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Investing in Systems
Our Grantmaking Strategy
Members of our community experience oppression through individual and systemic forms of injustice.
Acknowledging this reality, we consider how we might influence the systems that create harm in addition to supporting programs that operate within the constraints of systems. At Grand Rapids Community Foundation, we see an opportunity to support both grassroots and systems-level work.
Through our Fund for Community Good (unrestricted) and field of interest resources, we invest in racial, social and economic justice. These grants are designed to help create access, develop networks and address the conditions that create inequities in Kent County. Our strategy is to disrupt power structures, recognizing that only select voices were included in the design of systems we all experience. We do this by investing in systems-level work that addresses the root causes of injustice.
Grace L. Swanson, strategic communications specialist, recently connected with Kate Luckert Schmid, vice president of program, to discuss the practice of systems-level grantmaking.
GRACE L. SWANSON: What is systems-level work? How does it show up in grantmaking?
KATE LUCKERT SCHMID: Systems-level work shifts the focus from helping one individual at a time to focusing on the root causes of problems. In philanthropy, it means supporting strategies that disrupt the conditions in which organizations and communities operate, rather than only funding isolated projects. Our grantmaking from the Fund for Community Good is focused on lasting change and often takes the form of multi-year operating support.
GLS: Why is it important to engage in grantmaking that addresses root causes, in addition to grantmaking that impacts individuals?
KLS: Meeting today’s needs while simultaneously transforming the social conditions that perpetuate the issue will ensure that future generations will not face the same challenge—and reduces the resources required to manage the problem in the long term.
GLS: How has the Community Foundation invested in systems-level change?
KLS: The Community Foundation has long been an advocate for aligning resources across systems and bridging networks to reach ambitious goals for lasting change. We became much more explicit in our focus on systems change in the 1990s with a focus on the child welfare system. We continue to prioritize system change in all our funding areas with an emphasis in recent decades on education and housing systems.
GLS: What are grantmaking challenges for systems-level work?
KLS: It is much simpler to demonstrate the immediate impact of a single program or activity than to bring attention to the root cause of an issue. Systems change demands persistent action toward a shared vision and it requires all of us—including the Community Foundation—to reflect on how we contribute resources and distribute power to center a purpose beyond our organization’s mission. It requires collaboration, will and stamina to create a new future.
GLS: How can an individual learn more about systemslevel philanthropy?
KLS: A systems-level approach provides an opportunity for us all to step back and take a look at the complexity of the challenge and recognize disparate outcomes. I would encourage people to start with the nonprofit organization(s) they care about and already support! Ask them about the role they play in disrupting the systems that continue to make their services necessary. It is a great way to learn about systems change in action.
Learn more about the grants made from our Fund for Community Good at GRFoundation.org/CommunityGood
