Reflections on Participatory Regranting: Lessons from the Regenerative Community Fund Workshop
In 2024, ECOLISE marked the launch of the Regenerative Community Fund (RCF), a fund dedicated to supporting community-led climate initiatives. In this context, ECOLISE organised the workshop Participative Regranting to Fund Transformative Communities on February 12th, bringing together community climate activists, network intermediaries, and philanthropic institutions to exchange knowledge and experiences on building participatory funding models.
A panel of experts opened the discussion, followed by an interactive session with over 25 participants. Panelists included Nisha Owen, Executive Director at Global Greengrants Fund, Jason Nardi, representing RIPESS and FundAction, and ECOLISE Council member, Gloria Mugabekazi, from Participatory Grant Making Community, and Samie Blasingame from Collective Abundance.
Key Takeaways: What Does Participatory Regranting Mean?
The concept of participatory regranting takes many forms, ranging from delegating granting to a participative led organisation to co-designing and co-deciding grant distribution. A key takeaway was the need for clarity in intentions, expectations, and value alignment among funders, grassroots organisations, and intermediaries. Some essential questions came up from the session: is the goal to resource hard-to-reach communities or to intentionally shift power?; how far should we go in redistributing decision-making power, and to whom are we accountable?; how do we navigate conversations around money and power in a way that fosters trust?. Shifting power requires time and trust, as participants emphasized, it “moves at the speed of trust.”
Accessibility and inclusivity are central. This involves more than just intentions to include grassroot and marginalized communities: regranting needs to be truly accessible, adapting vocabulary and processes (such as grant applications), particularly for grassroots organisations and communities without existing connections with philanthropy. Community building and community initiatives need long-term, structural funding, rather than activity or project based.
Participants underlined that in the process we need to be adaptable and flexible, that there is no one solution that fits all cases. Flexibility and adaptability to local context, not just in processes (i.e. timelines, deadlines, structures, etc) but also in our thinking – what may be possible which we haven’t seen/done before?
Finally, the workshop highlighted the importance of documenting processes and measuring impact to attract further funding for participatory grantmaking. The conversation also touched on new and experimental philanthropic approaches, particularly those led by a new generation of funders who are less constrained by traditional models. Collaboration, connection, and a strong network of intermediaries will be key in advancing this work.
Watch the full panel and plenary discussion below:
