Created by grassroots leaders around the world, this new resource from Global Fund for Children illuminates the funding struggles of community-based organizations and provides solutions centered on trust and flexible funding.

Grassroots organizations are a driving force for transformation, intimately understanding the unique challenges and opportunities within their communities.  However, traditional funding models leave grassroots groups with limited access to funding, minimal resources to operate effectively, and rigid funding restrictions, hindering their ability to fully address community needs and nurture community change.

Global Fund for Children’s new resource, “Trust in Action: The Bridge Between Grantmakers and the Grassroots“, confronts this reality head-on. Also available in French and Spanish, this resource provides community-based organizations (CBOs) with the language and framework to advocate for trust-based partnerships. Formulated in solidarity with the growing movement to shift power in philanthropy and global development, it’s a call to action for funders and International Development Organizations to embrace a more equitable approach.

This extraordinary resource was crafted not by distant experts but by Change Champions – grantee partner and youth leaders deeply embedded in grassroots organizations around the globe. Through their collective wisdom, “Trust in Action” dismantles the constraints that traditional funding places on CBOs.

Grassroots Leaders Offer Solutions

This resource is a blueprint for change, penned by those who know best how to unlock the potential of CBOs. The Change Champions advocate for:

• Trusting grassroots leadership and lived experience: Accessing funds can be a major barrier for grassroots organizations, especially those run by young activists. There is a need for funders to acknowledge the value and expertise of those outside traditional organizational structures.

“Registering a nonprofit is not realistic given the fees; young activists and small organizations can’t afford it. The for-profit categories can’t access grants. It becomes difficult to apply for funding.” – Wardah Noor, xWave, Pakistan

• Trusting Community Funding Priorities: Flexibility gives power to CBOs to determine where funding goes and to respond effectively to the specific needs of their communities.

“Flexible funding for me is having a choice and a voice. When an organization receives flexible funding, it empowers and unlocks our agency to be able to try innovative things, try out new projects, and try out what the best solution is for a challenge that we are trying to address.” – Lawrencia Awuku, Move the World, Ghana

• Trusting Community Capacity: Capacity development efforts that are not tailored to the CBO’s specific needs can be ineffective or even stifle organic growth. Capacity needs to be defined and addressed within the community.

“There is a big difference when capacity building is needs-based versus following only donors’ aims. . . When we want to strengthen communities, we ask them what they need. It should be the same with donor-local organization partnerships.” – Anna, Informal Education Center “Diversity,” Moldova

• Trusting Community Learning: Instead of relying on rigid evaluation systems, there is a need for funders to acknowledge the importance of iterative learning processes based on community priorities. True impact requires long-term partnerships and collaborative mindsets.

“Funders must offer a great deal of flexibility, ongoing support, and adaptive learning to make a gradual shift that enables small organizations to embed new methodologies within their organizational practices. It’s critical that funders truly walk with organizations as partners to understand how and why change happens.” – Lusine Kosakyan, Frontline Youth Network, Armenia

Join GFC to Build a Bridge with the Grassroots

“Trust in Action: The Bridge Between Grantmakers and the Grassroots“ is a catalyst for reimagining philanthropy. It is a testament to the power of CBOs and a roadmap for how funders can better support their work. Here are some ways to get involved in the push for more trust and flexibility in grantmaking:

• Share this blog: Spread the word, spark discussion on social media, and amplify the voices of the Change Champions. Be the one to start conversations about the power of trust-based philanthropy.
• Learn more: Read the resource in full and delve even deeper! Past webinars on flexible funding are available in English with French audio interpretation and in Spanish with audio interpretation in English, Portuguese, and Quechua.
• Reach out to us: Have questions about flexible funding or want to discuss further? Get in touch with us at info@globalfundforchildren.org.
• Advocate: Talk to funders and organizations in your own sphere of influence. Push for flexibility and trust-based approaches supporting grassroots changemakers.

True change starts at the grassroots. Let’s give CBOs the tools and resources they need to build a brighter future for their communities – and for the world.

Header Photo: GFC’s Change Champions at at Human Rights Funders Network conference. © GFC.