The Global Fund for Community Foundations

The #Problems and the #Beauty of #CommunityLedDevelopment. Sharing my latest blog published on KUJA PLATFORM. Excerpt : « The #International #Aid #sector has been facing an existential crisis since the Trump administration abruptly pulled the rug of the U.S.’ substantial aid assistance from under it. The fact that other nations have also been cutting their contributions’ level has not helped matters. Before the crisis, Community-Led Development (CLD) had become one of the aid sector’s most popular #buzzwords, alongside #localization and #sustainability. What will happen to the actions being taken to move #power to #communities, now that many Global North and Global South organizations are facing their potential demise and fighting for their survival? Will we see a repetition of performative actions to shift power while maintaining the business-as-usual power dynamics? Or, will we see the transmutation of international aid into a sector of #global #solidarity where power is decidedly shifted to communities? Only the future will tell. For now, it is worth examining the problems with and the beauty of community-led development. » https://lnkd.in/d-5TbCK6

Happening tomorrow! Join us to hear about the remarkable work of Ukrainian community foundations - an important and inspiring story of hope and resilience we can all learn from. #Localization #ShiftThePower

Some time ago, I started reading Philanthropic Response to Disaster. One part of the book explored the motivation behind giving, using the example of wildfires in Australia. The biggest reason people donated was the need to feel, “I did at least something to help in this disaster.” In Ukraine, philanthropy has become a symbol of resilience. I give because I want victory. I give because it makes me feel empowered. I give because it matters for my country. It aligns with what was described in the book, yet at the same time, it feels fundamentally different. This year, together with The Global Fund for Community Foundations and Mott Foundation, we National Network of Local Philanthropy Development conducted research on local philanthropy and the role of community foundations during the war. I’d like to invite you to an event where we will present the results of both studies. Join us to learn more about the experiences of Ukraine’s community philanthropy network! https://lnkd.in/ds7BYYDX

A Poem: This is a no solicitation space. Anonymously published under the Unmute Yourself Series https://lnkd.in/d2aNaRwj #ShiftThePower

Why weaving our networks is now more important than ever as "the forces that are consolidating wealth and power attempt to disrupt attempts to build solidarity across movements for justice, fairness and equity." From Curtis Ogden of the Interaction Institute for Social Change. #ShiftThePower https://lnkd.in/eaEMsHh3

USAID is out. Now what? As international philanthropy and local orgs consider their next moves, I sat down with old friends at the Centre for Policy Analysis to talk about why it was always so damn hard for local orgs to access international funding in the first place - and yet many local orgs still found a way to blend local resources to do the work that needed to be done. Anyone serious about alternative and sustainable funding for local orgs needs to get real about nurturing local resources — that will hold these organisations together in the face of the next big shock, whatever it might look like. This alternative isn’t new; it's been quietly brewing for years. It isn’t about replacing what was lost; it’s about building something better. Whether you are interested in community philanthropy or not, we must think about how to deploy/blend international money to support local orgs in a way that does not undermine or replace the existing local resources, because they have always been here… or better yet, think about how to help grow these local resources in the long term. Full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/dtiFvczR #ShiftThePower

Join us on 27 March with the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development as we consider the role of Ukrainian community foundations, three years into the full-scale invasion. What can the rest of the world be learning from their experience? #ShiftThePower https://lnkd.in/gWicuUcp

"Our society may be like a snake shedding its skin – off with the yoke of colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism. We are in the midst of a cycle of destruction and creation...Together we can be part of the work to create the new world." From Jenny Hodgson and Barry Knight, take a look back on the #ShiftThePower Global Summit in Bogotá, and consider what we can learn from the Summit about how to organize in dark times. https://lnkd.in/e8BJX8Ye

Really looking forward to this conversation with Martin Macwan, Marija Jakovljević and Barry Knight with Alliance magazine. There's a lot of talk about the opportunity in the current crisis i.e. the disapperance of aid. However how do we create a future that is seeded in a completely different paradigm? At Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace (PSJP) we have learned a lot from Martin, Marija and others about what it takes to create models of the system we want - models that embody the core values and relationships we want to see in the world. Please join this webinar hosted by Alliance magazine on 12th March https://lnkd.in/g4NKfWNt

We're looking for a dynamic and creative individual to lead an exciting initiative aimed at contributing to a larger narrative shift in international development towards locally-driven and locally-owned solutions, through the specific lens of community philanthropy. Know anyone who fits the bill? Pass this along! #ShiftThePower #GivingForChange https://lnkd.in/e7NQpu9F