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Old Money,

New Systems:

Philanthropy Reclaimed

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specialize in strategizing through networks in social movements.

invest in people, cultivating potential to create economic change.

believe in stories that shift political realities.

Our vision is to transform power through networked movement building for a just, democratic,�and liberating world.

AdAstra Collective is comprised�of movement building practitioners with expertise in leadership development, resource mobilization, and narrative intervention.

Who is AdAstra�Collective?

We

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Today’s

Objectives

Identify what can we do from our seats to advance a justice and equity practice

Outline the unintended consequences of our grantmaking practices and create strategies to minimize harm to our grantees

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Background

&

History

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�

COALITIONS

TRADITIONAL FUNDING

One way power

No coordination between funders or organizations

Trickle Down: Not getting to base, communities or grassroots movements

Slow

FUNDER 1

ORGANIZATIONS

FUNDER 2

GRASSROOTS

MOVEMENT

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�

Decentralized Core

Overlapping Clusters

Strong Periphery

DECENTRALIZED, SELF-ORGANIZED

ALLEN

Periphery - stagnant without new ideas and resources

Tammy was on the periphery of BLM, gathering, Nicole asked me to help out. Was brought into the network.

define periphery:

resist inward looking movements - constantly looking outwards - infusinon of new ideas, checking for relevance to larger population

helps movements stay relevant, popular, grow, change, adapt

look outwards - periphery becomes part of movement

expansion: pulling periphery in, find new periphery, pull periphery in

some things stay on the periphery, but can remain extremely valuable to the core - friend who has legal advice,

don’t have to ‘Join’ and often try to dictate terms to people who have not decided to join yet.

nodes outside are actually connected to their own networks, infuse resources

So what/ how does this apply: Social movements, especially with a strong culture (and sometimes a strong orientation or goal) can become self referential and insular. we think the movement is the world and/or fuck the rest of the world they don’t get it. If we were only trying to build a new society with the people in the network this might actually work (though probably not) but in a social movement particularly, we have objectives outside of our own relationships. We are trying to impact something that touches us and is also outside of us. So, we need to be able to 1. communicate with people who are not “in”. 2: If we think that the way social movements make change is through mass participation and not smart people enacting new policy (theory of change), movements need to be continuously reaching out, absorbing new people, and then reaching out again. 3: Within a group of people, there is a limited amount of creativity, references, ideas, etc. One of the things social movements have going for us, is that we have more people in active participation than the opposition (generally) and so we can come up with more creative solutions faster than them. We need to be constantly reaching outside our niche for ideas that haven;t occurred to us yet or skills we haven’t developed. Example of the mathemeticians and the sea slug http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_wertheim_crochets_the_coral_reef?language=en. Example of overlapping with the fantasy baseball league who’s got a lawyer and a cook.

How do you do that? spending time with people outside your projects. Inviting participation on social media through hashtags. Some open meetings. Some open trainings. Speakers bureau/ traveling educators/spokes people. Publications. Transparent structures online (loomio podemos)

Reaching out the periphery strategically. Which parts of the periphery are you prioritizing (skills, resources, networks)? How do we gamify this. What do you do and who do you know? identifying people’s periphery in intake forms or initiation. What are fun things for the periphery to participate in?

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QUESTION: How do we fund networks, and restructure money to be a relational currency in a networked era?

Network Resources

Juicy Concepts

�

NETWORK ADVANTAGES

Cost Efficient & Less Overhead

Massive Labor Power

Resource, Skillsharing & Replication

INNOVATION FUNDS:

Fast packets of small money can be worth more than big packets of slow money

Fund the hubs, then push resources outwards

“Acupuncture” funding - pinpoint application to remove blocks, obstacles

Infrastructure, Commons

we change the way we organize unless we change the way we fund it

how do we move funders

CHANGE IMAGE(s) to match specific concepts

ADD IMAGE/SLIDE: The Two Economies

MONEY & NETWORKS

Self organized networks & grassroots movements are more efficient than orgs, require less overhead

