Articles & Podcasts
How to Give with Empathy & Trust (2021) A conversation with Do Your Good podcast host Sybil Ackerman-Munson on the responsibilities and opportunities for philanthropists to share power and cultivate trust with communities. — Abby Sarmac and Mary Fifield
Human Rights Funding in the Arab Region (2020) Research and recommendations for local resource mobilization and participatory grantmaking models to support community-led human rights work in the Arab region. — Mary Fifield and Abby Sarmac
What Does It Mean to Be Community-Led? (2020) Participatory research with six international community partners commissioned by GlobalGiving in conjunction with Global Fund For Community Foundations. This report and assessment tool explore the characteristics, implications, and impact of community-led initiatives. — Dana Doan and Mary Fifield
Transforming the CSR Landscape (2019) Community-driven development principles and participatory grantmaking are the cornerstones of Microsoft’s new locally managed grant program for datacenter communities. — Mary Fifield and Sonali George
Rethinking the Funder-Grantee Relationship (2018) Blog post on strategies for flattening the power between grantees and funders. — Justin Wiebe
Does Philanthropy Need a New Story? (2017) How emergent and grassroots funding strategies are challenging the traditional “donor-beneficiary” paradigm—Oksana Orecheva and Barry Knight
Thinking Big: Community Philanthropy and Management of Large-Scale Assets (2017) Three case studies exploring how community philanthropy can be a model for communities to manage large funds and design and manage their own development projects. – Mary Fifield
An Untapped Resource? The Extractives Industry and Community Self-Management of Assets (2017) Research on the implications, opportunities, and risks of corporate investment in community-led foundations. – Mary Fifield
Smart Risks: How Small Grants Are Helping to Solve Some of the World’s Biggest Problems (2016) A collection of essays by global practitioners on how small grants can support community-driven development. – Jennifer Lentfer & Tanya Cothran, Eds.
Danger, Opportunity & a New Path for Community Philanthropy (2016) A discussion on emerging research about communities managing their own large-scale natural and financial assets to determine their development path. – Mary Fifield
Community Philanthropy Chimes with SDGs (2015) A case study on the connection between community philanthropy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Avila Kilmurray and Jenny Hodgson
The Great Untapped: Revolutionizing Development through Community-Based Organizations (2012) A discussion of the benefits of community self-development for grassroots organizations and international funders – Mary Fifield
Finding Room for Error (2012) An example of how pressure to meet donor expectations precluded learning about what really works. Published on How Matters and Admitting Failure, 2012 — Mary Fifield
Communities must be the drivers of their own development.
They offer the greatest hope for a vibrant, healthy future for people and the planet.
Presentations
Communities in the Driver’s Seat: A Global Perspective
From the panel presentation Whose Project Is It? Fostering Community Ownership, Alliance for Nonprofit Management Conference, October 7, 2015 – Mary Fifield (co-panelists Pedro Moreno and Lara Jones)
A Tale of Two Foundations
Poster presentation for Global Summit on Community Philanthropy, Johannesburg, December 2016 – Mary Fifield and Jenna Rose
Tools
Community engagement spectrum
A visual tool to help organizations assess and foster community ownership in local projects and policy-making.
Grantwriting for Grassroots Projects
Tips for involving community members in writing and implementing successful grant proposals
Community Philanthropy Guide for Donors
How Community Philanthropy Shifts Power, by Jenny Hodgson and Anna Pond, is a discussion and how-to guide for donors to incorporate community philanthropy practices in their programs and grantmaking.
Amazon Partnerships Foundation Publications
Handbooks
Community Self-Development Methodology: An Implementation Handbook
Reflecting six years of fieldwork in community grantmaking and project management, this handbook details APF’s method for supporting community-based, community-driven sustainable development projects. This handbook offers adaptable practices for grassroots community work.
In English *Graphics and Handouts (English) En español. Gráficos español.
Reports
Evaluation of Rainwater Catchment Projects
A 2011 study of three communities that installed ecologically friendly rainwater catchment systems with APF support in 2008 showed that 86% of families surveyed were very satisfied with them and 100% continued to use them. Most feel that their community was more organized , too.
Download the report (in English).
A 2014 survey of a community that installed rainwater catchment systems and planted native and fruit trees from 2010-2012 showed that 92% of families were still using the catchment systems and all of the trees were still living. Respondents reported increased awareness of conservation and organizing skills.
Read the summary (en español).
Interviews
Amazon Partnerships on LA Talk Radio
Connecting the dots between community empowerment, composting toilets, and climate change, Executive Director Mary Fifield talks with Jani Schulz during an interview on Rainforest Radio/LA Talk Radio.
Q&A with Mary Fifield
Executive Director Mary Fifield spoke to Global Fund for Community Foundations about fostering environmental leadership through simple, practical projects that communities design and implement themselves.
APF Videos
Life and Breath: Kichwa People Confront Climate Change in the Amazon
What do Kichwa people, whose ancestors have lived for centuries in the Amazon rainforest, think about its destruction? And what are they doing about it? Filmed in Kichwa with English and Spanish subtitles, the documentary features interviews with Kichwa community members, policy makers, and researchers to examine how climate disruptions are impacting Ecuador, the sixth most bio-diverse country on the planet, and how communities are confronting this immense threat to the planet.
Selected for the 2010 Green Screen Environmental Film Festival, Life and Breath is a testimony from Kichwa communities, whose message to their own people and the world is one of urgent action—and hope.
Life and Breath was produced in conjunction with award-winning Luna Productions and has been screened for thousands of communities, elected officials, university students, and viewers in the U.S. and Ecuador.
Water For Life: Rainwater Catchment Projects
What did 32 families in the Amazon do when faced with contaminated rivers, their main source of drinking water? They collaborated with Amazon Partnerships Foundation to install rainwater catchment systems, which provide safe drinking water without affecting delicate ecosystems. Learn how these families changed their own lives with APF’s support.
Planting Seeds: Organic Cacao
Better chocolate, healthier rainforest, happier families: Amazon cacao farmers learn how to increase their yield, protect the environment, and provide for their families in collaboration with Amazon Partnerships Foundation.