Giving Compass' Take:

• The Beeck Center highlights successful participatory funding models like the Disabilities Rights Fund and the Buen Vivir Fund.  

• Although there are barriers to replicating participatory funding models, they are a way forward for equitable funding practices. How can individual donors utilize similar approaches? 

• Learn about the role of participatory grantmaking in philanthropy. 

When Diana Samarasan set out to create the Disability Rights Fund in 2008, she had limited experience in grantmaking and funding. As an activist for the disability community, Diana had spent years putting the community at the forefront of her advocacy efforts. Yet, when venturing into the philanthropic grant-making ecosystem, Diana did not see her activist background as an impediment to breaking into the space; rather, she leaned on her instincts about empowering community members to create a fund that allowed disabled people to lead on grantmaking decisions.

Over a decade later, Diana has created one of the most successful global participatory grantmaking organizations, that empowers the disability community at every level, from its funding efforts to its organizational design and leadership

Diana’s story highlights an alternative approach to grantmaking and impact investing that reimagines funding models from a power shifting lens. As America grapples with recovery from a global health pandemic and a declining economy, models like these highlight a new way forward that provide hope for a more equitable future.

For too long, the capital flowing into local communities has been determined by ‘outside’ philanthropists and impact investors. While these investment decisions have ranged from arbitrary to well informed, they often have not aligned with the interests of the communities where the funding is going, and they continue to uphold the outdated hierarchy between a small elite group of funders and the rest of society.

Participatory funding approaches can provide more insights on community issues by including the voices of those who stand to be the most affected by grants and investments. Despite good intentions, traditional funding approaches often focus on investors or donor wishes, needs or strategies, which can distance funders and investors from the communities they wish to serve.

Read the full article about participatory approaches by Beeck Center at Medium.