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globalfundcf.bsky.social
Global Fund for Community Foundations
@globalfundcf.bsky.social
270 followers 150 following 47 posts
The Global Fund for Community Foundations is a grassroots grantmaker building community philanthropy worldwide. #ShiftThePower (https://globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/)
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globalfundcf.bsky.social
Berhanu Demissie of DEC challenges us to look beyond traditional donors. The true path to sustainable development isn't just external aid, he says—it's harnessing local resources to drive lasting, sustainable change.

We must break the cycle of dependency. It’s time to #ShiftThePower.
#TheTimeIsNow
November 25, 2025 at 7:55 AM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Community philanthropy builds assets, capacities, and trust — helping communities grow through shared resources. From schools to youth programmes, local people are driving their own development

Watch how local giving shifts power back to communities:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K04s...
The Answer is Local: How Community Philanthropy Shifts Power & Changes the World
YouTube video by globalfundcf
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:29 AM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Today we launch #StoriesForChange — a global campaign celebrating #CommunityPhilanthropy and people-led solutions. Communities are stepping up to drive their own development, and we’re here to spotlight their stories and the changemakers leading the way.

#TheTimeIsNow #TheStoryIsOurs #ShiftThePower
November 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
What's possible when we stop seeing resources as charity & start seeing them as solidarity: grounded in dignity, local ties, collective imagination? Join us for a conversation on 30 Oct about alternative models of funding, organizing & mutual care.

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/news/buildin...
Building the new: Reimagining civil society resourcing in times of global transformation - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
September 25, 2025 at 1:45 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
As the Ikhala Trust winds up its more than two decades of work in South Africa's Eastern Cape, Bernie Dolley & Sarah Hugow reflect on how supporting the dreams/vision of individuals & small groups can lead to transformative change. #ShiftThePower

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/the-but...
The Butterfly Effect: Leaders inspiring change - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
September 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
Feeling dissatisfied with a measurement tool that ignored the non-linear path of children learning art, FacesUp set out to create an alternative measurement tool to define success by the richness of learning art, and not a "defined set target." shiftthepower.org/2025/08/13/a...

#ShiftThePower
A measurement tool not defined by targets
With this method, there is never a final destination we seek to reach – but the journey is everything. We seek continuous improvement, and not a defined “perfect” target.
shiftthepower.org
August 13, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
When Shila & Nish of Freedom Studio (Nepal) visited the Nebraska Community Foundation, they saw big differences & surprising similarities. Nebraska’s community philanthropy models offered new inspiration for Nepal, especially as global aid shrinks shiftthepower.org/2025/08/20/f...

#ShiftThePower
August 27, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
Funders assume 💰 is what movements need most but movements have always found ways to self-resource. So how should funders engage with things that can exist with or without their support? Here is the case for messy/vital movement building as real power shiftthepower.org/2025/08/22/a... #ShiftThePower
A case for movement building as community power
Movements have existed and have been organising long before “funding” and will continue to do so.
shiftthepower.org
September 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Save the date for the next #ShiftThePower Summit!

Johannesburg in 2016, London in 2019 & Bogotá in 2023…#ShiftThePower is heading to Asia next! Mark your calendars for 2 - 4 December 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/news/save-th...
Save the date for the next #ShiftThePower Summit! Kathmandu, December 2026 - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
July 23, 2025 at 3:36 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
For anyone working in shrinking civic space, navigating tensions between funding, power & place - what can be learned from Hungary?

“Those working every day for community, dignity & democracy deserve support systems that match their courage.”

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/hungary...
What Hungary's civil society funding crisis can teach us - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
July 15, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
Born out of a powerful weaving of Global South orgs, the #GlobalSouthHouse is a space by & for the South's political articulation, mobilization, & knowledge production for dev't

The weaving has already begun. Join us on 🗓️ 30th July to be part of it shiftthepower.org/event/offici...
#ShiftThePower
Official Launch of The Global South House
Born from the collaboration between Alianza Socioambiental Fondos del Sur and Rede Comuá, the Global South House is a bold platform, created by and for the Global South. It is dedicated to political a...
shiftthepower.org
July 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
"We do not want to create a culture of fear or compliance over genuine commitment to the communities that are underserved."

