Discover how a program in the Philippines challenged inequities and shifted power by championing local approaches to community need.
Building “equitable partnerships” might seem like just another buzzword in the nonprofit sector—but its true meaning is far more powerful, especially within the context of the Shift the Power and decolonizing philanthropy movements.
As the legacy of colonialism and profit-driven models of development continue to perpetuate global injustices, the urgency to address these inequalities has never been greater. Equitable partnerships are not just an ideal—but a critical tool in this fight for justice.
The social sector also now widely understands that collaboration among organizations, with each bringing unique expertise and perspectives, offers tremendous value. By championing each other’s strengths, supporting areas of need, and amplifying our collective efforts, we can more effectively serve the communities we work with. But translating these ideals into practice is no easy feat—especially when each organization comes with vastly different contexts, resources, and skill sets.
Central to this journey towards justice is the pursuit of equity in our partnerships at GlobalGiving.
As program practitioners, we wanted to understand: what does “equitable partnerships” look like in practice and what everyday shifts are required to make them a reality?
At their core, equitable partnerships are about shared power, trust, and mutual respect. Local partners, who understand the community context and culture best, must have ownership of program direction and activity. It’s not just about working together—it’s about creating relationships where all partners, regardless of size or resources, are truly valued and seen.
The Assets, Agency & Trust (AAT) Program was funded by USAID and took place in the Philippines. It set out to test the concept of equitable partnerships. Unsurprisingly, it was discovered that disrupting traditional practices requires time, effort, value alignment, mindset shifts, honest communication, flexibility, and a great deal of trust. Building trust between organizations can be challenging. But it ultimately enables us to let go of control, leverage our strengths, and elevate our collective work to new levels—which can be liberating for all partners involved.
The AAT program uncovered six key learnings from its journey to building liberating, equitable partnerships. These insights and actionable learnings work in practice and carry long-lasting impact.
Understanding and centering community priorities and serving the community together is key to forming equitable partnerships. It helps provide the right support for different needs and goals. Knowing what motivates partners, what obstacles they face, and better understanding the culture—a critical perspective that local partners offer—leads to more effective, relevant, and respectful collaboration, ensuring positive results and impact.
Community leaders and local organizations should be at the forefront of decision-making, defining their own priorities and actions. With their deep-rooted connection to local knowledge and dynamics, cultural nuances and earned community trust, they can effectively address community needs and align initiatives with local values. Their involvement and leadership mobilizes resources, inspires participation, enhances credibility of the work, and provides critical access to communities. This ensures sustainable and impactful solutions through stronger, more liberating equitable partnerships. External partners do not just support local efforts by valuing community efforts, they too deeply engage in the work by actively learning and co-creating solutions.
Sea Breeze Homeowners’ Association for Taal Volcano Victims participated in the AAT Program.
Trust is essential for equitable partnerships, which involves fostering open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration—and takes time to build. Prioritizing trust and time helps to ensure value is placed on community needs, encourages engagement, reduces power imbalances, allows for true responsiveness to changing needs, and leads to sustainable, impactful outcomes that align with community priorities.
Arriving with an open mind, free of assumptions about local partners’ roles, and focusing on actively listening to and elevating their strengths is essential. Flexibility is essential to effectively support partners and respond to their needs, as well as the needs of the community. Feedback mechanisms provide insight into what works and what doesn’t, fostering continuous learning and improvement to make the partnership more effective in delivery.
Racism and colonialism fuel mistrust and create funding barriers, with local knowledge and values often ignored. Research shows that aid programs are most successful when decision-making includes local actors, and when all partners share risk and accountability, fostering trust and respect for local expertise. This approach ensures inclusive, culturally appropriate, and effective programs that genuinely benefit communities.
By sharing control over resources, the AAT program ensured that local actors were not just recipients but key decision-makers in shaping the initiatives. This approach amplified local voices and grounded decisions in the lived realities of the communities, as displayed by the initiatives supported by the Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund (ACSF)—the community grantmaking mechanism supported by the AAT program.
It’s essential to understand a partner’s context, and building meaningful relationships takes time. We recognize that systemic barriers can prevent partners from starting on equal footing. Each partner should take the time to understand these inequities and work to address them within their partnership.
It’s essential to step back and relinquish control. Allowing local partners to lead with their own priorities helps to reduce the emphasis on transactional tasks. This shift enables communities to shape their own outcomes. It helped to build trust by creating a safe space where challenges and solutions are openly shared. Partnerships should be viewed as part of broader movements—like economic empowerment and disability, social, climate, or gender justice—reflecting the full scope of community needs. To achieve true transformation, it’s beneficial to measure what matters most to the community and develop a shared vision of success that goes beyond individual projects to the holistic support of communities as they define their own needs.
The AAT initiative aimed to redefine impact with a holistic approach. On an individual level, it enabled local grantees by building confidence, resolving conflicts, and developing future leaders. This was reflected in their testimonials:
Those awarded with grants from the Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund (ACSF) provided feedback on their experience.
At the community level, the initiative significantly expanded reach and assets. For example, the KM7 Farmers-Producers Cooperative raised an additional ₱10,000,000 ($178,000), while the women-led Sea Breeze Homeowners’ Association for Taal Volcano Victims accessed technical support and capital to start a local grocer. These examples show how community-led initiatives can achieve sustainable results that are far more relevant to the people they serve.
The AAT program increased credibility and visibility for local grantees overall, opening new opportunities and countering stigmatization. It fostered solidarity among organizations through peer learning and shared social justice values—grantees discovered a common commitment to social justice, strengthening long-term partnerships. Financially, the initiative used $390,000 in grants to mobilize more than $529,000 in additional resources. Proving the effectiveness of building equitable partnerships and the power of sustainable change.
These communities would not have been able to access funding directly from USAID, and USAID would not have been able to reach these grassroots organizations without a model like Assets, Agency & Trust bridging the gap.
Increased credibility and visibility from this initiative helped counter red-tagging, which has been used to target Indigenous leaders with false accusations of communism. During this program, BINHI People’s Organization opened their first bank account in 32 years and LORENA becoming technical experts on gender and development. By bridging the gap between donors and grassroots organizations, the initiative ensured resources reached those in need in a supportive and thoughtful manner. It also showcased a successful model for future collaborations.
By bridging the gap between traditional donor agencies and community-led organizations, we ensured that resources reached those who needed them most. This provided a successful model for future collaborations. Ultimately, we learned that success for us was not only about whether resources reach communities, but also about how resources reach them—in a way that’s supportive, thoughtful, and led and centered on their needs.
Read more community stories and learnings from the Assets, Agency & Trust Program.
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