Centering Proximity

In July, a new report titled, Centering Proximity: Why Giving Platforms Should Center the Organizations on the Frontlines of Social Change, went live via a webinar hosted by our partners and co-authors of the report, Radiant Strategies and IDEO.

With insights from 30 US-based leaders and organizations, including 25 proximate leaders and five giving infrastructure organizations, this report spotlights five key shifts giving platforms can focus on to better serve the needs of proximate organizations.

The launch webinar included the insights and experience from three of the 25 grassroots organizations that were interviewed:

• Raziya Hill, Executive Director of Every Bottom Covered
• Brittany Brady, CEO of National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
• Jaime Zavala, Executive Director of artworxLA

The report was authored by Nicole Zhao, Milan Gary, Nseke Ngilbus, Kate Schnippering, and Stuart Getty of IDEO; and Isis Krause, Letarik Amare, and Hali Lee of Radiant Strategies.

This report was funded and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Why does proximity matter?

More and more dollars are being given online – an increase of 42% in the past three years alone – and tech platforms like crowdfunding sites and social media platforms are playing an increasingly important role in that giving. And at the same time, funding disproportionately flows to the biggest and most well-known organizations, leaving out grassroots, proximate, often Black, Indigenous, and other people of color-led organizations who understand best how to meet their communities’ needs. What if these platforms centered equity in their design to better resource these proximate organizations and their communities?

How can I get involved?

View the website and download the full report at centeringproximity.org.

If you are a giving platform eager to dive further into these shifts with other giving platforms, the
newly formed Giving Platform Collaborative meets on an ongoing basis, with an Equity Task Force focused on this and similar issues. Fill out this form to get involved or email [email protected] to be connected.

Additionally, Pilar Weiss and Every.org are leading a project to elevate the presence of fiscally sponsored organizations on giving platforms. Please email [email protected] to learn more.