Responding to the Moment: Participatory Approaches in Philanthropy

Under pressure from civil society to transform the inequitable system of philanthropy, some foundations are embracing the participation of people with lived experience. One approach is participatory philanthropy, which involves people impacted by the funding in grantmaking and beyond. Funders can involve the people they serve in many areas of their work, from governance to grantmaking to strategy, and beyond. But what can that look like? What approaches work, and in which contexts? And what risks are there? What's the best way to think about it? What is necessary to have in place before starting? And, how does one even get started? This workshop will introduce the concept of participatory philanthropy and share the experience of Fund for Shared Insight’s participatory climate initiative. We will introduce important insights and recommendations for those considering participatory practices, and share our funder readiness assessment to see if the practice is a fit for your fund. This workshop is well suited for anyone in a staff or Board role at a foundation and eager to explore participatory practices – staff from programs, finance, communications, learning & evaluation, leadership, and more are warmly welcomed.