The Problems With Philanthropy, and What We Can Do to Fix Them

As I step into a new role where I can provide support for people of color, I recognize philanthropy’s faults

Dr. Carmen Rojas. Courtesy of The Workers Lab.

I was not raised with ambitions of becoming a philanthropist or an understanding that a system existed to incentivize people to give their wealth under the guise of helping others. I grew up in a household that didn’t need those incentives. We just gave. My parents were the first two people in their respective families to immigrate to the U.S. from Nicaragua, and with that came a responsibility to open our home to those making the journey to this new country.

My mom was one of the first homeowners in her family, making our kitchen counter, our living room, and our space the obvious places to eat, celebrate, and plan for our collective future and freedom. My family didn’t do the calculations of tax breaks or write-offs. They just did, like so many others do, the work of remembering that our fates are tied together and when one of us has some space to breathe, a place to rest, and food to eat, we are all better off.

I heard the whispers after meetings about how to “talk” to funders and manage them so that good work could still have the resources it needed.

Like many young people who wanted to be of service, I spent the early days of my career navigating the idiosyncrasies of foundations and funders. I witnessed some of the smartest people I knew folding themselves into pretzels for grants. I saw how consultants who had never lived in my community were funded to shape its future. I heard the whispers after meetings about how to “talk” to funders and manage them so that good work could still have the resources it needed.

I have since spent most of my professional career working with donors, foundations, and funders. My first fellowship out of college was mapping grants going to organizations led by Black and Latinx leaders in California — research that would lead to a push to legislate funding in the state. I’ve worked with donors seeking to protect and expand the right to vote and address our climate crisis, as well as funders who were reluctant to…