Tools for funders
Based on more than a decade of exploring how to listen well in philanthropy, these tools can kickstart or enhance your efforts to put the people and communities you seek to serve at the center of your work.
Find lessons and inspiration from a menu of listening practices that shift power already happening in the field, including participatory processes and embedding community members on staff and boards. Start with a look at how your foundation listens, or dive right into a helpful guide to hosting listening sessions or a resource-rich participatory philanthropy toolkit.
Whatever your path, also consider our Equity Principles to spark discussion about how your listening and participation practices might build toward broader goals related to accountability, justice, and equity.
Ready to start listening?
Tools to help funders listen to the people and communities most impacted by their decisions
Learn how to host listening sessions that encourage meaningful community engagement and empower those most affected — yet often least consulted — to influence your foundation’s work.
Take a look at how your foundation listens to, learns with, and shares power with the people and communities most impacted by your work.
Are you a funder ready to sponsor grantees on their listening journeys?
Listen4Good, an independent capacity-building program launched by Fund for Shared Insight, offers expert tools, coaching, and resources for nonprofits looking to listen more effectively.
Are you working with other funders?
See our three-step toolkit specially designed to help funder collaboratives advance listening, inclusivity, and equity. Worksheets walk you through identifying groups that are underrepresented in decision making and help you create a plan to start making change.
