Building bridges not walls at the European Foundation Centre annual conference
12 Jun 2017
(L – R) Houghton, Legjeem, Behar, Lucky
If philanthropy is serious about building solidarity, it must give away some of its own power.
This was the statement up for debate as a line-up of GFCF partners took to the stage for the closing plenary of the 2017 European Foundation Centre’s annual conference, “Courage to re-embrace solidarity in Europe – can foundations take the lead?” held in Warsaw. If the political events of 2016 made anything clear, it is that around the world the social fabric of communities is weakening, walls (metaphorical and otherwise) are being built, and trust is sorely lacking. But what could change if foundations, in Europe and beyond, stopped paying mere lip-service to notions of solidarity, and really started working together, as well as with (not just on behalf of) their constituencies, around building the new, rather than fighting the old? This plenary made the case that there is a role for philanthropy to play in building local and global solidarity…if power dynamics are seriously considered and adjusted, that is.
Painting done by 100+ Mongolian women
The four speakers, each drawing from their experiences in their corners of the world, spoke of their efforts around building local solidarity, and what the implications for European philanthropy may be. Irungu Houghton of the Kilimani Project Foundation cautioned that philanthropy shouldn’t just be about transferring bit big chunks of money, but rather must become more intent on being embedded in communities: “If foundations are not just ATMs, we must make grantmaking less transactional and intentionally ensure local sustainability.” From the perspective of the National Foundation for India, GFCF board member Amitabh Behar suggested that European foundations could foster more solidarity with partners if skewed power dynamics in traditional donor / recipient relationships were rethought: “Global activists should be raging at the barricades but instead are completing log frames…but solidarity happens around values.” He went on to argue that philanthropy in its current form too often in fact displaces local leadership and vision. Also on the topic of values, Bolor Legjeem of
The Mongolian Women’s Fund shared her experiences in building solidarity amongst women in Mongolia, illustrated by a painting put together with more than 100 contributions from individual women’s activists across the country. She made the case that when you lead with values (rather than money) it’s amazing what can be achieved: both within national borders and with international partners.
Felicia Jones of the Black Belt Community Foundation in Alabama concluded by sharing a powerful proverb that guides the work of her organization: “To do something for us, without us, does nothing for us at all.” Serious food for thought for European foundations leaving Warsaw, hopefully with increased courage to truly re-embrace solidarity.