Grassroots Grantmakers

Grassroots Grantmakers serves as a locus for learning for place-based funders who are supporting civic engagement at the block level—active citizenship—with the goal of advancing change agendas that have been identified and shaped by community residents. Grassroots Grantmakers serves as an advocate for place-based philanthropy that works from a resident-centered perspective, a connector that facilitates information sharing and peer learning among funders who are engaged in this work, and as generator of tools and resources that advance the practice of effective grassroots grantmaking. The theory of change that forms the basis for this work is that the most desirable change is that which is fueled by the preferences, energies, and commitments of the broadest array of community residents, and that the way to ensure that this kind of change is possible is to build capacity from the ground up to enable every community resident to participate, make a contribution, and be heard, without being hindered by obstacles that result from disenfranchisement, lack of power, or lack of resources.