Back around 2013, a major national foundation launched an ambitious $30+ million arts education initiative, complete with research and publication, alongside a planned major financial investment. In what I thought was a very good report, eight organizations from across the country—each with proven success in serving young people—were named as models of excellence, including the one I led at the time. But when it came time to invest, instead of directly supporting the organizations they’d interviewed and learned from, the foundation handed the money to a large national institution with little experience in arts education to essentially replicate the practices we did everyday. The result? A series of programs that ultimately way under-performed in relation to the size of the funding. More so, a huge opportunity was lost while millions were essentially wasted on experiments that barely left the lab.
Now a different scenario: that $30+ million was split among the eight “exemplary” organizations who were already doing good - if under-resourced work - empowering us to expand our proven models across the country. Today, we’d likely be pointing to a national network of sustainable, community, and values-driven programs serving hundreds of thousands of youth every year.
This failure wasn’t just a mistake—it was a cautionary tale about what happens when philanthropy prioritizes scale over substance and status over impact-centered strategy, regardless of intention.
This is the moment for philanthropy to course-correct.
As America faces crises of democracy, economic collapse, and growing authoritarianism, the old models of philanthropic investment are no longer just ineffective—they’re dangerous. My guess is that many foundations are deeply thinking about their work right now; my hope is that old patterns are not replicated. It’s beyond time for a bold reimagining: stop funding the retrofit of large institutions that will inevitably revert to their bureaucratic inertia. Instead, invest directly in the small, community-rooted organizations already delivering impactful and well thought out programs right now. Philanthropy doesn’t need another blueprint. The blueprint exists—we just need you to have the courage to follow it.
Stop Propping Up the Big—Fund What’s Working on the Ground
Large, legacy institutions are often too slow, too risk-averse, and too insulated from real communities to lead the way in this era of instability. Many still operate within outdated power structures that perpetuate systemic inequities, even as they claim the mantle of progress. And for more than a few, primary loyalty isn’t to the communities they serve but to their donors, boards, and reputations.
Meanwhile, smaller organizations—those embedded in communities like KALW Public Media where I am now—are working on the frontlines of democracy. We respond nimbly. We experiment, innovate, and adapt. Most importantly, we are accountable first and foremost to the people we serve.
But better-funded organizations still get more funding. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle often based on patronizing visions of smaller organizations not having the capacity to handle bigger and longer-term gifts. If philanthropy is serious about building durable change, this has to stop. The task can no longer be to “make the big equitable”; it’s got to be to make the equitable big.
The Old Models Are Failing Democracy
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Democracy itself is under threat, not just from external forces but from within—through voter suppression, disinformation, and attacks on marginalized communities. Large institutions aren’t equipped to address these threats because they’re disconnected from the grassroots.
Community-rooted organizations, on the other hand, know the terrain. They’re trusted voices within their communities, often serving as the first line of defense against disinformation and civic disengagement. They create spaces for dialogue, empower underheard and misrepresented voices, and foster civic and cultural participation—building the very trust that democracy relies on.
When crises hit, it’s these organizations—not the bureaucratic giants—that show up first and stay the longest. In the face of COVID-19, local mutual aid networks mobilized faster than government agencies. During social unrest, community centers became hubs for healing and activism. And yet, these same organizations are constantly fighting for survival.
Philanthropy must choose: either fuel the institutions that will protect and expand democratic values, or continue propping up the old guard while democracy crumbles.
Five Shifts Philanthropy Must Make
If we’re serious about addressing the interconnected crises of democracy and economic inequities, then philanthropy must shed its risk-averse culture. There are many radical (and not so radical) shifts that foundations need to adopt. Here are five:
Invest Big in Small Organizations
Stop treating small organizations as pilot projects or afterthoughts. Give them transformational funding—unrestricted, multi-year grants that let them build infrastructure, expand their work, and sustain their impact. Let them scale what works, not what fits into pre-existing frameworks of success.
Fund Networks, Not Lone Institutions
The future isn’t about creating one large “model” organization. It’s about building networks of smaller to midsize community-driven organizations that collaborate, share resources, and adapt successful models across contexts. This approach maximizes impact without the inefficiency of centralized bureaucracy.
Break Free from the 5% Rule
The 5% minimum payout requirement is often treated as a ceiling, not a floor. Foundations cling to their endowments, prioritizing long-term financial stability over immediate impact. But what’s the point of stability when democracy is collapsing? Now is the time for bold investment. Stop treating the money as sacred. It’s not. The money that sits in foundations’ endowments was withheld from the tax base in the name of public good. Distribute it.
Fund Risk and Failure
Innovation doesn’t happen without risk. The most transformative ideas often come from smaller organizations willing to try new things and fail forward. Yet foundations often penalize failure instead of treating it as part of the process. Fund experimentation, knowing that not every project will succeed—but the ones that do could change everything.
Adopt New Metrics of Success
Throw out the traditional return-on-investment metrics. Start measuring community-defined outcomes: trust, civic engagement, resilience, and well-being. Ask the people being served what success looks like and let that guide your funding decisions.
The Future of Philanthropy Isn’t Safe—It’s Bold
This isn’t a call for gradual reform. It’s a plea for radical transformation. The current era assault on democratic norms, coupled with rising economic inequality, reveal the increasing fragility of the systems we’ve long taken for granted. If philanthropy continues to fund incremental change and symbolic gestures, it will be complicit in the collapse of the very society it claims to serve.
The money is there. The models exist. What’s missing is the will to act.
The choice is clear: keep pouring money into large institutions that perpetuate the status quo, or unleash the potential of the organizations already leading the way. It’s time to stop asking small organizations to prove they’re worth the risk. Instead, ask if we can afford the risk of not funding them.
The clock is ticking. Will you rise to the moment, or be remembered as the sector that hesitated when the world most needed bold action?
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This piece was brought to you by KALW Speaks, a monthly series of essays from KALW staff and contributors, exploring the ideas that drive our work. Each of these essays reflect our commitment to innovation and invites you into a deeper conversation about the future of public media.
Learn more: From A Whisper To A Roar.
