The nature of civil society and grassroots social change work is its reliance on pools of money for specific programs. This means it is important to seek multiple types of funding from diverse sources.

In conflict contexts, sources of funding should ideally come from both inside and outside of the country. In some cases, even if national or local government funding exists, the biggest sources of funding are private donors and/or agencies in other countries. In Israel, for example civil society leader Fathi Mashoud notes that initiatives to promote equality and Arab civil society are funded by sources outside of the country because the sociopolitical context means that little support exists within Israel. Likewise, in Northern Ireland, various activists spoke about the importance of PEACE I/II/III funding from the European Union to boost and focus post-conflict reconciliation work. As Andy shares, “The Irish and British governments put almost no funding into that area. It was 80-90% EU funding.” 

Diverse funding sources also help organizations deal with or avoid taking money with political strings attached. For example, Seamus McAleavey points out that EU funding for post-conflict reconciliation, especially in its first iteration, was “seen as independent external money,” whereas funding from the Northern Ireland-based community relations commission was viewed as linked to the state and therefore to a particular political agenda. Similarly, Sadaka Reut staff note that they stopped taking funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) because of the political agenda of the US government. The organization has been able to continue its work due to having other sources of funding. Black Lives Matter activists also noted the importance of having diverse funding sources, including crowdsourcing options, in order to access resources quickly when emergencies arise.

Regardless of where the largest pots of funding are, it is important to diversify the types of  revenue used for organizations’ initiatives: private donors may change their priorities, grants may not be renewed, and so on. Having funds from a range of sources means it is less likely that initiatives will collapse if (or when) one source of money runs out. 

Challenges you may encounter using this tool

• It can be challenging to diversify funding sources for niche causes or initiatives because funders invest more often in models or concepts they know more about versus those they do not. Innovation funds for social change efforts are generally harder to come by than small business loans or venture funds.

• It takes a substantial investment of time and human resources to build and maintain a relationship with even one funder; so the more diversity in your funding portfolio, the more time it takes to build and maintain that pipeline.

• Funding can have a negative impact by directing funds toward individuals, programs, or narratives that potentially detract or derail broader coalitions. If organizational leadership cannot overcome the pitfalls of funding and politics, be weary of how funding can possibly cause more harm than good.