Grassroots Giving

Field Note: RWJF Reflects on Participatory Philanthropy

March 2025

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Proximate

November 2024

March 2025

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Proximate

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the latest major foundation to experiment with PGM – and last month they released a detailed case study of their pilot phase.
I spoke with Susan Mende, a senior program officer at RWJF, about what they’ve learned. She told me that the foundation was “influenced by work done before us” by longtime participatory grantmakers around the world – and that the process has led them to consider ways to modify processes beyond grantmaking.
“We need to earn the trust of the people we work with,” Mende said. “It’s not just about grant decisions – it’s also about our review process, or what we request in terms of assessments. Are we asking for information that we really don’t need to make a decision?”
For more, check out Inside Philanthropy’s story on the report here.

- BW

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