Grants and student awards

Participatory Granting Pilot

In recognition of the importance for equitable resource distribution and community-driven decision-making, many foundations and grantmakers have embraced more participatory funding approaches. These initiatives respond to critiques of traditional philanthropy as hierarchical, exclusive, and insufficiently responsive to the needs of equity-deserving communities.

Hamilton Community Foundation has identified local funding disparities, with nine percent of donor-led granting and 25 percent of Foundation-led granting to equity-deserving led or partnered organizations in Hamilton in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Following a year of preparatory work and community consultations, HCF launched its Participatory Granting Pilot in November 2023. This initiative, focusing on equity-deserving community (EDC) organizations in Hamilton, aims to bolster the capacity of EDC-led organizations and foster stronger relationships between HCF and these organizations; in particular, those communities that have been chronically underfunded by philanthropy. In this context, HCF identified six priority equity-deserving groups: Black, racialized, Indigenous, Deaf persons/persons with disabilities, women and gender diverse, and 2SLGBTQ+. By elevating the voices and experiences of those most affected by funding decisions, the pilot seeks to enhance the capacity of EDC organizations and cultivate deeper partnerships between HCF and the community. Additionally, in consultation with local Indigenous organizations, a parallel Indigenous granting strategy is in development.

Based on the results of the preparatory work and consultations, the pilot was designed to incorporate shared community values, prioritizing community ownership and centering the needs of EDC-led organizations. To maximize the decision-making power of EDC organizations while also minimizing administrative burden, a hybrid model was proposed to structure the pilot. In the co-designed model, a Community Panel would create the eligibility criteria, develop the call for expressions of interest, and select organizations to make up the Granting Circle. The Granting Circle would then meet to share organizational needs and distribute the money among their organizations.  

Year 1: progress to date

The pilot ran from November 2023 to June 2024. After significant discussion, the Panel selected the 10 organizations to be included in the granting circle, who will convene over three years. This list represents a diverse group of initiatives that promise to strengthen community ties and enhance the impact of the pilot:

Representatives from these organizations formed the Granting Circle and convened to decide how to distribute year 1 of a $500,000 fund among themselves. After considerable discussion, the group reached a consensus and decided to distribute the funds equally with each organization receiving $50,000. Organizations requesting over $50,000 agreed to accept less to ensure equitable distribution, while those requesting less were trusted to use the additional funds effectively.

This Granting Circle will convene for three years and plans to revisit their funding distribution approach in subsequent years, adapting as their relationships evolve.

Read the full report on the pilot here.