Getting Real About Participatory Grantmaking: What We Learned When Theory Met Practice

In Bold Ventures’ guide, Participatory Grantmaking in Practice: Moving from Consultation to Community Control, we offer a framework to help funders understand where their grantmaking lands on the spectrum of community engagement—from closed processes with no community input all the way to full community control. 

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The guide provides language and clarity around what genuine participation looks like. Through it, we aim to help foundations and other donors move toward meaningful power-sharing and greater community impact.

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But frameworks only tell part of the story. The real test comes when theory meets real people, real timelines, and real institutional constraints.

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Since we developed the original guide, I've had the privilege of supporting several participatory grantmaking processes, each of which lived at different points on our spectrum, with its own structure, pressure points, and ways of trying to center community voice within existing systems. All were thoughtful. All were intentional. And none was perfect, which is exactly where things get interesting.

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Today, I'm excited to share our newest report: “Getting Real About Participatory Grantmaking: Reflections from the Field.” 

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This isn't a revision of our original guide. Instead, it's an honest look at what happens when we put ideas into practice: what stretches, what holds, and what still needs reworking.

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Why This Matters

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This report is honest about something many in philanthropy hesitate to name: full community control may not be possible yet within the systems we're trying to change. 

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That doesn't mean we abandon the vision. It means we tell the truth about the conditions we're operating in and stay accountable to the gap between where we are and where we say we want to go.

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The distance between decision-makers and those most impacted may not close in one grantmaking cycle. But it narrows when we stop pretending the process is neutral. When we build for relationship, not just efficiency. When we make equity not just a value on paper, but a lever in the design.

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Part of what I appreciate about this work is that we're not asking for perfection. We're asking for honesty, intentionality, and a willingness to learn in public while we figure things out and improve. 

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Moving from Good Intentions to Better Practice

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If you've been working with our original guide, I invite you to return to it alongside this new report. See how the framework holds up when applied to real-world constraints. Consider which lessons resonate with your own experiences. Think about what questions it raises for your practice.

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And if you're new to this work, welcome. Both resources are designed to meet you where you are and help you move forward thoughtfully, honestly, and intentionally.

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• Download: Getting Real About Participatory Grantmaking: Reflections from the Field
• Download: Participatory Grantmaking in Practice: Moving from Consultation to Community Control

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I hope that, used together, these resources offer both the conceptual foundation and the practical guidance to help you advance your participatory practice.

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At Bold Ventures, our goal is to make philanthropy truly reparative. That means continuing to learn, adapt, and move forward wisely together. I welcome your feedback on this work, and if you're on this journey too, I'd love to hear about it.