The world of philanthropy must take political education seriously if it wants to halt the spiral of ineffective funding strategies that misdiagnose the problem and instead address the root causes of the social challenges of our time.

“Many of our [funders] are removed from the lived experience of those who are suffering the greatest from these federal cuts that have happened.” This statement comes directly from a recent survey of funders and nonprofit leaders, where 93 percent of nonprofit leaders expressed dissatisfaction with foundations’ responses to the current context. The data reveal a major dissonance, as over 90 percent of foundation leaders believe their institution’s response has been effective in understanding grantee challenges.

The world of philanthropy must take political education seriously if it wants to halt the spiral of ineffective funding strategies that misdiagnose the problem.

“Traditional philanthropy has historically been removed from the issues everyday people face and thus from the solutions and connections needed to solve those problems,” wrote NPQ contributor Janet Hernández. “As our nation and the world deepen into democratic backsliding, philanthropic leaders must listen and establish real and honest relationships that build trust and create a genuine understanding of the issues facing our communities so that together, philanthropy and community can meet the current moment with courage and decisiveness.”

While philanthropy may not be able to walk in the shoes of those most impacted, political education provides a foundation for understanding the mechanisms that create the deep power imbalances and social harms affecting the communities it serves.

The Case for Political Education

Political education is the ongoing study of the role of power and its relationship to collective struggles—such as civil rights organizing, labor fights, and anticolonial movements—to inform a critical analysis of the political landscape. It illuminates the root of an issue as well as its potential solutions—examining how power works in society and the ways to engage, influence, or disrupt it. And, for those in the business of advancing social change through grantmaking, it is an essential component for resourcing effective and impactful political education work.

This work is urgent. The political moment we have found ourselves in is illuminating how so many philanthropic funding strategies and their accompanying communications messaging have missed the mark. Nonprofit leaders consistently rate funders’ understanding—and responsiveness to—grantee challenges 30 to 40 percent lower than funders’ self-assessments. This signals a need for philanthropy to fundamentally change the way it approaches the root causes of the issues it seeks to address. Meaningful change cannot be achieved without being led by—and supportive of—movements and communities in visioning and building what comes next.

Read the full article about political education by Virali Modi-Parekh and Phuong Pham at Nonprofit Quarterly.