The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project aims to reimagine traditional funder-grantee relationships and they “work with foundations to create a philanthropic ecosystem that is trust-based.” The founders of this movement – The Headwaters Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and Whitman Institute – aim to do this by providing tools and resources to grantmakers that help them approach their work with transparency and humility. This is the kind of work that will help build a thriving philanthropic network, so we can all better serve grantees, our impact, and missions!

The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project encourages funders to adjust their process in six ways including: giving multi-year unrestricted funding, simplifying and streamlining paperwork, offering responsive transparency, soliciting and acting upon grantee feedback, providing support beyond the check, and encouraging grantmakers to do their own homework. This is where technology can really help facilitate change. The right technology acts as a partner to your organization will make these efforts easier for any team.

The best way to streamline your granting processes and eliminate excessive paperwork is to digitize them by employing a grants management solution. A grants management platform not only eliminates the need for paper mailers – for example Fluxx Grantmaker integrates with DocuSign so all your important documents can be tracked, signed, sealed, and delivered digitally – but makes it easy for you to assess your work and determine what’s really required by law and for an initiative, and what paperwork just clogs grantee inboxes.  A true grants management partner will also help you assess your processes, documents and requirements, so you can make the best choice for yourself and your grantees.

Read the full article about technology and trust-based philanthropy by Casey Pechan at Fluxx.