[37th Edition] page 2

“WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE PHILANTHROPY?”

Alliance Magazine asked funders and proponents from Asia. Their responses in 2003 are still relevant .This is excerpted with permission from Alliance.

Sushma Raman (Ford Foundation, India) : Social justice philanthropy 'supports long-term systemic change rather than direct services'.

Christa Momot (Reichstein Foundation, Australia): 'It seeks to address fundamental causes of social ills and bring about systemic change. We do not fund direct service as a strategy to address systemic issues.'

Gisela Velasco (Synergos, Philippines) : There is a notion that social justice philanthropy is only about supporting advocacy groups. A donor may be funding a day care centre that for some may seem like a charitable or non-social justice related activity. This simple project may actually be the vehicle to organize women in the community to do something for their own welfare.' …what begins as charity might effect change too.

Amelia Fauzia (State Islamic University, Jakarta): The Indonesian [social justice philanthropy] example of Dompet Du'afa, [“Purse of the Poor People’] is an organization providing funding to be used 'in a productive, not just consumptive way'. It has established a free hospital for the poor and provides funds for education, the environment and human rights activities.

(For the full back issue of Alliance, refer to the article by Andrew Milner, Change or Charity at http://www.allavida.org/alliance/sept03b.html)

According to Synergos Institute, there are three interconnected roles for foundations seeking to advance social justice. These are: supporting community organizing and institution building, engaging government, and building constituencies.

Emmet Carson (Minneapolis Foundation) opines, "supporting the development of organizations by the communities affected by social injustices is one of the most important things a foundation can do. "Foundations may consider providing grants for capacity building, general institutional funding, multi-year grants, and financial or technical support for institution formation, leadership development, convening, and networking.

Monica Patten (Community Foundations of Canada) speaks of the need to engage government as well as media and private think tanks to promote policy for social justice.

Olabisi Adeleye-Fayemi (African Women's Development Fund in Ghana) believes that promoting "a culture of partnerships and collaboration" among women's organizations is a vital strategy to make change. Other constituency building methods include public education campaigns and an active fostering of linkages between government, business, and civil society.

(Read the full report)