“The ways you have harmed me/ The ways you have harmed Black,/ Indigenous and other racialized communities/ Through your colonial and paternalistic violence/ Your positive intentions/ What you see as good and helpful/ Without actually listening, learning and consulting with our communities/ We are not your charity/ Check boxes for your diversity and equity/ Solidarity statements as you experience your racial awakenings/ We have been here – speaking,/ fighting and resisting/ But how long has it taken for you to stop and listen?” 

That’s how Future of Good’s first-ever summit on transforming funding models this week opened — with a poem by writer, speaker, facilitator and performer Jenna Tenn-Yuk.

And throughout the rest of the day, speakers spoke similarly honestly. Here are five key takeaways, in case you missed it.

Think about philanthropy as restitution 

Nikki Sanchez, a decolonial educator, started the summit by walking attendees through a timeline of Canada’s development as a country — which, of course, is fraught with colonial violence, genocide, and land theft from Indigenous communities. 

The reason it was important to set that context, she said, was the pervasive mindset that philanthropy in Canada is a nice-to-have, an act of generosity from those in positions of power and privilege (largely settlers) to historically oppressed communities (often Indigenous and communities of colour). 

In reality, she said, this kind of philanthropy should not be considered optional generosity. “When we consider notions of philanthropy that engage Black and Indigenous people, we really, in truth, cannot think of it as philanthropy — but rather as necessary restitution.”

Bronwyn Oatley, the summit’s moderator and Future of Good’s editorial fellow on transforming funding models, said the philanthropic sector has restitution to pay for its own past, too. “The settler philanthropic sector would not exist without land theft, exploitation of labour, and exploitation of land,” they said. “We simply do not get these massive pools of wealth without those things present.”

Growth isn’t always good 

Yonis Hassan, CEO of the Toronto-based Justice Fund, said it’s time to stop thinking about the unlimited and perpetual growth of philanthropic foundations’ endowment as a good thing. The sector is working to solve complex problems, he said, but it’s not making enough progress to justify holding the capital it does. “How can this sector justify $85 billion in assets — taxpayer money — that is not being used to build a healthy and thriving Canada?” he asked. 

Hassan called for an immediate raise in the disbursement quota (the amount of money foundations are required to give to charities each year) from 3.5 percent to 10 percent. “How much growth is acceptable for this philanthropic sector?” he asked.

It’s time to redefine success 

“What is success?” asked Gina Lucarelli, who leads the United Nations Development Programme’s network of Accelerator Labs. She said it’s time to use new metrics. “Fundamentally wicked problems are never completely solved. So, when you want to be accountable for your stewardship of public funds, you have to ask, what exactly did we get for that money? And sometimes we find ourselves saying, well, we know a lot more about the problem — which may or may not be satisfying. And we also say, well, we created demand for a new way of working.” 

She said the Accelerator Labs try to measure success by two metrics: whether the network learned something or gained a new perspective on a complex problem, and whether their work inspires other organizations to “embed and spread practices of experimentation, exploration, and learning from grassroots innovation.” 

…and expertise, too 

Along that vein of exploration, Lucarelli said funders should recognize when they don’t have the community-level expertise to make the call on what types of programs, projects, and solutions are useful. “If you don’t know the answer, then it would be extraordinary if donors could allow an enormous amount of open ended exploration, experimentation, room for failure.” 

Kosisochukwu Nnebe, a visual artist, curator, and policy analyst agreed: “Identify the areas that might be weaknesses, the ways in which you’ve learned things that might be harmful or extracted,” she said. “That means you have to take a backseat.” 

Rodney Foxworth, CEO of the U.S.-based intermediary organization Common Future, said funders should cede control in more cases than not. “The majority of decision makers [in the sector] are white and male. That really creates an environment in which there’s a concentration of power…Yes, it’s important to bring in new voices, but typically what happens is that institutions aren’t prepared to actually be a place that is enabling and supportive of those voices.” 

Grantee organizations should build a resistance movement

The panelists agreed that grantee organizations should demand a better, more equitable funding system in Canada. “It’s incumbent on us to utilize the voice of what we are supporting and seeing and working [on] on the ground in order to create that sea change that needs to happen,” said Canadian Women’s Foundation President and CEO Paulette Senior. “If we don’t do that, then we’ll continue to be trapped in this imbalanced power relationship where we are seen to be begging and receiving what we get, as opposed to saying, ‘Unless you are funding what’s needed, we don’t actually want your money.’” 

But Hassan believed pressure will have to come from outside of the charitable and philanthropic sectors. “I don’t believe in the philanthropic sector’s ability to self-regulate or reform,” he said. “Until the federal government of Canada steps up to make these changes, nothing’s going to get done.” 

Watch the full plenary below:

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