Chapters:

(0:00:00) – Community organising

(0:09:30) – Social justice funding

(0:14:10) – Funding grassroots organising and national infrastructure to support organisers

(0:23:05) – Fundraising, funder collaboration, movement building and intermediaries

(0:30:25) – Shifting funder mindsets

(0:34:10) – Recommended resources.

Episode keywords:

Community Organising Podcast, Social Justice Funding, Self-Determination, People Power, Solidarity, Civic Power Fund, Participatory Grant-Making, Movement Building, Mindset Shift, Funders, Intermediaries, Testing and Learning, Risk and Accountability, Radical Change, Case Studies, Philanthropy.

Episode description:

What does it take to build strong communities that challenge the status quo and drive sustainable change?

Martha Mackenzie, Executive Director of the Civic Power Fund, joins us for our community organising podcast to discuss this topic. We explore the power of community organising, the importance of self-determination, people power, and solidarity, while also discussing the mission and strategy of the Civic Power Fund.

Martha shares her thoughts on the lack of funding for grassroots community organising in the UK and how the Civic Power Fund is addressing this issue through their Community Action Fund. We dive into participatory grant-making and the potential of testing and learning from various approaches to engage a wider pool of funders. Plus, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of building an intermediary field in the UK.

Lastly, we delve into the mindset shift required for funders to understand the importance of seeding power and control within communities, and the need to trust organizers who often have a clear vision of what works. We explore how to measure and evaluate the impact of social justice initiatives, the need to rethink risk and accountability, and the importance of following the lead of communities.

Packed with valuable resources and case studies of successful organizing that led to significant change, this conversation is not one to miss.

Links to resources:

• Act Build Change – A learning community for change makers with a free online course and lots of suggested reading
• Rules For Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul Alinsky – book on why organising works and what it is (Wikipedia description here)
• Centre for Progressive Change – building national organising campaigns for a more progressive society
• Amanda Tattersall – articles on intersection between organising and more traditional campaigning
• Case studies old and new, such as Bristol bus boycott, Dagenham factory strikes, Living Wage Campaign started by Citizens UK, We Belong‘s recent victory on the path to citizenship for young asylum seekers
• Ariadne and Edge Funders Alliance from a funder perspective
• Civic Power Fund’s resources:
  • Civic Power Fund Library
  • Growing the grassroots: How we can strengthen our movements through the power of place
  • Where do social justice grants go
  • Power up: Community Organising and big charities.

Martha Mackenzie, Executive Director, Civic Power Fund

Martha has a background in organising, campaigning, fundraising and charity leadership.

She was previously Head of Global Humanitarian Advocacy at UNICEF in New York, and has led teams and campaigns at Shelter and Save the Children in the UK.

Martha has balanced progressive fundraising and advocacy with campaigns rooted in redistributing power. She has worked with renters to tackle revenge evictions, campaigned with parents on childcare costs, helped establish the youth activism charity Advocacy Academy and won multi-million dollar advocacy grants.

She currently volunteers on the Programme Board of Oxfam UK.

You can find Martha at Civic Power Fund and on LinkedIn or Twitter.