Community-Centric Fundraising
I describe myself as a community-centric grant strategist because I strongly believe in the principles of the Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) movement. I began working in the grants field because I wanted to make the world a better place. I learned quickly that the traditional systems of fundraising in the United States are based on inherently inequitable structures, where the people (or organizations or governments) with the money are determining the criteria for who is worthy to receive their funds. CCF is a movement of people working to transform fundraising and philanthropy so that they are co-grounded in racial and economic justice, treating donors and funders as partners with those doing the work. The movement is based on 10 Principles, including the equal value and benefit of all people involved in fundraising (donors, staff, board members, and volunteers) and the power of the collective over the individual.
I discovered the Community-Centric Fundraising movement through the work of Vu Le, one of the founders of this movement and author of the initial nine principles. I was first introduced to Vu through his highlighting of Crappy Funding Practices on LinkedIn. Crappy Funding Practices is a sometimes humorous, always cathartic vehicle for grant professionals to connect and commiserate over onerous grant applications. The profile demonstrates the principles of CCF by instigating funders to consider the equity of their philanthropic process — for example, those who create unnecessarily long and complicated grant applications for a one-time, programmatically restricted gift of $2,500. Vu’s power often stems from this irreverent humor, calling attention to unjust systems that perpetuate inequity, even if they were designed to help communities.
We do not all have the same following and impact as Vu, but there are many ways to take part in the CCF movement within your own network:
Pre-order and read Vu’s next book, Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector, which goes on sale Oct 14, 2025. Net proceeds from the sales of the book from now until the end of 2026 will be donated to organizations supporting trans rights, immigrant rights, and/or fighting fascism.
Join CCF and explore ways to contribute time and money to the movement. While there aren’t in-person meetings in my area, I subscribe to their newsletter and actively share what I learn. I have also attended virtual meetings to discuss how consultants can support CCF. CCF offers a list of opportunities to get involved.
Join More than Grant Writers, a community of people that began as part of CCF and evolved to an unaffiliated group of individuals and organizations who wish to exercise our power as grant professionals to enact systems change. They are hosting a virtual meeting on October 6 and sessions at the upcoming GrantSummit at the end of the month.
Discuss these issues with funders, fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and the broader public. This can be uncomfortable to do, especially if you work for a nonprofit and are concerned about the power dynamics and potential alienation of funders. However, depending on your role, there may be opportunities to work toward different principles, which brings me to my last suggestion…
Create learning opportunities (webinars, classes, articles, blog posts) focused on aspects of CCF. I recently led a webinar for the Grant Professionals Association about asset-based framing in needs statements. This was an opportunity for grant writers to empower the people they serve, rather than positioning them as individuals who just face problems and need help.
Together, we can help address longstanding frustrations with the way fundraising is conducted — centering the voices of those being served by community-oriented organizations and working to ensure that the philanthropic industry stops perpetuating the very injustices that the nonprofit sector aims to end.
