Collaborative Philanthropy: Lessons From Three Initiatives Launched During the COVID-19 Pandemic

While philanthropic collaboration has been steadily rising in popularity over the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic spurred rapid growth of this giving mechanism. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide uprisings resulting from the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other innocent Black people in 2020 led to an increased awareness among leaders of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors of the need to confront the impact of their contributions to systemic racism; driving a resulting urgency to address the burden of historic divestment, underinvestment and exclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in their strategies. During this time, donors sought partnerships that would extend their expertise and resources to address the urgent needs of these inextricably linked crises.

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With nearly five years in the rearview from the start of the pandemic, we have witnessed a waning urgency and interest as some donors revert to pre-pandemic strategies and practices. Recently, we have had the opportunity to support several collaboratives at a critical juncture in their existence as they reflect on the crises that brought them together and determine their strategies for the future. With this article, we share lessons from three such initiatives launched during the pandemic and their paths toward evolution for impact in the post-pandemic era.

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The Importance of Collaboration for Racial Equity In our work, we are constantly reminded that systems of oppression thrive on division. Collaboratives foster connection and encourage donors to participate in critical philanthropic endeavors that often reach beyond traditional philanthropy and would otherwise be intimidating or may feel too risky on their own. The pursuit toward a more equitable philanthropic sector does not always have a clear or easy path, but with pooled resources and knowledge we believe that a more just and equitable world is possible.

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Lessons From Three Collaboratives Launched During the COVID-19 Pandemic

At Bold Ventures, we are deeply committed to philanthropy in pursuit of racial equity — working with donors who strive to eliminate disparities through relationship, repair, and the redistribution of wealth — and believe that collaboration of communities, movements, and donors continues to be critical in dismantling systems of oppression. During the pandemic, we witnessed donors come together in new ways to meet the urgent needs of the moment, which was hugely impactful. Now, faced with defining their futures, several collaboratives have come to Bold Ventures for support. From our work with three such collaboratives, the following lessons rise to the top.

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Urgency can be an important catalyst, but is not a long-term strategy

Across the collaboratives we have supported at Bold Ventures, we have observed that many of the initiatives launched during the pandemic found themselves at a critical juncture more recently as the health crisis that initially brought donors together faded in urgency. Now, these groups are faced with waning donor involvement as priorities at their home institutions shift, grantmaking budgets are reallocated, and members find it increasingly difficult to garner interest from their boards in these Covid-era initiatives. We have found that urgency alone is not sufficient to sustain these groups. It has been critical for these collaboratives to take pause and do the work to develop a clearly defined mission, values, and refined strategy for the future that members are able to continue to champion.

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A well-defined governance structure is key to longevity

‍While the pandemic served to mobilize donors to work collaboratively in unprecedented ways, many of these collaboratives are now struggling to understand how they work together and for what purpose. Formed rapidly, these collaboratives often skipped traditional steps to codify how they are governed and operated from the outset. In our work with collaboratives, we have observed that the sustainability of these efforts requires a robust governance model to define decision-making processes and participant roles, as well as an operational framework for how the collaborative convenes to make grants, engage in shared learning, and more.

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Community buy-in and strong leadership increases responsiveness in changing environments

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Near constant change has been a defining feature of the last few years. While philanthropic priorities and giving trends are routinely in flux, we have seen that the most nimble collaboratives are those deeply rooted in the communities they seek to serve. These collaboratives cultivate community buy-in and keep a pulse on the changing needs of their communities, often by incorporating community members on their advisory boards, steering committees, or other leadership positions. While each of the three collaboratives we have recently partnered with have determined different futures, we were heartened to witness each endeavor shift to more participatory and community engaged practices. Our team recently reflected on the importance of community engagement, and how at its core, the move to engage communities in grantmaking is a commitment to equity and inclusion. Collaboratives that include organizations based in the communities they serve actively work to address the disparities in power and access that have historically marginalized certain groups and seek to incorporate practices that uplift these communities in a meaningful way.

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Conclusion

Collaboratives represent a powerful mechanism for philanthropy, offering opportunities for donors to distribute more resources and achieve greater impact than going it alone. Collaboratives currently deploy billions of dollars annually, and the number is growing. In our work with several of the many collaboratives formed in response to the pandemic, we have come to understand that while the urgency brought forth by the crisis has waned, the importance of collaboration across communities, movements, and donors is more important than ever.

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Acknowledgements

Bold Ventures is a strategic advisory firm that supports individuals, families, foundations, and donor communities who are committed to eliminating disparities through relationship, repair, and the redistribution of wealth. These lessons were developed into this article by the Bold Ventures team, with special thanks to Alysha Catalano who gathered these insights.

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