Conclusion
By sharing the learning journey of the CIVICUS Solidarity Fund we hope to inspire other civil society donors and enablers who want to challenge and change mindsets and funding dynamics that do not nurture and truly support the brave work of grassroots activists, groups and communities. We invite you to reimagine more equitable, devolved, trust-based, accountable and creative ways to stand in solidarity with these groups and activists.
This journey showed us that unlearning old practices and learning new ones is not easy. It takes significant time, resources and many uncomfortable conversations. But it is possible!
To end this overview of our journey, we want to share our top three takeaways:
At the CSF, we are still learning and our work is constantly changing, evolving and transforming itself. What we know so far is that our present and future path must be inclusive, caring, participatory and respectful of the multitude of voices, stories and experiences of the individuals and groups leading social change and their communities.
This journey showed us that unlearning old practices and learning new ones is not easy. It takes significant time, resources and many uncomfortable conversations. But it is possible!
To end this overview of our journey, we want to share our top three takeaways:
- Grassroots activists and small and less-formal organisations, groups and movements need flexible, core and sustained funding. This allows them to focus their work on what is important for the communities they serve.
- Beyond providing flexible funding, donors should change their mindsets and perceptions about time, accountability and decision-making. This change must be embodied in the application, selection, reporting and monitoring processes. Read about how we did it here.
- Donors must invest in things that we cannot photograph and measure for written reports. Very often a “successful outcome” is the inclusive, transformative and participatory journey that leads to building more trust and meaningful relationships with grantees and between them and their peers and communities - and this is something we can’t measure by standard quantitative means. Read about why this is important here.
At the CSF, we are still learning and our work is constantly changing, evolving and transforming itself. What we know so far is that our present and future path must be inclusive, caring, participatory and respectful of the multitude of voices, stories and experiences of the individuals and groups leading social change and their communities.
Conclusion
By sharing the learning journey of the CIVICUS Solidarity Fund we hope to inspire other civil society donors and enablers who want to challenge and change mindsets and funding dynamics that do not nurture and truly support the brave work of grassroots activists, groups and communities. We invite you to reimagine more equitable, devolved, trust-based, accountable and creative ways to stand in solidarity with these groups and activists.
This journey showed us that unlearning old practices and learning new ones is not easy. It takes significant time, resources and many uncomfortable conversations. But it is possible!
To end this overview of our journey, we want to share our top three takeaways:
At the CSF, we are still learning and our work is constantly changing, evolving and transforming itself. What we know so far is that our present and future path must be inclusive, caring, participatory and respectful of the multitude of voices, stories and experiences of the individuals and groups leading social change and their communities.
This journey showed us that unlearning old practices and learning new ones is not easy. It takes significant time, resources and many uncomfortable conversations. But it is possible!
To end this overview of our journey, we want to share our top three takeaways:
- Grassroots activists and small and less-formal organisations, groups and movements need flexible, core and sustained funding. This allows them to focus their work on what is important for the communities they serve.
- Beyond providing flexible funding, donors should change their mindsets and perceptions about time, accountability and decision-making. This change must be embodied in the application, selection, reporting and monitoring processes. Read about how we did it here.
- Donors must invest in things that we cannot photograph and measure for written reports. Very often a “successful outcome” is the inclusive, transformative and participatory journey that leads to building more trust and meaningful relationships with grantees and between them and their peers and communities - and this is something we can’t measure by standard quantitative means. Read about why this is important here.
At the CSF, we are still learning and our work is constantly changing, evolving and transforming itself. What we know so far is that our present and future path must be inclusive, caring, participatory and respectful of the multitude of voices, stories and experiences of the individuals and groups leading social change and their communities.
