Many funders understand that solutions are more likely to be successful when the people who are most affected have a voice in shaping them. But when it comes to centering community voices — listening in order to partner with and center community in decision making — the work often stalls before it starts.

In working with funders to create community-led research and planning processes, we at Community Wealth Partners have heard the concerns and misconceptions that often create that gap between intention and action. We also understand that funders have a wide range of things in mind when they consider community engagement, and that some approaches fall short of listening to shift power, as defined by others in the field. Our experience has taught us ways funders can address concerns about starting with centering community voices and taking steps toward building enduring relationships and deeper collaborations with the communities impacted by their work.

Four Concerns About Centering Community Voices and Ways to Address Them

Loss of Control

What if the community wants something we can’t do? How can we continue centering community voices?

Ways to Address It

Set clear expectations; communicate transparently

Misalignment between community members’ asks and expectations and what a funder can actually deliver can be detrimental to a trusting relationship. Funders can help avoid this by being clear and specific about the input they are seeking from community members and how it will be used. During conversations, if you are engaging community members to help co-design a strategy or program, be clear about the questions you are hoping they will answer and major areas that may be off the table. Be transparent about tensions or organizational constraints that you will have to work through so community members have a shared understanding of the context in which you are working. The goal of these conversations is to provide community members the context and understanding of the foundation needed to do their work, not to dictate the work itself.

Read the full article about centering community voices by Lori Bartczak and Sandra Moore at Fund for Shared Insight.