Community organizing gives people a way to participate in decisions that guide their lives. It can build leadership, relationships, and a membership base over time.
Organizing often needs funding for staff, relationship-building, and operations that short, project-restricted grants may not cover.
Philanthropy often organizes grants by issue. Residents experience those issues together: housing affects health, transit affects work, and school policy can influence whether families remain connected to a neighborhood.
Community organizing can connect these issues through residents’ lived experiences.
See the people behind the campaign
A policy win may be the first thing a funder sees. The human journey behind it deserves attention too.
Someone had to invite the first member. Leaders had to learn how the system worked. The group had to stay together through setbacks.
Stories help funders see this journey. They show how an organizer’s values became public action. They also show how the work changed the people who took part.
This is the heart of How We Become.
Understand how power grows
Organizing begins with relationships. Those relationships support a base. The base develops leaders who can move a campaign.
Each part needs care.
A group may spend months holding one-to-one conversations before a public action. Leaders may study an issue long before they make a demand. The work can look quiet while power is growing.
Funders can learn to recognize these stages. They can ask about member leadership and base strength. They can also track shifts in public decision-making.
Use funding practices that fit the work
Multi-year grants can give relationships time to deepen. General operating support can help groups adjust strategy. Proportionate reporting can leave more staff time for the work.
These funding approaches can signal trust in community leadership.
Funders can also support organizational health. Competitive pay may improve retention. Operational systems can free staff time for members, and leadership development can distribute responsibility.
Together, these investments can strengthen organizational capacity.
Learn in relationship with grantees
Foundations do not need to hold every answer before making a grant. They can learn with the people closest to the work.
Site visits can make the strategy visible. Honest talks can surface what is changing. Grantee leaders can also help a foundation improve how it defines impact.
This kind of learning asks funders to be clear about their own power. The goal is a relationship where community knowledge can shape philanthropic choices.
Make a long-term commitment
In Chicago and elsewhere, community organizing can help residents build trust, participate in public decisions, and prepare new leaders for future work.
Results may include verified policy changes, stronger participation, and greater local capacity to act together.
Wieboldt Foundation has supported community organizing for more than a century. How We Become invites more funders to join this commitment.
Begin with the stories. Follow them to the relationships. Then invest in the power those relationships can build.
Fund the people who shape communities. Give them the time and trust to shape the future.
Evidence and source notes
New Attitudes, Old Practices: The Provision of Multiyear General Operating Support. Center for Effective Philanthropy, 2020. Leaders reported that multi-year, flexible support can improve planning and adaptability, with important limits on causal interpretation.
The State and Future of the National Social Sector Infrastructure. Urban Institute, 2023. Interviews, focus groups, and sector analysis identified workforce strain and limited capacity for learning and infrastructure across the social sector.