Mobilize massive labor power, resource and skillsharing, Driven by inspiration and values

can accomplish a lot w/out resources
can generate $ from within network
Acupuncture funding (GG)
Design a network support system

training and support among network weavers, make everyone
reflection at every level

INFORMATION

- get info about where the need is, where it needs to go

INNOVATION FUNDS

Pot of $ that can move quickly
Fast packets of Small Money

- innovation funds

- funding the hubs; pushing resources outwards

- the two economies: social movement economies vs. non-profit economies

- “acupuncture” funding - use smaller, pinpoint resources to remove blocks, obstacles

- fund failure - good sign

Acupuncture funding: Movements are rich in labor - but cash poor. Precisely targetted funding that removes the barriers of not having cash helps unleash massive amounts of labor power

Fund the commons that everyone can use

SKILLS

- exchange is much easier

allow the network to bloom, flourish

resources are not just money, we are wealthy as a network

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QUESTIONS: How do we think about resources in new ways?

Resource Mobilization

�

Resources are much more than just money

How do people know about and access all of these resources?

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Ways to make funding decisions

Giving to a pool

Giving to a spokes council of projects and infrastructure

Giving quick, small grants to many emerging projects

Giving mid sized grants to clusters who create projects

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Opportunities for Activist Disruption

Throughout the Grant-Making Process

Identify $ Source

Determine Eligibility

Funding Decision

Make Application

$ Collection

$

Transfer

M&E

Sources are needed that transfer power as well as $.

501(c)(3) requirements exclude the cutting edge civic actors.

Grant writing should not be a required activist skill.

Use the activist hivemind to allocate funds.

Crowdfunding, donor networks, direct e-donations, ongoing sponsorship… new options need further exploration.

How to fund organizations without a bank account?

Report Writing? FOR WHAT?!

Contribution v.

Attribution

Strategy

Development

Outreach & Application

Due Diligence

Making the Case

Award & Implementation

Evaluation &

Learning

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“PLANTS & TREES”

[STRUCTURES OF CHANGE]

“SOIL & NUTRIENTS”

[INFRASTRUCTURE OF CHANGE]

“FLOWERS”

[METHODS OF CHANGE]

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Tracking for Change

Platforms for

Self-Organizing

Learning

Communications Ecosystems

Communities of Practice

?

Network Culture

Systems Understanding

New Resource Structures

New Support Structures

Self-organizing & decision-making processes

Roles and

Functions

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STRUCTURE DESIGN - SUPPORT STRUCTURES

KINDS OF SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE - NEW SYSTEMS

Network-wide Coordination and self organizing support

Communications

Network leadership development, learning, coaching

Money and Resources

Feedback, learning and reflection

Strategy Development

Art, Creativity, and Storytelling

Direct Service

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CULTURE

Values, Principles, Habits, Customs, Rites, Rituals, Creation of Social Norms

PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

POLITICS

Procedures, Protocols, Laws, Instructions, Policies, Institutions

DOMINANT INSTITUTIONS

ECONOMICS

Production, Consumption, Supply, Demand, Surplus, Exchange

ALTERNATIVES: Resource Vehicles

Power Dynamics in Deliberation &

Decision - Making

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Movements embody networks of emergent living systems that create disruptive innovations towards a new normal.

What are some of alternative equitable practices at your institution or networks you are implementing or want to implement around your grant-making or giving?

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THE MOVEMENT CYCLE

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Level 1: Movements Without Shared Infrastructure

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Level 3: Movements with Shared Infrastructure - Scale

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Building Relationships at Different Scales

Different Levels of Scale Across Movement Networks

Movement of Movements

Level 1: Build local networks for experimentations
Level 2: Build networks for viralness so that local innovations can spread, inspire, and learn from others
Level 3: Build networks for scale so infrastructure and policy to support innovations can be developed

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OMNS ORIENTATION

AUGUST 12TH