State of the Movement: Funding Practices Report
Stray Dog Institute recently released their latest research report, The State of the Movement: Funding Practices, discussing how grantmaking practices impact the farmed animal advocacy and plant-based movement ecosystem. The report surfaced key insights from current philanthropic practices, along with recommendations to support a stronger funder/advocate ecosystem.
This report inspired Thrive to reflect on what we're doing well and where we can improve!
📌 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐨𝐰
🥬 •𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴. We learned that keeping applicants informed during the review process matters. So we've added touchpoints with applicants throughout the grant review process to improve transparency.
🥬 • 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. Lacking 501(c)(3) status can feel like a barrier to receiving US donations, but Thrive can help through fiscal sponsorship! We'll be promoting this option more visibly so organizations know it's available to them.
🥬 •𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭. The report highlighted that organizations want meaningful ways to share feedback with funders. Thrive has an anonymous feedback form and we take the feedback serious. But the form is underused, so we're making it easier to find and use. (Find it here!)
🔍 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠
🥬 •𝘌𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. Applicants want more guidance in crafting applications and clearer feedback after a decline. With hundreds of applications each quarter, individualized support isn't always feasible for Thrive’s small team, so we're exploring how AI can serve as a thought partner for applicants, helping identify areas for proposal improvement and offering reasons for decline.
✅ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
We were glad to see the report validate several practices already central to Thrive!
🥬 •𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. Alongside grants, we offer the Thrive Fundraising Accelerator, the Thrive Africa Accelerator, and workshops. According to the report, capacity matters as much as funding.
🥬 • 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. Our open online application process ensures grants are accessible to as many organizations as possible, without opaque avenues to apply.
🥬 •𝘎𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘴. Rather than soley relying on grantees to come to us at conferences that might be inaccessible to some, we also conduct site visits to grantees' countries when possible, to better learn the local movement and meet groups.