Our Purpose,
Your Passion
Use the Start to Make the Change
It seems the best time to make the most effective change is early on in the process - before habits are created, before priorities are shifted, and before we become too exhausted to envision something new.
A Village for Good is a place where new nonprofits and new grant professionals can take a minute to envision the good you want to do. We channel support, encouragement, and helpful resources as you build your mission and impact. We link new grant professionals to opportunities and relevant practice as you learn the power of narrative and funding strategy.
Every part of an agency needs to be identified and defined in order to take those first grant writing steps. The Village is a place where you can slow down and focus on the details even when the rest of the world is moving too fast.
Want to know more?
A Village for Good is a philanthropy disruptor and social enterprise business supporting new nonprofit organizations and new grant professionals while advocating for transformation in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
Village Values
A Village for Good believes in:
Equity - We do not all start in the same place with the same resources. Those of us who have more should do more. Let's keep working to ensure the social injustice of our past is not part of our future.
Connection - We can connect with more people around more parts of the world easier than ever...but it feels like our screens are dividing us. Let's commit to real connection and a deeper understanding of one another.
Progress - Every little bit counts. In the early stages of your organization or during times of growth, every small step matters. Let's build on progress and make real, lasting change.
Advocacy - Nonprofit organizations are built to fill in the social and environmental gaps that our society creates. They advocate for the groups who are avoided and forgotten. Let's advocate for a better system to fill those gaps.
Personal Responsibility - Businesses are built by PEOPLE. Decisions are made by PEOPLE. If a business is making negligent or harmful actions, it is because PEOPLE have chosen to. Let’s prioritize one another over the possibility of profits.
People Over Profit - It is possible to prioritize both people and securing revenue to create a stable business. It is not fast or easy, but it is possible…and so worth it!
A Village for Good is founded on the belief that amazing amounts of good can be done with support, equality, and community. The fundraising world is playing catch-up with social movements gaining ground around the globe. The more we do individually, the less good we accomplish. Fundraising work CAN be a community-led force, where the folks with the money, the folks with talent, and the folks with the passion are all working on the same team - with equal space - to change the world. We are here to help you navigate a world that is beginning to change. Let's work toward that change together...now...here...in A Village for Good.
We believe freelance grant writers and development professionals have a unique opportunity to advocate for organizations seeking grant funds. We can use our professional positions to guide funders into informed and equitable practices.
Click below to learn more about how The Village started and who helped build it.
Money transacted in 2023 in the U.S. for charitable purposes was over $550 billion with 67% of that money coming from millions of individuals. About 19% of that $450 billion came from private foundations, but private charitable accounts hold over $1 TRILLION! There is more charitable money sitting in accounts than being shared each year.
Most private money held for charitable purposes comes from corporate foundations, family foundations, endowments, trusts, and donor-advised funds. If we look at how the money comes to exist in many of those places, it is likely we would find harmful and extractive business practices, generational wealth primarily benefitting white families, and historical inequities that still hold true today.
A society that centers the needs and wishes of the people with the money and willingly accepts the extremely inequitable divide of wealth will never resolve its social and environmental problems.
Recent data shows there are around 1.8 million nonprofit organizations in the United States with about 1.3 million of those being 501c3 organizations. 76% of those organizations have annual revenues less than $100,000 and 89% have revenues less than $500,000 each year.
Churches, schools, foundations, and civic/professional/cultural organizations make up 55% of the nonprofits in the U.S. with only 14-20% of nonprofits dedicated to tackling social and environmental issues (emergency assistance, human services, civil rights advocacy, arts, humanities, etc.).
We found many sources that discuss philanthropic and charitable statistics, most of which cite IRS.gov and Giving USA reports. To see more charitable giving statistics, check out Instrumentl, Foundation Group, and Define Financial.
Changing Philanthropy
Here is the hard truth: philanthropy perpetuates harm.
Those of us who enable philanthropy are part of that harm.
Here is the GOOD truth:
People are working to change philanthropy for the better!
The Trust-Based Philanthropy movement is fundamentally reimagining the roles funders can have in building a more just and equitable society.
Community Centric Fundraising is a fundraising model that is grounded in equity and social justice that prioritizes the entire community over individual organizations, fosters a sense of belonging and interdependence, presents work not as individual transactions but holistically, and encourages mutual support among nonprofits.
The Participatory Grantmaking Community is a global collective dedicated to sharing knowledge and best practices around participatory grantmaking, encouraging its use, and shifting power within philanthropy.
GrantAdvisor is a safe way to anonymously give and receive feedback on grantmaking.
More Than Grant Writers is an emerging unaffiliated group of individuals and organizations who wish to exercise power as grant professionals to enact systems change, recognizing that their unique position between funders and nonprofits creates opportunity for advocacy. A Village for Good is excited to be part of the MTGW planning team!
We have even more amazing resources to share in our Resource Guide. Sign up for it here.
A Village for Good is dedicated to recognizing harm in grant and fundraising practices while working to change them.
A Village for Good believes philanthropy and fundraising need to change because they were built in white supremacist and patriarchal systems. People with power and resources should not be the ones determining the futures of people who have been denied power and resources.
A Village for Good believes grant writers and fundraising professionals have a unique position in helping change these systems and traditions.
A Village for Good WILL recognize and name the privilege of all who guide its services.
A Village for Good WILL continue seeking to understand the roots of harmful systems and look to educators, healers, and social justice advocates for direction and insight with an intentional focus on diverse leaders and leaders with lived experiences.
A Village for Good WILL work to be a supportive space and WILL be open to suggestions and constructive criticisms when making mistakes.