Giving Compass' Take:

• Justice Funders offers an overview of common barriers for philanthropic institutions going through a transformation to end anti-blackness and dismantle white supremacy, accompanied by ways to address these hurdles. 

• How are you making your charitable giving transformative? 

• Read more about what donors can do to stand in solidarity with Black communities and systems change. 

Since the uprisings for Black Lives began in earnest in May 2020, following the brutal police killing of George Floyd, the Justice Funders team has been engaged in conversations across our network, sharing reflections on dismantling white supremacy and anti-Blackness in philanthropy. Months later, we are still collectively witnessing, mourning, and protesting the attacks on Black lives, including the recent police shootings of Jacob Blake, Deon Kay and Dijon Kizzee.

In this time of deep racial reckoning in the US, we have shared our long-held assertion that because the modern field of institutional philanthropy was made possible by, and is deeply rooted in, our extractive economic system, it is no surprise that white supremacy and anti-Blackness are baked into the practices of our field.

At Justice Funders, we continue to be guided by the beautiful and compelling vision of a Just Transition to a regenerative economy, in which our relationships, organizations, and communities operate in ways that demonstrate and support care, cooperation and interdependence. Moments of disruption are the times in which we can best accelerate change towards the world we want. In short, there is hope in this moment, and NOW is the time.

In our work at Justice Funders, we have the honor to witness and support philanthropic peers and institutions as they grapple with the deep work of transformation. This means we have a window into the human experience of change. One of the first things we observe are the common barriers that are preventing institutions from getting to meaningful change:

  • Tinkering/Thinking too small.
  • Staying in our heads.
  • Shaming and Blaming.
  • Shallow and Short.
  • “Navel Gazing.”

So how do we work to address these barriers? In our consulting engagements at Justice Funders, we have seen the following practices as effective in facilitating transformation.

  • Willingness to Reflect on and Radically Shift ALL the Work
  • Supporting Individuals in Personal Reflection, Healing and Learning

Read the full article about transforming philanthropy from Justice Funders at Medium.