Enabling Environment
Shifting the Funding Paradigm
Catalyst Now is using the power of collective action to achieve a new funding paradigm.
If we are to truly address global crises of our time, it is crucial that the environment in which social impact actors operate enables their work, rather than hinders it. This means ensuring that the funding that drives impact is effective, sustainable, and embraces systems change.
Catalyst Now and its members have a vision of a funding paradigm that is grounded in trust, partnership, and collaboration, all to drive global systems change to achieve the UN SDGs.
Working Group
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Learn MoreOur Working Group
Our Shifting the Funding Paradigm Working Group was formed in January 2020 at the outset of the Catalyst Now (Previous Catalyst 2030) movement, leveraging the network of social innovators around the globe and their ability to achieve their mission. It was established as a common platform to drive efforts to shift the current funding paradigm. The group has convened network leaders, social innovators, and funders to map systems, conduct research, and develop tools to achieve effective funding of systems change organisations. The collective learning, action and connectivity have been truly global. Experts within the Working Group are poised to catalyze and reform promises within the philanthropic sector by creating a safe space to question current norms, listen to the challenges of both donors and doers, and accelerate the change agenda required to overcome the myriad issues that are holding back the progress of social innovation. Issues such as compliance, accountability, power, trust, and the decolonisation agenda are being addressed at both strategic and tactical levels. The group continues to explore novel approaches to actively involve funders in adopting flexible grantmaking practices, one that supports systems change work and addresses root causes rather than alleviating symptoms.
Funders Engage
At Catalyst Now, we are committed to encouraging donors to embrace the above and delve deeper into Systems Change Funding.
Are you a funder looking for how to engage with this work?
In conversations with other actors working in and with philanthropy, we continue to hear of more efforts dedicated to enhancing philanthropic practices, behaviours, and mindsets. These efforts aim to encourage donors to move beyond a traditional top-down, project-based approach to grantmaking and instead embrace collaboration, trust, partnership, and systems change in their work.
Are you a funder looking to participate in this work?
If you would like to take action in any of the initiatives below, please reach out to ines@catalystnow.net.
founder paradigm
Are you a part of the movement working towards a new funding paradigm?
If you would like to take action in any of the initiatives below, please reach out to ines@catalystnow.net
The Donor Learning Group
The Learning Group comprises 70 leaders from funder organisations who are dedicated to understanding and adopting a systems approach to their giving strategies. Each month, the group hosts presentations on a topic at the intersection of systems change and philanthropy. The membership of this group ranges from the more progressive organisations such as Gates, Skoll and Mastercard Foundations to smaller family and corporate foundations that are beginning their journey towards a systems change orientation. “It has been a great forum to learn from peers and to help us benchmark our strategy.”
Share and Learn
To learn from each other by sharing perspectives and practices related to systems-changing efforts to advance the SDGs, as well as a commitment to improve the approach and impact of funding partners.
Build Relational Networks
Fostering high levels of trust to promote internal cohesion
To broaden and deepen relational networks within the funding sector and to explore the dynamics of exchange, interchange and interest between funders and the broader community of award-winning social innovators/entrepreneurs and their organisations.
Behaviour Change
How well can the ecosytem move with changing times? What is its responsiveness to a changing philanthropy landscape?
ACT
To co-create initiatives and appropriate responses to deliver and achieve our mission and mutual goals.
Ecosystem Partners
The Ecosystem Partners are committed to supporting funders in their country/region to embrace the ten principles in the NGO letter. Our overall vision is to generate an ecosystem flexible enough to allow members to determine the structure of the donor collaborations they are interested in fostering.
The goal is to create a global community of practice of actors who are seeking to shift the existing within current philanthropic ecosystems and to advance funder mindset, behaviour and practices towards a new paradigm – one that centres proximate expertise, is trust based and supports social innovators who are tackling root causes of systemic issues.
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Establishing a community of Practice
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Establishing strong ties
Fostering high levels of trust to promote internal cohesion
03
Evaluate adaptive capacity
How well can the ecosytem move with changing times? What is its responsiveness to a changing philanthropy landscape?
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Unifying practice
Shared practice around how to promote the adoption of the 10 principles.
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Convenings
Establishing dedicated resources for convening, such as a mix of presentations, experience sharing, peer support, discussion sessions etc.
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Success indicators
No. of members joining the ecosystem, no. of knowledge materials shared, quality of interactions
Compliance Conundrum Collaboration
Catalyst Now is collaborating with KujaLink, Epic Africa, TechSoup and Hilton Foundation, to address risk and compliance issues and barriers faced by community-driven and locally-led development initiatives.
This collaborative seeks to create a more inclusive and sustainable future for communities worldwide and to build greater trust between donors and doers. We are working to share and complement each other’s efforts in furthering the so-called localisation agenda or community-driven development by accelerating the journey towards more direct funding to national/subnational actors.
We want to walk shoulder to shoulder with donors and build bridges to achieve increased trust to support proximate leaders and organisations in attracting and retaining funding support.
Community of Practice
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration
- Transforming philanthropy
- True accountability to communities
- Building the ecosystem
Transforming philanthropy does not only happen with philanthropic organisations and individuals operating in isolation. By bringing the different stakeholders together, we would like to shift the debate from ‘how to shift the power’ to ‘why did you not shift yet’ by showcasing best practices through a community of practice.
This is an initiative from Catalyst 2030, WINGS and the Resource Alliance, bringing together all stakeholders involved: philanthropic organisations and individuals, social innovators, fundraisers, civil society organisations and the communities and people we work with in the programs.
Catalyst Business Partners
The Catalyst Business Partners is a prestigious recognition of private businesses that partner with mission-locked social enterprises. Businesses that meet the criteria will be issued a Catalyst Business Commitment badge, which they will be eligible to use on their product/service communication.