How can philanthropy best support systems change and gender justice? How can funders effectively and respectfully engage with program partners to strengthen and advance their own visions for change?
The Co-Impact Handbook seeks to articulate who we are, our values, our approach to change, how we work, and how we hope to partner effectively with others. We see it as a way to clarify our own point of view, and serve as a helpful and transparent guide for current and prospective program partners, as well as a useful reference for funders and others.
We published the first edition of our Handbook in September 2019 to share our approach to collaborative philanthropy for systems change. The deliberative process involving our team, partners, and trusted experts to draft this document helped to hone our identity and clarify our values, assumptions, and approaches. Over the past two years, as our thinking has evolved, we have codified many of the core elements in this revised second edition of our Handbook.
The original Handbook reflected the design, priorities, and governance of our Foundational Fund; this version now also incorporates lessons learned and key elements of Co-Impact’s Gender Fund – as well. These developments include a sharper focus on power and inclusion, and how we think about intersectional gender justice, women’s leadership, and systems change. It also reflects an expansion of our grantmaking process, our grant types, and our non-financial support. In addition, we have updated sections on political economy and our approach to learning, measurement, and evaluation. Some elements have been removed and transferred to our new Wiki (forthcoming).
This second edition reflects our current thinking and commitments going forward. As we strive to be an adaptive organization, we expect to continue to evolve in response to experience, feedback from peers and partners, and ongoing learning. Our Handbook reflects our commitment to maintaining a beginner’s mindset, listening and learning, being program partner- and community-centered, building trusting partnerships, and upholding transparency and accountability. We hope you will find it useful, and would value your critical and candid feedback.
