FCCP provides field practitioners and the funding community opportunities to come together through regular conversations around emerging and proven organizing and power building strategies. Through highlighting innovative and experimental efforts, including those led by and that support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) centered communities, we see that ensuring communities have the power to impact decisions being made around their lives moves us to more just outcomes.
Background
Organizing is critical to a sustainable power building strategy. Research indicates that policy changes are also most durable when driven by authentic grassroots organizing. Technology and our increasingly interconnected world have accelerated the development of related tools, yet investing in the fundamental ways human relationships are formed remains essential to supporting this work. We also recognize that power can be wielded and scaled through a variety of means, whether through culture, narrative, informal and formal structures, or ideologies; whether through protest and movements; whether through individuals and community organizations that share goals, decision making, and collective action. Through learning how these long standing practices and arrangements can evolve and contribute toward building just and equitable communities, transformative change is possible.
To deepen a core pillar in our theory of impact, FCCP previously facilitated a 12-member funder-field team to dig into what we mean by building power and recommendations for how funders can best support communities to build and wield power. The team’s recommendations can be found here. If you have any questions about our Organizing + Powerbuilding program, please reach out to info@funderscommittee.org.