Giving Compass' Take:
- Lori Bartczak and Sandra Moore address common concerns funders raise when trying to center community voices.
- As a funder, how can you effectively listen to the communities you are serving to shift power?
- Learn more about best practices in philanthropy.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits in your area.
What is Giving Compass?
We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us.
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
Read the full article about centering community voices by Lori Bartczak and Sandra Moore at Fund for Shared Insight.