Systems Transformation – How Leap Collective is shifting philanthropic practice
Section
Case in Brief
The issue
Institutional philanthropy faces the paradox of potentially perpetuating the very problems it aims to solve: While philanthropy aspires to be a force for good and driver of systems transformation, prevailing funding practice and compliance regulations
can often lead to power imbalances, which hinder philanthropy in supporting deep social change.
The context
The scale of contemporary crises requires the adoption of new approaches to address root causes of societal injustices and thereby contribute to transformative change. Despite increased attention to the interlinked crises of our time, philanthropy’s established project-oriented culture often focuses on short-term needs, limiting the possibilities for broader impact through addressing systemic inequalities.
The path forward
Philanthropy needs to embrace long-term thinking and more equitable practices while centring the power of under-represented communities in decision-making processes. Philanthropic organisations can strengthen their risk-taking muscles through a deliberative process of introspection, addressing unintended consequences of their actions and building trust-based collaboration with partners, including social movements and activists.
Leap Collective: A snapshot
Leap Collective is a group of activists, social entrepreneurs, foundation representatives and donors working towards systemic change in philanthropy. It was launched in 2020 as an experiment by social entrepreneurs and activists – representing such organisations as Ashoka Germany, Guerrilla Foundation, Renewable Freedom Foundation and Resource Justice – who wanted to design it as “a container for learning from philanthropic experimentation”. Leap’s goal is to contribute to a philanthropic sector that shares power and supports systems transformation in a radically transparent way.
Mindset
- Systems transformation
- Experimenting and prototyping
- Bringing activists and philanthropists together
- Power-sharing
- Radical transparency
Overview
Leap Collective emerged to bring about systemic change through its unique approach to philanthropy, aiming to move beyond the paradox of philanthropy perpetuating, in certain ways, some of the problems it aims to solve.
Leap Collective seeks to transform philanthropy by promoting genuine sharing of power, full transparency and trusted funding relationships, as well as by funding initiatives that drive systemic change in areas such as justice, decolonisation and ecological and social well-being. It works towards a shift to sustainable and equitable systems by:
- Uncovering, disrupting and renegotiating power dynamics in philanthropy
- Supporting systems transformation activities and engaging with both established and emerging participatory funding structures to reach under- funded actors
As a collective of activists, entrepreneurs and philanthropy practitioners, Leap centres equitable decision-making, experimenting and learning to address and challenge the short-sightedness prevalent in the current culture.
Challenge
Established practices in the philanthropy sector, especially when responding to the compounded crises of our time, have often fallen short of delivering the desired results for both donors and partners. “If philanthropy wants to respond to these fundamental developments and contribute to the solution of broader problems in society, it must examine its role and the strategies and instruments it can use,” wrote Rien van Gendt in his recent book “Philanthropy Back to the Drawing Board”. An intentional process of introspection can help philanthropy acknowledge existing gaps and maximise opportunities for realising the desired change.
The recent Black Lives Matter and decolonisation move- ments have prompted some established organisations to reflect on the origins of their wealth. By acknowledging the connections with problematic histories, such as enslavement, colonialism or exploitation of natural resources, philanthropic organisations can create an opportunity to act now to address these wrongs.
In some parts of Europe, such as the UK, foundations are increasingly encouraged to scrutinise their own endowments (e.g. the ACF’s Origins of Wealth toolkit and Ten Years’ Time’s Racial Justice and Social Transformation: How funders can act), and some organisations are proactively considering how their wealth was generated and are taking steps to understand and address the root causes of social injustices, embarking on a journey towards more equitable futures. Despite the approach not yet being mainstream across the continent, there is significant debate and acknowledgement of this and other flaws of philanthropy, as well as recognition of the ongoing challenges in implementing radical changes within the sector.
How problematic legacies cast shadows on the practices of today
One aspect of current practice that is rooted in the past is the systemic lack of diversity in philanthropic decision-making. While the data is very scarce, research in the UK showed that trustees of foundations were “99% white, 68% male and 58% were aged 65 and over”. The lack of representation undermines the sector’s ability to support genuine social change and instead perpetuates inequalities.
The difficulty of “walking the talk” can be observed in progressive funders’ adherence to conventional grant-making practice. By contrast, conservative funders of far-right movements have been providing core funding to build institutions rather than short-term funding to carry out projects, giving their trust to their grantees on a yearly basis and building their capacities to realise a far-right takeover. Instead, many progressive funders use an “impact logic” through projects, which supports rigid KPI application, time constraints, compliance procedures and reporting requirements which hinder the capacity of grantees to deliver long-term systems change. In 2023, philanthropic assets in Europe amounted to €647.5 billion, yet total expenditure constituted only €54.5 billion (Philea data, 2023), keeping the number of grants provided on an annual basis lower than it could be.
