Grassroots Giving

Field Note: Time for "empowerment philanthropy"?

March 2025

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Proximate

October 2024

March 2025

|

Proximate

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This summer's SSIR cover story, Where Strategic Philanthropy Went Wrong, has caused quite a stir. Written by Mark Kramer and Steve Phillips, it claims to offer a new approach for more equitable philanthropy. For many people, it felt like more of the same.
CEP’s Phil Buchanan pointed out that this is the fourth such “new vision” for philanthropy put out by Kramer alone over the years – three of them published in SSIR. Others, like Ruth Levine, called out the “strawman” in the story’s argument.
Our own Isabelle Clérié weighed in with her column, Want Effective Philanthropy? Look to the Global South. She wrote that the story “minimizes participatory, asset-based, community-led, and trust-based models that have been around for a long time” and highlights the wonderful Movement for Community-Led Development.
While I’m sympathetic to the innate desire to write long manifestos about philanthropy, I do wonder if this valuable real estate in SSIR could have been better utilized.

- BW

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Proximate is an independent media platform covering movements for participatory problem-solving. We look at the news through the lens of money: how it’s given away, how it’s invested, and how it’s distributed by government.
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