The philanthropic world should help foster participation in local communities to help bridge divides driven by today’s toxic political environment, according to foundation and other nonprofit officials at an event here Tuesday.
“Where we have an opportunity to really change and grow is if we begin to really embrace public participation,” said Cheryl Hughes, senior director of civic engagement at the Chicago Community Trust, at the panel discussion held at the National Press Club. The event was entitled “Society in Crisis: How Philanthropy Can Change Narratives and Bridge Divides.” It was sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, the fundraising-consulting firm Graham-Pelton, and communications company Fenton.
In communities, Hughes says she sees far less division than at the national level — and that may provide an opportunity for philanthropy to unify people. “When you’re down at the block level or neighborhood level, those divisions kind of go away,” she says, “because [it’s] about, How do we make our place and space better?”
Early in her remarks, Hughes pointed to the Chicago Community Trust’s On the Table program — in which thousands of people from the Chicago area gather in conference rooms, community centers, and neighbors’ homes for conversations about how to improve their communities. She noted that On the Table has been replicated in 30 cities across the country.
The challenge today, Hughes said, is that many people lack connection with their neighbors and community members. “So we’re really looking at, How can we in Chicago begin to rebuild the social fabric around mutual trust and understanding?”
Accelerating Change
Other speakers touched on the importance of accountability for grant makers.
Foundations need to do more to measure whether they are investing enough in communities of color, said Delia de la Vara, senior vice president for development and strategic initiatives at UnidosUS, formerly called the National Council of La Raza. “There’s still a lot of work to be done to re-evaluate who philanthropy is investing in to accelerate” change,” she said.
Lilly Weinberg, program director for Community and National Initiatives at the Knight Foundation, agreed, saying, “We’re failing” at measuring whether foundation dollars are being spent equitably.
One positive trend at foundations, Hughes said, is the growth of “participatory grant making” — allowing community members and others outside of foundations to help set grant makers’ priorities and strategies.
The Chicago Community Trust has done “a bit of it,” Hughes noted, but she’s pushed for more: “There has to be much deeper connection with public participation, particularly in a city like Chicago, which has this reputation of not being so participatory in our government.”