Additionally, there are questions around the adequacy of the established funding practice, which might unintentionally create power imbalances that can result in the non-profit starvation cycle. Research by Humentum highlights that the relationship between grant- seekers and grantmakers is often strained by unrealistic expectations regarding the resources required to run organisations effectively. This is compounded by the misconception that low overhead costs are a sign of efficiency.
Approach
Leap Collective emerged as an alternative to an established practice, providing a space for both activists and philanthropy to co-design solutions to address the root causes of social inequalities. Leap supports practices that help activists receive the resources they need to advance climate and social justice and empowers solutions that are locally embedded and inspired by practical, real-life experiences. Leap is committed to making sure it “walks the talk” itself by embracing authenticity, transparency and risk-taking; and valuing growth through learning from mistakes and failures rather than prioritising reputation management.
Leap’s supporters provide unrestricted funding to Leap based on trust in its mission and values, which allows it to prioritise systems transformation, relationships and learning, rather than meeting reporting requirements that pretend that results always come exactly as planned. To enable this transformative work, Leap Collective relies on Änderwerk as its fiscal host. Änderwerk, registered in Germany, helps Leap navigate the challenging legal frame- work for non-profits, ensuring that its radical aims align with existing regulations and acting as an intermediary for the allocation of funds for its experiments. It also enables cooperation with nonregistered groups such as activists and movements: Current philanthropic practice involving such groups is challenging and considered risky.
Embracing experimentation as a tool for change
Leap identified experiments as the most transformative tool in achieving change. Experimentation creates spaces which allow for genuine connections with activists and people with lived experience to drive action forward. The ideas for experiments are sourced both through Leap members and open channels of communication. The collaborative governance model of Leap invites the members to discuss each proposal in weekly meetings. The ideas that are taken onboard must be aligned with Leap’s values, receive unanimous consent from its members, and have at least one member of the collective willing to host the experiment.
Each Leap experiment has three phases:
- During the ideation phase, the proposals are collaboratively developed with activists and movements.
- In the incubation phase, Leap secures seed funding and facilitates conversations with activists, communities and organisations who are compensated for their time to co-design the experiment.
- The full experimentation phase starts upon securing implementation funding with each experiment testing distinct philanthropic practices, governance models, influencing strategies and redistribution mechanisms.
Finally, an experiment might stop, transform or become a self-standing project. At every phase of the experiment, groups design the process and decide on funding allocation together with Leap members. Trust and continued feedback loops between the organisations involved are the basis of the process: Transparency is integral to the entire granting process, and activists are aware of the origins and destinations of philanthropic funds. This individualised approach acknowledges that each group.
Experiments in the spotlight
While it is too early to assess results, the innovative set- up and objectives of Leap Collective’s experiments offer insights into its transformative vision for philanthropy:
Systems transformation
- Collective Abundance is an exemplary effort of Leap to bring about systemic change in European philanthropy by shifting the focus from climate change to a climate justice agenda. This experiment – supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and facilitated by Leap – was transformed into a stand-alone initiative through a participatory process which involved climate justice actors from across Europe. To tackle the barriers faced by grass-roots climate justice organisers, the initiative pursues three interconnected strands of work:
1 Implementing a €5 million participatory regranting fund over five years, with allocation decisions made by a community of grass-roots groups.
2 Transforming funder-grantee dynamics by promoting accessible funding and mutual accountability through innovative practices (including through the creation of a grantee union).
3 Encouraging a fairer wealth distribution and tangible changes in philanthropy, ultimately re-shaping relationships between climate funders and grass-roots organisations while building a grass-roots-led force in the European climate movement. - Beyond participatory grantmaking, Leap seeks to redefine established funding practices to prioritise the well-being of all stakeholders. Through the Radical Intersectional Care experiment, Leap aims not just to change funding dynamics but to cultivate cultures of care as a vital foundation of how it practises activism and philanthropy.
- Through its Migrant Justice experiment, Leap facilitates gatherings with migrant justice activists from various Mediterranean countries, such as Tunisia, Morocco, Greece and Italy. It aims to create a platform for collective action and empowerment within migrant justice movements, underscoring the complex legal challenges faced by migrant justice activists. The group strategises together around how philanthropy can better support the migrant justice movement.
- Leap’s experiment on a Basic Income for Activists centres on support for individuals who have been working for systems change, in some cases for decades, but who usually must submit proposals for ever-new, limited-time projects to be attractive to funders. Where many funders manage their own risk by making such individuals in essence ineligible for support, Leap works on mechanisms that allow for activists to receive unrestricted support, alleviating funding pressure which allows them to focus on their core work.