Giving Compass' Take:

• Building Impact shares two steps that will help build momentum toward social change collaboratively and creatively. 

• Is social change in philanthropy more difficult for donors to support?

• Learn more about activist philanthropy: a systems approach to social change. 


You may sometimes feel like you’re one of the few — if not the only — advocates for the issue you care about. You’ve shown all your friends (and random acquaintances too) the data about the disparities in public education. You’ve met with elected officials and made public comments at school board meetings. No one seems to be taking action — at least not quickly enough.

You’re aware that change requires many individuals and systems to adapt and adjust: it’s a complex task to transform just one community’s public education system so that all kids, especially those most disadvantaged, have access to a high-quality education. To move forward, you need to identify and highlight micro-examples of what a more equitable system might look like, support community members’ efforts to demand change, and hold elected officials accountable for adopting and implementing supportive policies and practices. It’s an impossible solo mission.

Even more, it is very likely that your resources are limited. In our work with forward-thinking philanthropists and change agents, we identify the highest leverage opportunities, which also means there are, at times, worthy opportunities that do not receive their support.

Addressing social issues requires collective social action, so how do you jumpstart the “social” part?

At Building Impact, we tend to think of collaboration along a from solo change agent to movement-builder. Here are two initial steps you should take to build momentum for collective social action:

  1. Understand Vision, Values, and Interests This is the first and most critical step in building the alliances necessary to address social issues.
  2. Practice Friendraising If you’ve completed the first step, then you’re likely well on your way to friendraising — getting fellow philanthropists and change agents to support key organizations and efforts directly.

Read the full article about social impact from Building Impact at Medium.