Peter McKenzie Project – Moving Towards Participatory Philanthropy
In the Spring 2021 edition of He Pito Mata, the Peter McKenzie Project (PMP) talked about embarking on a journey which is exploring how it could move towards a more participatory funding approach. In February 2021, Kaikōkiri and the PMP Committee gathered for a Mahi Tahi (working together as one) hui in the Coromandel to discuss the potential opportunities and challenges this approach could present.
Part of the work since then has been to draw together an account of PMP’s journey which led to the desire to share control and direction with Kaikōkiri. PMP is pleased to be able to share “Moving Towards Participatory Philanthropy” which has been drawn together by Alex Woodley from Point & Associates. The team has also created a useful and accessible summary of the paper incorporating graphics. Reflecting on the interviews, conversations, and meeting notes and minutes, has enabled Alex to draw together some interesting insights.
“The most exciting finding for me is that PMP has put in place this incredibly high trust grantmaking model, but they’ve also underpinned this model with a set of conditions that make it, in fact, very low risk. That’s largely due to the strong relational approach that PMP has with Kaikōkiri, that they’re all learning alongside each other.
“The PMP Committee is bringing years of expertise, knowledge and experience and Kaikōkiri have this incredible proximate knowledge of what’s going on and trying new things. Both groups can come together and share of all this and what they are discovering, so in effect, they learn together. Kaikōkiri feel that they can take risks because they have this strong relationship with the PMP Committee. They take these risks, try things out, bring learnings back, and it creates this wonderful virtuous cycle of learning,” says Alex.
Some of the observations of the journey so far are as follows:
The PMP Committee has taken a high-trust grant-making approach, but the way PMP is structured, in pairing innovative practice and Kaikōkiri who are driven to affect change with a developmental evaluative approach, has helped to mitigate risk.
While Kaikōkiri are focused on their own vision, goals, and theory of change, they are also contributing to the overall PMP vision and goals; creating a ‘flotilla’ of organisations leading collaborative, impactful, and sustainable changes to reshape the systems that hold whānau in poverty.
PMP values learning, reflecting, adapting, and improving, and is trying to support a peer-to-peer learning culture in which those interested can come together and talk openly about what they are doing and learning, along with their successes, mistakes, and uncertainties.
The strong focus on learning has helped to pave the way for deeper relationships between the Committee, staff and Kaikōkiri.
There is also evidence the approach is driving outcomes; that this high trust model actually lowers risk.
It has become increasingly apparent to the Committee and Kaikōkiri that a more participatory funding model could potentially improve funding processes and decision-making.
The Mahi Tahi hui provided an opportunity to have more nuanced conversations about what a participatory philanthropic approach might add to PMP, what it might mean, how Kaikōkiri might want to be involved, and how it might impact their work.
PMP’s approach is already supporting a flotilla of change-makers working on upstream changes so that children and their whānau can live free of poverty and hardship, and flourish. They are advocating for change, building connections with others who can further their efforts, creating pathways out of poverty, amplifying unheard voices, and rewriting unhelpful narratives.
Authentic power sharing, and designing the necessary processes that enable it, requires deeper conversations and high trust. The ongoing pandemic has impacted further face-to-face discussions which has naturally slowed progress; a challenge ahead in the journey is how to make the most of virtual contact, should coming together continue to be problematic.
What’s become abundantly clear in the course of this mahi is that while the structure of participatory philanthropy and how it might be implemented for PMP and Kaikōkiri is still evolving, headway is being made. More importantly, there is an openness and willingness to continue the conversation and embrace this opportunity.
Summary (PDF)