"Discussions about "infrastructure" in both philanthropy and movement spaces often revolve around legal counsel, strategic planning, cybersecurity, and fundraising. These supports are necessary, particularly for small or young nonprofits, but they're far from sufficient to meet the challenges and fractures movements face today. There are two problems here. First, infrastructure as a whole receives scant philanthropic support. Between 2004 and 2015, US foundations allocated $1.94 billion ($162 million per year) to infrastructure, less than 1 percent of all foundation giving, according to the Foundation Center."
"By 2015, infrastructure giving had dropped to 0.59 percent of total giving, down from 0.86 percent in 2004. The numbers become even more dismal for Black and Indigenous-led organizations. Indigenous-led organizations receive less than 0.4 percent of all philanthropic dollars; Black-led organizations receive 1.9 percent. Both numbers are far below the share of Black and Indigenous people in the nation's population."
Legal counsel, strategic planning, cybersecurity, and fundraising are necessary supports for nonprofits but insufficient to address movement-level challenges and fractures. Foundations allocated $1.94 billion to infrastructure between 2004 and 2015, under 1 percent of total giving, and infrastructure giving fell to 0.59 percent by 2015. Indigenous-led organizations receive under 0.4 percent of philanthropic dollars and Black-led organizations receive 1.9 percent, both far below their population shares. Philanthropy often funds affinity groups, data hubs, and funder groups while neglecting narrative and solidarity infrastructure that links organizations, strengthens leader bonds, and builds cultural power for structural change.
Read at Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
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