Systems Change
FUNDER SELF-ASSESSMENT

Are you a funder taking Catalyst 2030’s “Shifting Funding Practices” open letter to heart? Welcome! This tool can help you further embrace the principles and practices called for in the letter. 

Our Invitation

Funders are confronted with an urgent need to find and support transformative solutions to the world's most pressing problems. However, much of the philanthropic field is currently calibrated for treating symptoms rather than changing the conditions that hold societal problems in place. Though it is important to reduce immediate suffering (e.g. building & equipping homeless shelters), philanthropists must also prioritize addressing root conditions (e.g. changing housing-related norms and policies). This requires a different mindset and practice of funding. So, how can the philanthropic field re-calibrate?

This question is being asked by many in the field and, fortunately, the key principles and practices are already known. To embrace these, each institution must go on its own unique journey. We invite you to use this self-assessment to discover where your institution is on this journey and to travel even further. To get started, please click the "Take the Self-Assessment" button below. When you've completed the self-assessment, you can also visit additional sections on this webpage, such as the "After the Assessment" and "Resource Library" pages. And if you have feedback or suggestions, please get in touch

Take the assessment

Once you've taken the self-assessment and received recommendations, head to the Resource Library to browse through resources that you can use on your journey to grow as a systems change funder. To get started, consider:

  1. Finding and internalizing your own reasons for why growing as a systems change funder is important—i.e. how it can manifest as better grantmaking/investing and, ultimately, greater impact
  2. Carving out the time to brainstorm how to address the recommendations that you received through the assessment
  3. Organizing a learning journey for your colleagues and peers—e.g. setup a lunch where they can come together, take the assessment, and discuss possible next steps
  4. Seeing your institution as a system itself, explore who and what needs to be influenced in order for culture, strategy, and process to change
  5. Developing an action plan putting it into motion!

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