Philanthropy & Community: Backing the Upswing
Community, as a concept, is simultaneously self-evident (we know it’s out there) and complex (we'd all define it slightly differently). It’s typically defined as the warm, fuzzy and reciprocal engagement between a smaller, more localised group of individuals who share a common purpose. Community is a building block of a ‘society’, which assembles these communities into a more integrated whole (while noting that some, like Thatcher, infamously declared ‘there is no such thing as society!’).
We’ve all weaved in and out of different communities in our lives, and can all attest to the importance of community for our sense of belonging, and overall well-being. Given that, wouldn't it follow that we'd all be extra vigilant to keep our communities strong and healthy, that we'd sign up and participate regularly, and that we contribute at least a little more than we'd take to support their growing momentum? Well, apparently not.
For over a generation now, social scientists and politicians have been both alarmed and flummoxed by the gradual hollowing out of community in Western societies, and the wider implication for our health, happiness and democracy. Robert Putnam’s treatise, ‘Bowling Alone’ (2000), tracked the rise, and then fall, of social capital in the US across 100+ years through the symptoms of economic inequality, political disunity, social cohesion and cultural solidarity. Closer to home, Hugh Mackay’s, ‘The Kindness Revolution’ (2021) describes “our sense of belonging to families, neighbourhoods and all kinds of groups and communities,” and how we “utterly depend upon our social connections for our emotional and physical security”. Mackay warns of a society in danger of forgetting how much we need each other as trust in institutions erodes and personal relationships become more transactional. Why is this a problem? When we lose our sense of connection and belonging, the dirge of loneliness sets in and mental illness skyrockets. And when social dislocation lines up with class divides, the conditions for populist and fascist movements are made, and democracies are weakened.
Encouragingly, philanthropy in Australia is diving into the deep end of this question of community, and the intersection with place, as per these encouraging examples from some our recent client work at GoodWolf:
Communities Foundations Australia is unleashing a new strategy to catalyse ‘field building’ of community philanthropy from its growing base of community foundation members and practitioners, and reaching beyond the high walls and rigid practices of traditional foundations. Community foundations are critical bridging organisations across class and cultures, and they play a critical role of connecting donors and community service organisations in a neutral space where, as partners, their best work can begin.
The Community Grocer were successful in securing support through the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) to help strengthen and scale their model of bringing together a unique recipe of culturally appropriate food security, microenterprise and community connectedness into regular food markets positioned near community housing
National Affordable Housing is launching a new strategy to bring partnerships together to drive more stable housing outcomes in the community. As one of Australia’s Tier 1 community housing providers, they have secured significant grants and support from State Governments and the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to co-invest in partnerships with property developers, philanthropy and community service organisations, and drive up the accessibility, affordability and suitability of housing for all.
Helen McPherson Smith Trust, whom we supported a few years ago into its new strategy, are deepening and strengthening their partnership approach in both Education and Community, and working across Victoria to address socio-economic disadvantage. A recent panel session they pulled together explored the deeper questions of how the community franchises, volunteer clubs and associations (and churches) of yesterday are slowly declining, and some yielding to new forms of congregation and engagement. Finding where and how to place philanthropic support behind this next wave of ‘community’ to take ideas to scale is an intriguing challenge
Hello Sunday Morning, whom we supported recently into a new strategy and operational plan, are creating peer-based support for individuals wanting to change their relationship with alcohol. In what started very much as a community movement, HSM is starting to scale the reach and impact of its work to reach those that are often drinking to disguise their sense of isolation or sense of loneliness
Southside Community Foundation, a new community foundation that GoodWolf has been supporting as a Founder Member since its inception, is growing from strength to strength. It researched a Vital Signs report for the community to highlight and profile hitherto unobserved characteristics and unique features and where our community needs most support. It also ran its first funding round, and exceptionally, they brought their inaugural grantees together and hosted them for dinner – a world first for a funder (!) and a testament to the peer-based approach of their work
So, as we watch community-based initiatives like these take shape, there is hope that more of us will be able to find communities to which we can really belong.
In Putnam’s latest book, Upswing, he speaks of the vibrancy and hope of the next generations to help create and drive this next wave of community-building. And he notes that ‘fun’ is a critical ingredient in making them a success.
Enjoy!