There's No Philanthropy Without Trust

Placing trust and collaboration at the heart of the relationship between foundations and the organisations they support is the basis of trust-based philanthropy. A webinar by the Racines collective initiative was dedicated to this subject on October 17th.

Trust-based philanthropy provides an alternative to foundations' traditional operating models, which are often based on practices taken from the corporate world: strong selectivity, strict control over the use of funds, quantitative and short-term performance indicators, etc. These practices limit organisations' agility and freedom of action and create asymmetry in their relations with foundations. This is a paradox given the role of innovation and experimentation that philanthropy can play.

Advancing the Funder-Funded Relationship

The webinar took place as part of the series of meetings organised by Racines, an initiative launched by a number of public interest and research players to develop a systemic approach in the philanthropic sector. The aim of this new edition was to explore the changing relationship between foundations and beneficiary organisations. Key to the discussions was the experimental "Inventing Tomorrow" programme, launched in 2020 by Fondation de France in the midst of the pandemic. Speakers included Marion Ben Hammo, head of the programme at Fondation de France, Marie-Stéphane Maradeix, a doctoral student in the Executive PhD programme at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL working on the theme of trust-based philanthropy, and several association representatives. This discussion enabled a number of findings and advances to be shared.

Firstly, speakers explored the meaning of "trust-based philanthropy", a concept that calls for a change in how foundations work. The aim is to promote the autonomy and freedom of action of the associations supported and enable them to fully engage in their social missions. How?  By placing a priority on long-term support, limiting and simplifying administrative and control procedures, offering multi-year funding, providing collective and/or personalised support beyond simple funding, and taking feedback into account.

Trust-based philanthropy therefore provides a supportive framework to implement systemic approaches, which require time and flexibility to act at the root of problems while considering how issues are interconnected. Foundations thus openly embrace a degree of uncertainty and adapt their methodological frameworks and monitoring procedures accordingly.

As Guilhem Mante, head of strategic business unit at the Fédération d'Entraide Protestante, points out: "The EN ACT trial, supported by the Fédération d'Entraide Protestante and carried out in a number of areas, aims to facilitate the integration of illegal immigrants through work. This is a complex subject that requires dialogue between a wide range of stakeholders: businesses, trade unions, local authorities, prefectural authorities, and the people affected. All this takes time and involves many uncertainties. Supporting this trial, as Fondation de France and Fondation Porticus have done, means taking risks and adopting a trust-based approach."

'Inventer Demain': Trust in Action

The EN ACT trial is one of the initiatives supported under the "Inventing Tomorrow" programme. It brings together 23 associations that are "key agents of change" in various sectors of public interest, and that share the ambition of advancing existing systems and a culture of cooperation. The programme is based on three pillars of trust-based philanthropy: structural funding, rather than project funding, that is multi-year and adaptable; individual support; and fostering peer collaboration to encourage cooperation. This trust does not exclude rigorous monitoring of the partner associations supported, in appropriate forms: "The monitoring method is the individual interview, which transforms the written report into a moment of dialogue and support, once a quarter. These interviews are structured around news from the partner and Fondation de France, but also around the difficulties encountered," explains Marion Ben Hammo, programme manager at Fondation de France.

These regular communications help to create a horizontal relationship of trust and compagnonnage, a partnership based on mutual support and shared learning: "Trust isn't something you declare, it's something you build through the many opportunities for dialogue and the genuinely collaborative approach of the programme. We can be authentic and talk freely about the reality on the ground, including successes and difficulties, and thus find solutions together," explains Cécile Thueux, coordinator of the Tous Dehors France collective, supported as part of the "Inventing Tomorrow" programme.

The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Catalyst for Change in Philanthropic Practice

While there has been a growing push over the last 15 years for a more balanced relationship between foundations and the organisations they support – particularly under the impetus of US organization initiatives such as the Whitman Institute’s "Trust-Based Philanthropy Project" – this momentum greatly accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indeed, during the pandemic, "foundations demonstrated great responsiveness and were able to adapt their practices not only by supporting new associations and increasing the resources allocated, but also by making their procedures more flexible and encouraging cooperation to contend with emergencies and the scale of needs," Marie-Stéphane Maradeix points out.

Amid multiple crises requiring urgent, long-term action and addressing interconnected challenges, trust-based philanthropy is poised to play an increasingly important role moving forward: "When we launched the 'Inventer Demain' experimental programme at Fondation de France, our aim was to inspire other organisations to open up avenues for new approaches to philanthropy in which the framework of control becomes a framework of trust. It's very encouraging to see that more and more foundations are moving towards a more horizontal relationship with the associations they support," concludes Marion Ben Hammo.

TO FIND OUT MORE

→ Futures Philanthropy: Anticipation for the Common Good
→ Philanthropy: an ally of democracy
→ “We believe that this is a moment for philanthropy to be bold, brave, and courageous.” - Julie Broome