Throughout the pandemic Michigan philanthropy has leaned in to a reimagination of what it means to support nonprofits and engage as partners. There’s been an increased focus on trust-based philanthropy across our field, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Trust Based Philanthropy Project, “trust-based philanthropy is about redistributing power in service of a healthier and more equitable nonprofit sector. This includes multi-year unrestricted funding, streamlined applications and reporting and a commitment to building relationships based on transparency, dialogue and mutual learning.”

Our CMF community further explored trust-based philanthropy through conversations at CMF’s 48th Annual Conference last fall in a session that featured Caroline Altman Smith, deputy director, Kresge Foundation and CMF trustee with Philip Li, president and CEO of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and member of Trust Based Philanthropy Project’s steering committee. The conversation was facilitated by Phil Buchanan, president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy. 

Additionally at the 2020 conference we heard from Hub ONE, a trust-based partnership between four Kalamazoo-based nonprofit organizations and the Stryker Johnston Foundation about how they embody trust-based practices, what this work looks like in action. 

Now we’re learning about Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s (KZCF) work and how they are transitioning to a trust-based grant model. 

KZCF shared with CMF that for many years the community foundation has been working to ensure greater equity in its grantmaking. In response to the dual crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial injustice happening across the country, KZCF implemented new practices within their grantmaking process. 

The adaptations implemented included using their Letter of Inquiry only to inform funding decisions rather than requiring a full application, supporting all funded partners to convert their grants to flexible, operational dollars and forgoing written final reports.

In the fall of 2020, KZCF contracted Freedom Lifted, a third-party consulting agency, to lead a community engagement process that informed the future of the community foundation’s grantmaking. The engagement process gathered input in three areas:

•    The quality of relationships with KZCF.

•    The clarity of the foundation’s racial equity strategies.

•    The effectiveness of the grantmaking processes.

“The process included administering an anonymous survey, facilitating focus groups, collecting and analyzing data and producing a report that revealed how our partners understand the current relationship with the foundation and what they want to see change,” Sandy Barry-Loken, interim vice president of community investment at KZCF, told CMF.

Barry-Loken shared that efforts were made to ensure participation by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) partners.

According to Barry-Loken, in addition to assessing relationships, KZCF focused on:

•    How the foundation communicates their racial equity strategies and how they are perceived by partners. 

•    How partners interact with KZCF when applying for grants and reporting on progress after receiving a grant. 

Barry-Loken shared that through this process, they learned that their nonprofit partners want more interaction outside of the times when they are applying for or reporting on grants.

“They called for more transparency, clarity, and boldness in our communications. Regarding grantmaking, our partners wanted a more streamlined application process and more flexibility in evaluation and reporting on grants,” Barry-Loken said.

This feedback from their partners resulted in some immediate changes to streamline the grant application process:

•    A majority of 2020 grants will be considered as renewal grants this year, so partners are not required to submit new applications. To ensure they are still open to new partners, KZCF is considering new requests that advance racial equity and racial justice.

•    For all new requests, the grantmaking team is taking responsibility to research prospective grantees and ensure they are eliminating barriers to funding consideration.

•    Final reporting will be adapted to a more personal approach, shifting from written reports to conversational reflections. 

•    KZCF is offering their partners a variety of ways to share the impact of their project, describe what could have gone better and identify how their organization is making a difference in community.

“We already have had some amazing feedback from partners expressing gratitude for the streamlined process and the grant reflection conversations especially,” Barry-Loken said. 

According to Barry-Loken, the trust-based philanthropy approach has resulted in more frequent and transparent communication with their partners.

“When we approach partners with curiosity and a focus on learning, we understand their work more. We also recognize our heightened responsibility to ensure clarity and share how we are making decisions. The process calls on us as a funder to seek and respond to frequent feedback along the way,” Barry-Loken said. 

Want more?

Learn more about KZCF’s grantmaking process. 

Join CMF on June 23 for Midwest Foundations Webinar, Trust-Based Philanthropy Primer to learn more about how to apply the trust-based philanthropic frame to your work. 

Watch the Building a Trust-Based Collaborative to Maximize Impact & Improve Sector Health breakout session from CMF’s 48th Annual Conference.