At its heart, philanthropy is an essential tool for collectively improving social conditions. Historically, solutions from the philanthropic sector have been imposed on communities from afar under an outdated understanding of where “expertise” resides, resulting in a power imbalance among funders, grantee partners, and communities. As New Profit has evolved over the past 25 years, we have found ways to expand our understanding of the levers and practices that advance equity for all. An honest recognition of the power imbalance inherent in grantmaking has pushed us to deepen our practices of proximity by shifting our investment approaches to center those who are closest to the problems but often furthest from the resources and power to solve them.
One shift has been through the grantmaking activities of our Education team. Currently, the team engages two advisory bodies in the grantee selection processes: a group of Emerging Leaders who range from ages 21-25 years old; and a group of parents from Chicago and Washington, D.C. Parents and youth are key constituents in education and are the most well-positioned to share their own needs. Members of both advisory groups represent a diverse range of lived experiences and a wealth of intersectional identities, including a military veteran, social worker, school board member, CEO, and teacher.
In 2020, we launched a new investment cycle focused on “Wellbeing in Education.” With the guidance of Dr. Hassan Brown, Ed.L.D., we sought to get more proximate to communities by turning to New Profit grantee partner Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE) to create an inaugural Parent Advisory Council (PAC).
For the Wellbeing in Education investment selection process, the PAC reviewed and provided written feedback on the final applications and then discussed their perspectives as a group. The PAC’s participation helped us narrow down which organizations to advance and what topics or questions to focus on in our screening. As we went into our next stages of selection, PAC members were involved in calls with the leaders of the applicant organizations being considered, and they led calls with the organization’s key constituents—other parents as well as young people and educators.
The finalists were excited to take another step closer in this approach to participatory philanthropy—to engage in direct, unfiltered, honest dialogue, not just with the committee holding the purse strings but also with parents whose children would be impacted by their solutions. They also experienced New Profit working hard to understand and honor their perspectives and expertise as proximate leaders.
As Emerging Leader Langston Bealum noted, “The experience deepened my understanding of diverse education systems as well as gave me the ability to talk with leaders and organizers from various nonprofits. Through this process, I have learned about the different ways in which nonprofits are striving to make fundamental changes in our educational systems, as well as being given a glance behind the curtain at how nonprofits are funded.”
At the same time, New Profit’s grantmaking approach involved an intense capacity-building model that played a complementary role to the PAC in the selection process. As we collaborated, it became clear that the PAC felt the final grantmaking decision should lie with New Profit, confident that the PAC’s perspectives would be honored.
The PAC’s input often got us to question our assumptions and test our ideas. With several of our best-intended efforts to advance equity and opportunity, our parents and Emerging Leaders have helped us see we were missing key perspectives that are born of proximity through lived experiences. For New Profit, the result is two wins: one, the affirmation that our partners trust us and feel comfortable enough to be honest with us; and two, evidence showing that the collaborative process works the way it was designed to work. This feedback ultimately leads to stronger outcomes for our grantee partners and for communities across the country.
Engaging constituents in the grantmaking process started as a trial effort. Now, all new investments at New Profit include constituent engagement. We’ve expanded the type and number of constituents—beyond education and the original PAC. Though our advisory councils and proximate leaders don’t always have the same collective opinions, they enable us to listen deeply, reflect, and support the ideas, solutions, and organizations with the greatest potential to create a more equitable education system and the best outcomes for students and families.