Giving Thought

In episode 57, we talk to Rose Longhurst about participation in philanthropy and her experience of radical approaches to grantmaking with Edge Fund (and others). Including: What is Edge Fund, how did it come about, and what are its aims? Where does Edge Fund fit in the wider landscape of participatory grantmaking? How does its approach help to overcome some of the concerns about existing models of philanthropy? i.e. that they are undemocratic, that they fail to redistribute power, that they are incapable of addressing structural inequality? Could more traditional funders replicate the Edge Fund approach? Which elements? And what would they need to change in order to make this happen? There is a lot of focus on participatory approaches to grantmaking at the moment as part of the solution to the criticisms being levelled at philanthropy. How much of the rhetoric is reflected in reality? Are there limits to participatory grantmaking? i.e. are there some situations in which it is better for expert funders to set