“Money is power, but knowledge is also power.” Discover the Donate to Transform program: Philanthropy Network for Social Justice

This interview is part of a series of dialogues carried out by Global Fund by Community Foundations with the main partners of the Donate to Transform program, developed with support from Dutch Cooperation, which will invest €24 million for its implementation and will last five years. The Program is implemented in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Palestine and Uganda, being led by a consortium made up of four organizations: African Philanthropy Network, The Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF), The Global Fund Community Foundations (GFCF) and the Wilde Ganzen Foundation. The goal of the Program – which is part of the Dutch government's 'Power of Voices' program – is to encourage local donations as a form of voice expression, civic participation, solidarity and dissent from political minorities. O DONATE TO TRANSFORM will build evidence around new thinking and approaches that support the development of community philanthropy.

In this interview, we spoke with the Executive Coordinator of the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice, Graciela Hopstein, and with the Program Advisor, Betina Sarue. The Network's mission is to strengthen Brazilian civil society organizations that work in favor of human rights, racial and sexual equality, socio-environmental rights and with a focus on community development through initiatives aimed at expanding philanthropy for social justice.

Graciela: Community philanthropy is an approach that makes it possible to identify new ways of doing philanthropy. In Brazil, we talk about the tropicalization of the model, as a way of recognizing its relevance, implying the recognition of different experiences and actors who work in the field of philanthropy before, during and after the colonization process. The idea is to start by recognizing historical trajectories and initiatives that already exist in the field. This paradigm shift has allowed us to see the potential that communities and political minorities have to organize themselves based on their own resources and assets, and to recognize their power and ability to solve their own problems, acting according to their demands and needs.

GFCF: What does the meaning of #SshiftThePower for you/your organization?

Bettina: A #SshiftThePower has been organically integrated into the work we do with the Network. We observed the way communities are organized with an intersectional focus on the field of human rights and social justice. In addition, we instituted a program that advocates changes in the philanthropy ecosystem in Brazil, specifically with a view to promoting the agenda of social justice and community philanthropy, in order to leverage support for NGOs and civil society that work with a focus on political minorities . It is also about promoting access to power in a very strategic way.

Graciela: The concept of #SshiftThePower It is very strategic in the field of philanthropy as we are not in the habit of discussing issues linked to power. We need to change the notion that anyone who has money has power, because money is not the only important element. We have to recognize that communities have power – the power to organize themselves and respond to their own challenges. When we talk about power, we must speak more broadly – money is, yes, power, but knowledge is also power. Communities are endowed with the knowledge necessary to solve their own problems. We have to change the approach of understanding development as a top-down dynamic, creating solutions from the bottom up. It is important to look at the role of civil society in transforming realities and territories in a holistic way.

GFCF: How will the Donate to Transform program contribute to the advancement of community philanthropy or #SshiftThePower in Brazil?

Graciela: The program DONATE TO TRANSFORM It will help to reinforce the way we operate and our program area. It will boost the work we are already carrying out in a more structured way within the philanthropy ecosystem. Although the field of philanthropy raises a lot of money in Brazil – mainly through family and business foundations – little money is allocated to grassroots or civil society organizations. Our role is to promote causes and convince Brazilian donors of the importance of financing grassroots and civil society organizations to effectively address social justice and human rights issues.

GFCF: How will the Donate to Transform program be able to encourage donors/NGOs to effectively transfer more power and resources to grassroots organizations?

Bettina: Our strategy is to evaluate what really matters and highlight the impacts. This allows us to learn from communities and build narratives that highlight the impact of community philanthropy and social justice philanthropy in order to influence donors within philanthropic ecosystems.

GFCF: How do assistance programs harm local donation practices in Brazil and how can the Donate to Transform program help with this?

Graciela: We need to reinforce the culture of donation in Brazil. Donations always arrive in catastrophe situations, but it is important to promote the practice of sustainable donations, so that this is permanently integrated into our culture. Although there is a consolidated philanthropic ecosystem in Brazil, resources destined to guarantee human rights and social justice usually come from abroad. We have to make people aware of the importance of donating to civil society organizations as a way of strengthening Brazilian democracy.

Translated by: Dayse Boechat.