The changes in the funding landscape are fast and furious, especially for organizations that promote equality, human rights, and climate justice. We are increasingly witnessing efforts by governments and big corporations to silence dissent or clamp down on foreign funding.
It is no surprise, therefore, that CSO leaders globally tend to share the same two main concerns: the shrinking of civic space and securing their financial resources. While there are ongoing discussions about overhead and “pay what it takes philanthropy” (e.g., allowing non-profit organizations to use what they truly need for administration costs, rather than allocating an arbitrary 10-15%), only a small group of funders are actually changing their practices. Most still believe that investments in learning and innovation, state of the art technologies, good salaries and a healthy workspace are luxuries that CSOs can do without. But when grants have unrealistic overhead expectations—as most traditional grants do—organizations simply starve.
Now is the time to rethink the financing of the critical work of ending inequality and securing rights and climate justice. Now is the time to rethink the financing of the critical work of ending inequality and securing rights and climate justice. In fact, while this shift might be driven by necessity, it also presents a real opportunity for greater influence and impact. The vast majority of CSOs promoting rights and justice globally still have the support of traditional, mostly foreign grants—where a donor supplies money for a program or project. These grants can actually leverage innovation through investment in financially resilient models that sustain the work beyond grants.
