Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Launches New Blog Series on Trust-Based Philanthropy
Introducing a new blog series, to be published biweekly throughout the fall, explores the trust-based philanthropy approach Robert Sterling Clark takes in its work.
In the introductory post to the series Robert Sterling Clark President and CEO Philip Li writes "As many of you readers already know, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation utilizes a trust-based philanthropy approach in our work. That means we thrive on relationships grounded in mutual trust and respect, and we seek to imbue those traits into every interaction—whether it’s with a grantee partner, an individual leader, a funder, a collaborator, or an ally. We seem to get the most interest and attention around our approach when it comes to how we interact with our grantee partners. Folks are often surprised to learn that we accept grant applications that were already submitted to other funders, for example. It’s part of our quest to simplify the process for grantees, minimizing their paperwork headaches and maximizing the time they can spend doing their important work.
Trust-based philanthropy is not a new concept, but naming it has recently helped us and like-minded funders to recognize our shared approach to grantmaking, and to identify some principles around that approach. We started in partnership with The Whitman Institute, which coined the phrase, and with the Headwaters Health Foundation of Western Montana, which adopted the practices as a new foundation.
We are all seeing increased interest in our approach. Folks want to know what trust-based philanthropy is and what it is about. We’re also being asked to speak about it with increased frequency."
Visit Robert Sterling Clark Foundation to read the most recent installation in this new series...