Reflections on 25 years of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust & its ambition to be "more than just a grantmaker." #ShiftThePower

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/the-bal...
The balancing act of being “More than just a Grantmaker” - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
July 7, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
Dear funders, not everything needs your ruler, highlighter or template. Movements are colouring outside the colouring book & making magic, & doing the work they need to do in complexity & messy organising. They are only be supported, not controlled shiftthepower.org/2025/07/03/c...
#ShiftThePower
Colouring outside the colouring book: Seeing all the colours in enablement. Part 2
A funder recently told me how they do not work on ”identity politics.” I was confused by this because we both acknowledged that civil society is in crisis. Most especially, with the recent economic re...
shiftthepower.org
July 3, 2025 at 12:20 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
"Philanthropy’s most important contribution is not to patch holes – but to support those who are imagining what a better system could look like." #ShiftThePower #PossibleNow

www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/we-need...
We need a funding revolution: Can philanthropy step up? - Alliance magazine
As the aid system crashes, a strand of opinion has suggested that philanthropy could step in to compensate for the cuts to funding that this has caused.  It is finally dawning on the sector that …
www.alliancemagazine.org
July 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
humanityunitedorg.bsky.social
Dumi Gatsha (they/them) is the first ever gender diverse parliamentary candidate in Botswana, a former facilitator of the #ShiftThePower UK Funders Collective and founder of Success Capital. Their new piece in @shiftthepower.bsky.social reckons with the future of philanthropy.
Colouring outside the colouring book: Seeking out the alternative systems for movement organizing.
No one ever claims to hold power within philanthropy. I have met countless people who are well paid, who hold positions of power and/or are backed by endowments. Many of these always refer to another ...
shiftthepower.org
May 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
🚨 Gov'ts are weaponizing climate crises to ban protests, militarize resources, & criminalizing environmental defenders, but communities are pushing back with the local resources they have. 🌍 Join us for a critical 3-part series👇
🗓 June 9, 18 & 25.
🔗: climasolutions.org/climate-auth... #ShiftThePower
June 3, 2025 at 7:56 AM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Writing in Alliance, Rebecca Hanshaw & Barry Knight make the case for supporting grassroots people power:

"If social change is the goal, answers will not be found in a professionalized body that seeks permission to act from its donors." #ShiftThePower

www.alliancemagazine.org/blog/resist-...
Resist, reform or revolution? - Alliance magazine
As the shock of the USAID cuts begins to subside, discussions about how to address international development have intensified. WhatsApp groups are buzzing, webinars are everywhere, and blogs are abund...
www.alliancemagazine.org
May 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Great piece from Daria Rybalchenko of the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development on why we need to #MeasureWhatMatters locally, rather than simply measuring to meet the requirements of international donors. #ShiftThePower

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/numbers...
Numbers or meanings? How the logic of measuring results in donor relations is changing - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
May 28, 2025 at 9:01 AM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
How are communities in #Ukraine moving beyond aid & co-governing shared resources? Join us on 12 June to hear of the creative models developed by the Moloda Gromada Foundation, even amidst disruption & war. #ShiftThePower

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/news/upcomin...
Upcoming online conference “Citizen capital: Solutions from within” - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
May 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
"Despite the uncertainty, Mic remains grounded in something deeper than funding cycles: community, creativity & a belief in people’s ability to rebuild from w/in."

Spot on from Mic (Center for Disaster Preparedness) speaking w/ @globalgiving.bsky.social.

www.globalgiving.org/learn/storie...
www.globalgiving.org
May 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
Writing in Humentum's "A bridge to the future: Essays on a new era for global development" the GFCF's Jenny Hodgson and @eshbankwesiga.bsky.social point to community philanthropy as the way forward. #ShiftThePower

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/light-i...
Light in times of darkness: Community philanthropy offers a way forward - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
May 9, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
Civil society around the world is reimagining & building new systems. It's also saying "we don’t want to go back to what we had before the cuts, because that wasn’t a system designed by us or for us." Sign this to stand with CSOs www.standwithcivilsociety.org
#ShiftThePower @peacedirect.bsky.social
May 6, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Global Fund for Community Foundations
shiftthepower.bsky.social
🌍 Funding cuts are hitting hard, but local orgs are also building a new system rooted in mutual aid, community philanthropy and solidarity saying, "what we need now is not rescue, but recognition."

✍🏽 Sign this open letter to #StandWithCivilSociety
#ShiftThePower standwithcivilsociety.org
May 1, 2025 at 12:57 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
After attending the recent Humanitarian Leadership Conference in Doha, @themrise.bsky.social lays out a set of core principles that could ground the quest of working towards a more equitable system of development and humanitarianism.

globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/alterna...
Alternatives to global development and humanitarianism – approach with caution - GFCF : GFCF
The GFCF is a grassroots grantmaker working to promote and support institutions of community philanthropy around the world.
globalfundcommunityfoundations.org
April 30, 2025 at 12:59 PM
globalfundcf.bsky.social
"No one ever claims to hold power within philanthropy...From directors to project officers, trustees to backdoor funders: all of them refer to some other power over and above them. This is how systems work."

A powerful read from Dumi Gatsha. #ShiftThePower

shiftthepower.org/2025/04/28/c...
Colouring outside the colouring book: Seeking out the alternative systems for movement organizing.
No one ever claims to hold power within philanthropy. I have met countless people who are well paid, who hold positions of power and/or are backed by endowments. Many of these always refer to another ...
shiftthepower.org
April 29, 2025 at 9:07 AM