Philanthropy is tone deaf

What I've learned from attending 20+ philanthropy conferences

Last year, I went to over 20 philanthropy conferences, and I can anecdotally report to the public that Philanthropy is tone deaf.

There is an entire field of social justice philanthropy that brings together wealthy individuals and institutions to address root causes of social problems using primarily money to bolster the nonprofit sector that makes the work happen. Yearly or biennially, there is some for of conference or summit that brings together these folks and to celebrate their good work. However, the cost to entry for community members and for nonprofit workers is always at the Philanthropy rate— too damn high.

In over 20 conferences, I’ve seen gathering spaces that are inaccessible or inappropriate for the intended messaging, attendance fees into 4 digits without providing food, invitations to speak without compensation offered, site visits to poor neighborhoods, that all demonstrate the disconnect between community and philanthropy.

This last conference took place at the New Yor Stock Exchange, which was a bold choice that could have been a catalyst to ignite dialogue around wealth, capitalism, and economic inequality, yet the opportunity was sorely missed. No one mentioned Gaza or Israel, nor the DRC, nor the history of the government-sanctioned Slave Market that took place on the very site of the conference.

Capital-P Philanthropists— you are not connecting with your communities in the way we want you to— which is why your strategy for giving is failing to make the impact you desire.

Underserved communities, especially those that are over-criminalized, such as sex workers and people of color, need access to institutions that have been built to keep us out. We need your help to get into spaces to disrupt them, and to disrupt philanthropy at large.