Lessons in Trust: How Funders and Communities Can Make Change Together
Sebastian Africano – Executive Director Trees, Water & People
Just as every facet of society was altered by the COVID pandemic of 2020, the nonprofit sector experienced a shift that fundamentally changed the way grantmakers and grantees relate to one another.
One result was the growth of the trust-based philanthropy movement, which suggests that communities, nonprofits serving them, and donors funding programs can reduce the friction of short term grant cycles by committing to long-term outcomes they want to achieve together, and trusting each party to play their role.
Over the past four years, the relationships Trees, Water & People’s (TWP) has built with some of our most significant funding partners shifted how we approach our work altogether. At a basic level, it allowed us to:
Connect diverse organizations and Tribes working on major natural resource challenges
Invest in listening, trust building, and long-term planning with communities and Tribes
Grow our workforce and improve compensation to attract and retain top talent
Prioritize the culture of our organization and invest in professional development
Strategize on maximizing outcomes over generations, not over grant cycles
One result of this shift was with a partner in Honduras - the Comité Ecológico de la Aldea de Suyapa (COEAS) - who since 1987 has worked to protect their ancestral forests from the growing population of the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Many of TWP’s pre-2020 grants supporting groups like COEAS measured value in terms of outputs - numbers of nurseries built, trees planted, volunteers recruited, meters of fire breaks, and others. In short, we were literally missing the forest for the trees.
The disruptions of 2020 spurred discussions, prompted by our partners, about shifting our focus to the larger goal - permanently protecting 12,650 acres of their ancestral forest, which was ringed by growing communities in five municipalities. By supporting those communities with food, PPE, and medicine during lockdowns, COEAS was able to build awareness, trust, and support for their cause. Similar outreach and support after hurricanes Eta and Iota - destructive CAT 4 storms in 2020 - strengthened those bonds.
Flexibility from our funders allowed us to adapt to local priorities during the pandemic, spurring creativity, coalition building, and evidence gathering that propelled COEAS toward their goals. In early 2024 after 37 years of struggle and loss, COEAS proudly stood before the National Congress of Honduras to hear a unanimous vote granting them co-management and protection of their own permanently protected National Wildlife Refuge of the Aldea de Suyapa, Luís Hernán Baca Valladares “Mero”.
Almost simultaneously, a similar trust-based approach that began in 2018 with the Pueblos of Cochiti, Jemez, and Kewa in New Mexico recently secured us a five year relationship with the Santa Fe National Forest. The agreement will allow Tribal natural resource management crews and youth corps to restore thousands of acres of degraded National Forest affecting water flows and lifeways of Tribes downstream.
In both these cases, it was 4-5 years of intentional relationships that made the difference - not the number of outputs per dollar we deployed in that time.
Pursuing big goals in favor of any community we serve depends on years of trust-building, flexibility, creativity, and adaptation to complex circumstances. As funders extend trust to the organizations managing these processes, so can we extend it to our staff, partners, and the communities who guide our mission. Let the long-term objectives drive the impact - not arbitrary grant timelines.
At a minimum this approach results in a healthier, more aligned workforce, a long and joyful giving partnership, and proud, self-actualized communities moving forward the priorities of their people. And sometimes, if you’re focused on the right things, you just might happen to make history.
