpose of Better Serving Movements
The collaboration significantly shaped the individual and organizational practices of the partners, deepening their understanding and implementation of PGM. Key outcomes included the following:
- Documented Goals
- A report on feminist grantmaking and philanthropy, outlining visions and aspirations for women’s funds.
- Enhanced Resource Mobilization Capacity
- Women Win, for example, noted that participating in PGM’s decision-making processes improved their grant writing and transformed how they engage with funders.
- Increased Relationship Building
- Face-to-face meetings were crucial in addressing power dynamics within PGM. These discussions allowed partners to deepen their work with grantees and advisory committee members, addressing challenges around power imbalances.
- Transformed Collaborations
- Women First International Fund refined their PGM by resourcing strategic discussions and emphasizing the importance of compensating collaborators.
- Women Win focused on addressing power imbalances in peer panels during the review process and systematized their approach for greater consistency.
- Improved Processes
- Fondo Semillas integrated IT tools to streamline the proposal process, learning from peer practices.
- Women’s Fund Asia deepened its understanding of feminist funding models, prompting greater use of thematic expertise and a strengthened role for its grantmaking advisory committee.
Insights for Women’s Funds and Other Funds
- Philosophical Alignment and Resources
- Shifting to PGM requires careful consideration of alignment with a fund’s values and the capacity to support it. It’s essential to engage movement partners, staff, and the board early to ensure knowledge sharing, philosophical alignment, and resource availability.
- Evaluate the suitability of PGM based on a fund’s set objectives and the context in which one operates.
- Addressing Power Dynamics
- Reconfiguring power dynamics is fundamental to PGM. This requires analyzing power structures both within communities and between funders and grantees.
- Funds must dedicate time and resources to co-designing approaches that address these dynamics, such as increasing power literacy and creating reflection mechanisms to adjust harmful practices. Power literacy implies the importance of being able to consciously work with the power dynamics that emerge in collaborations, including within the collaborative processes of their own organizations.
- Documenting the Process
- Clear documentation ensures consistency in the application of PGM practices. It’s vital to include induction, training, and reflection to support stakeholders in understanding and participating in PGM effectively.
- Sufficient Resources for PGM
- Implementing PGM requires resources, including
- remunerating the movement actors involved,
- sufficient staffing to manage the process,
- training and reflection for stakeholders, and
- ensuring accessibility for diverse communities, including language justice and disability accommodations.
- Implementing PGM requires resources, including
- Selective Application
- PGM doesn’t need to be applied universally. It can be targeted at specific partners or used to achieve particular objectives based on the needs of the fund.
- Ensuring Accessibility
- Accessibility should be integrated into all stages of the process. This includes language justice, disability access, and ensuring affordable internet access for all participants, especially in underserved areas.
- Choosing the Best Fit
- Select the PGM model that best suits your fund’s needs and resources. Options include peer voting, participatory selection, and decentralized decision-making.
- Be mindful of burnout by pacing the work and resourcing it appropriately, as PGM is resource intensive and requires a robust infrastructure.
Leçons pour les donateurs
- Unrestricted Funding
- Donors should provide unrestricted or minimally restricted funding. This allows funds to adapt and experiment with PGM processes as needed.
- Context Specific and Flexible
- PGM is not one-size-fits-all. It must be tailored to the context of each fund and flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances.
- Engagement in PGM
- Donors can play a key role in PGM by participating in advisory groups. Engaging in these processes helps build trust and deepens the donor’s understanding of power dynamics, which should be reflected in their own practices.
- Fully Costing PGM
- Donors should ensure that all aspects of PGM are fully funded, including movement actor compensation, staffing, training, and translation or interpretation services.
- Investing in IT Infrastructure
- Donors should support the development of secure, purpose-built IT platforms to streamline PGM processes. A robust platform can facilitate everything from conceptualization to final decision-making.
The PGM collaboration highlighted key lessons for women’s funds interested in adopting participatory approaches. By focusing on philosophical alignment, resource allocation, and addressing power dynamics, funds can create more equitable and inclusive grantmaking processes. Additionally, ensuring accessibility, documenting processes, and fostering collaboration with donors can enhance the effectiveness of PGM. For donors, supporting unrestricted funding, engaging in PGM processes, and fully funding the initiative are essential for the success of PGM. By integrating these insights, funds and donors can build a more inclusive and sustainable model of feminist philanthropy.