Giving Compass' Take:

• Vu Le movement to destigmatize failure in philanthropy has failed to include people of color and marginalized communities, preventing true change in the sector. 

• How can funders work to ensure that marginalized communities are included in the movement to destigmatize failure? Who are you currently trusting to take risks? 

• Learn about the value of failure in philanthropy. 

Failure is now the new kombucha. Everyone is drinking it. Failure, like the fizzy fermented tea, is supposed to be good for you; kombucha has probiotics that restore the natural balance of your body’s biome or something.

One way the embrace of Failure shows up is in events where people talk publicly about their fiascoes. Last year I attended one such event. I sat enraptured as one nonprofit speaker after another came up on stage and told the audience about their screw-ups, consequences, and lessons. At the end of each story, the audience cheered with enthusiasm and support. When we are so conditioned to only display our strengths and accomplishments in public, this “Fail Fest” was refreshing, like a big gulp of ginger-berry kombucha.

However, like kombucha, this sudden rise in the celebration of failure can leave a sour taste. In the same way that Equity is always at risk of being Fakequity, Failure can become an indulgent fad and sometimes can do more damage than good.

For instance, Failure gives the illusion of risk-taking and progress, when we are actually risk-averse and not making progress: Talking about our “failures” within this sector gives the illusion that we nonprofits are actually allowed and supported to take risks. This is unfortunately not true. Funders and donors of our work are severely risk-averse, and so we nonprofits also become risk-averse.

The more important issue, however, is that the concept of Failure mainly benefits the privileged. It is mainly leaders with privilege—white folks, men, especially white men—who get the trust to fail, who are celebrated for failing, who receive support and encouragement to keep working until they succeed. Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, especially women of color, people with disabilities, meanwhile must often painfully earn each ounce of trust, and our failures are seen as liabilities, a confirmation that we do not have the skills or knowledge of our white male counterparts, even to address problems caused by a white patriarchal system. Here are several factors we should all be aware of:

  1. The lack of trust of people of marginalized communities is pervasive.
  2. The inequitable distribution of trust leads to the inequitable distribution of resources.
  3. The consequences of failure are more severe for people of marginalized identities.
  4. When people of marginalized identities do fail, it is less likely to be accepted.
  5. Attributions of success and failure are different for the privileged.
  6. When people of marginalized identities fail, we represent our entire communities.

Read the full article about failure in philanthropy by Vu Le at Nonprofit AF.