Modern Grantmaking, with Gemma Bull & Tom Steinberg

<p>In this episode Rhod sat down with Gemma Bull and Tom Steinberg, authors of new book "Modern Grantmaking: A Guide for Funders Who Believe Better is Possible". In a wide-ranging conversation, we discussed:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Humility & Funder Ego</strong></p> <ul> <li>Why is humility such a key part of Modern Grantmaking?</li> <li>Is part of the problem that traditionally our idea of what it means to be “good at grantmaking” has revolved around attributing genius to funders and grantmakers in terms of their choices/program design, rather than on the extent to which they nurture grantees?</li> <li>Do we need to redefine what counts as success and failure in grantmaking?</li> </ul> <p><strong>Diversity, Equity & Inclusion</strong></p> <ul> <li>Does grantmaking have a diversity problem?</li> <li>Are funders more effective when they reflect more closely the people and communities they serve? In what ways can they achieve this?</li> <li>Do some grantmaking practices exclude people from already-marginalised communities? (E.g. focus on the written-word, invitation-based grantmaking etc.)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Privilege & Power</strong></p> <ul> <li>Is traditional grantmaking paternalistic, and too often about decisions being made about communities rather than by them?</li> <li>The book emphasises that modern grantmakers should see themselves as <em>serving</em> the people and communities they fund– what does this mean in practice?</li> <li>Why is it so important for grantmakers to check their privilege, and what does this mean in practice?</li> <li>How do you navigate power dynamics <em>within</em> a grantmaking org- e.g. between trustees and grantmakers, or between philanthropic donors and the staff of a foundation?</li> </ul> <p><strong>Participation & Movements</strong></p> <ul> <li>There is a growing amount of focus on participatory approaches to grantmaking at the moment as part of the solution to the criticisms being levelled at philanthropy. How much of the rhetoric is reflected in reality?</li> <li>Would