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EDGE Funders annual conference 2017
Funders need to let go
The 2017 EDGE Funders Alliance annual conference was my first funder conference; we never forget the first time! I came into the space as a participatory grantmaker with no idea how popular our work was. …
Making it happen – progressive philanthropy and reorganization of power
‘Find a partner. Now, starting with the person who’s taller, you have two minutes to tell a love story.’ And that’s how my first EDGE Funders Alliance conference – ‘Reorganizing power for systems change – got started. The …
Tales from a philanthropy lab
We were sitting on the stage in a circle, which seemed in itself to presage a worryingly participatory session. As an observer, I hate to be drawn into this kind of thing, but sitting out …
Can funders and activists work together?
The EDGE funders conference is one of those rare events where funders and activists can get together. That’s good, right? In principle, yes. At the Barcelona conference, there was an evident desire to embrace the …
Connecting the dots after the annual EDGE Funders conference
Though I expected to be able to blog during those intense conference days, I realized I wouldn’t do it justice writing from the heat of the experience. Now, after my 20 plus hours from Barcelona …
Philanthropy’s need for a community based model
At the recent Edgefunders Alliance conference held in Barcelona, Spain, members and participants continuously discussed the need to democratize things. Democratize economies. Democratize to bring back the commons. Democratize philanthropy shifting and redistributing resources to …
Who talks, who listens?
On the narrow stone streets in Barcelona’s Raval district, sex worker activists tell us the stories of their neighbourhood. Of gentrification that has squeezed many out, of police harassment and being fined simply for being …
EDGE Funders conference: An unexpected journey
A group of 15 funders are gathered in a small bar in the Raval neighbourhood in Barcelona’s city centre. ‘What is your commitment to our movement? How will you contribute to our work?’ asks Jennie*, …
