A new research study that analyzes the complex relationship between popular organizations and institutional funding in Asia and the Pacific is now out! Synthesizing findings from 20 in-depth interviews that were conducted with several grassroots activists and two funders spread across 12 countries, Foregrounding Social Movement Voices: Popular Organizing and Philanthropic Funding in Asia and the Pacific centers popular movements’ perceptions and experiences with institutional funding.

A cross-collaborative coalition of authors and contributors led by Poorva Rajaram, our Asia and the Pacific Regional Director Ashlesha Khadse, and Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace, the paper offers lessons into how donors can better understand and support such movement actors, who often receive less support as compared to more institutionalized NGOs. What types of resources do  popular organizations draw upon? What are the (sometimes depoliticizing) effects of money on such movements? What does the imposed funder focus on short-term deliverables do to social change processes of social movements? These are some of the critical questions the paper addresses, including recommendations for funders who really want to pay attention to how, why, and where they fund.

The paper begins by explaining the “NGOization of social movements, ” at a time in the 1990s when neoliberalization was in full bloom. When states in the Global South were forced to withdraw resources from public services, private actors stepped in and the resulting trend of  institutionalization, bureaucratization and de-politicization of the civic space led to the marginalization of more popular forms of organizing.

Read the full article about activism and philanthropy by Deepa Ranganathan at Thousand Currents.