Giving Compass' Take:

• Carly Hare, Coalition Director of CHANGE Philanthropy, speaks with Darren Walker on the importance of justice philanthropy and its power to help include communities and work toward equity. 

• How is your charitable giving oriented toward justice? What are the ways to do this?

• Learn more about how philanthropy can pursue justice. 

Carly Hare, Coalition Director of CHANGE Philanthropy, on the difference between charity and justice and the need to “move toward philanthropic equity.”

More in her excerpt From Generosity to Justice with Ford Foundation President Darren Walker:

DARREN: Can you talk about what you think the difference between charity and justice is, and how you practice the two in your own work?

CARLY: The way we think about it at CHANGE—and the way I think about it personally, when I’m working with colleagues or field partners—is that there’s a broad spectrum from charity to justice, and different individuals and institutions occupy different bandwidths on that spectrum. We often forget about the edges of that spectrum. On one hand, we have charity-focused frames for grantmaking. For many people who subscribe to that view, your investments and your engagement strategies often perpetuate the status quo.

When we try to find other people’s solutions, we inevitably cause new problems. Our intent and our impact are simply misaligned. That’s why we have to be mindful to engage with the community. That’s the difference between approaching philanthropy from a charity mindset and approaching it with a justice mindset.

It’s easy to solve the problems that someone faces today with a quick Band-Aid solution, but you might create long-term consequences without realizing it. Caring about justice means being intentional about putting the voices of individuals and communities at the center of these conversations.

Read the full article about working toward justice philanthropy at Ford Foundation.