High-impact philanthropy requires more than good intentions. It demands clear goals, continuous learning, and the discipline to make evidence-based decisions. Community feedback can be a key ingredient in supporting this practice.

This blog, co-authored with Listen4Good (L4G), draws on their work supporting over 1,300 organizations and 145 funders in embedding feedback into practice. Listen4Good explains why incorporating community feedback into your giving strategy is not just a best practice but a necessity for staying grounded and making a real difference.

Why Community Feedback Matters

When done well, community feedback enables institutional grantmakers and individual donors to stay informed about evolving needs in ways that can increase the impact of funders’ grantmaking. Gathering community feedback – in collaboration with grantees – helps funders ensure their donations are focused on solutions to the needs that matter most to communities. Listening to community voices can also build trust between funders, nonprofits, and the communities they serve in ways that can help address systemic problems. Finally, when funders don’t presume to have all the answers and instead seek and center the perspectives of those most affected by their grants, they shift power to communities.

At its core, community feedback requires listening well to those most affected by a funder’s actions. But despite widespread interest in listening across the sector, much of the feedback that funders gather is not representative, goes unused, or feels one-sided to those providing it.  Here’s how funders can listen better by understanding how and when to listen.

How To Integrate Community Feedback: Two Models

Funders have options for how to listen. Choosing between models depends on your proximity to the community, available resources, and the historical level of trust between you and the community.

Direct Listening: Gather feedback directly from community members. This approach provides unfiltered insights and builds proximity to community needs. However, it requires a strong readiness to navigate power dynamics and can be resource-intensive.

Shared Listening: Work through nonprofit partners who lead the feedback collection and share takeaways. This leverages existing trusted relationships and can strengthen funder-grantee partnerships, though it requires clarity on shared goals and appropriate resourcing to avoid burdening nonprofits.

Read the full article about integrating community feedback at Center for High Impact Philanthropy.