Why Funders Do More Good by Ceding Decision-Making Power

The following is a conversation between Meg Massey, Co-Author of Letting Go, How Philanthropists and Impact Investors Can Do More Good by Giving Up Control, and Denver Frederick, the Host of The Business of Giving.

Denver: The events of the past year have shined a light on the way that philanthropy and impact investing is conducted. It comes as no surprise that decision-makers tend to be disproportionately white, male, and from backgrounds of privilege, and decisions tend to be made in a closed and opaque fashion. But there's another story that's unfolding - one where funders have chosen to cede decision-making power to people with lived experience of the problem at hand. And that story is told in an exceptional book titled Letting Go: How Philanthropists and Impact Investors Can Do More Good by Giving Up Control. And it's a pleasure to have here with us its co-author, Meg Massey.