How philanthropy is used as a powerful tool for community empowerment

Successful philanthropy involves more than just throwing money at a problem. Communities often have the solutions to problems, but not the resources. With the right strategy and execution, business leaders and organizations can use philanthropy as a powerful catalyst to enable communities to help themselves.

This can also enable risk-taking where the government often won’t, which means fewer restraints on communities to do what they need to do.

Five steps for business leaders

In my 10 years of working in the philanthropy space, I’ve learned five essential steps that can help organizations navigate the complexities of philanthropy.

1. Understand the landscape

A fundamental first step to successful philanthropy is to gain a deep understanding of your chosen environment.

Spend time in the communities you seek to serve and listen to their needs, challenges and aspirations. Understand the systemic factors that impact your work – these could be things like government policies, funding models and industry trends.

At Schools Plus, we’re in the business of addressing education inequity in Australia to ensure all children have the opportunities they need to thrive. Kids facing disadvantage, such as those in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, are often not afforded the same opportunities as their peers, causing them to fall behind in their learning, which can be detrimental to their life trajectory.

Our coaches work on the ground with the schools we partner with to plan, deliver and evaluate programs that address their communities’ identified priorities. We also actively monitor the evolving needs of our communities through a nationwide lens with our annual partnership round and strong industry relationships.

2. Trade in the currency of trust

Philanthropy relies on relationships.

Building trust with your partners – whether they're in philanthropy, government or the corporate sector – is critical to ensuring funds go to where they’re needed most. Ensure you understand what the needs of your partners are and how they align with your organization’s goals and values.

Communicate with your partners through your unique selling proposition, strong evidence and compelling impact stories that inspire continued support. Work with experts to inform evidence-based policies and strategies that you advocate for – your partners need assurance of your credibility and impact potential.

Schools Plus has a sophisticated philanthropic network to drive collective impact. By fostering strong relationships with some of Australia’s leading philanthropists, corporations and government, we maximize funding opportunities toward a common goal and influence education policy. This approach has significantly enhanced our capacity to address the challenges faced by disadvantaged school communities.

3. Focus your giving

Philanthropy needs to be targeted to have meaning.

Paint a clear picture of the need and context of the issues your organization addresses to help your supporters understand how they can add real value. Speak in the language of your supporters – the messages you communicate should resonate with them and provoke a genuine desire to give.

Schools Plus concentrates its efforts on five key areas to address educational inequity: learning gaps in fundamental skills like literacy and numeracy; wellbeing; First Nations children; rural, regional and remote communities; and children affected by crisis situations. These areas provide the framework for how we talk to our supporters about what we do in a clear and impactful way and allow us to measure and report on the change we generate.

4. Raise public awareness

Philanthropy has the power to ignite meaningful dialogue and catalyze change.

Raising awareness of the issues you’re addressing in the context of broader societal problems is critical to broadening the reach of your brand, inspiring others to take action and amplifying your impact.

Creating and implementing a multifaceted marketing strategy is a must. If done carefully and strategically, this will increase your opportunities to engage a broad range of stakeholders to buy in to what you are doing. From social media and news media to website engagement and advertising, making all roads lead to you is essential to building your public profile.

Remember that people connect with human stories, so by highlighting the real-world impact that philanthropy can have on people, you can motivate others to join you on your journey.

Schools Plus has developed a comprehensive government relations and marketing strategy to build the credibility it needs to strengthen partnerships and to build our reputation as the ‘go-to’ authority on education equity in Australia. A key part of this is centering our messaging on how we are changing kids’ lives and the impact of our work on broader societal issues like mental health challenges, future workforce and climate change, for example.

5. Measure and scale success

Finally, philanthropy should be grounded in accountability and should foster expansion where possible to maximizing impact.

Measuring impact is crucial, not just to provide evidence of success and scalability but to identify areas for improvement. Clear and robust models and frameworks are needed to track the outcomes of your work and to create pathways for broader implementation. Quantitative metrics that show impact and qualitative data that provide insight into the impact are equally important.

Regularly assess your impact and don't shy away from sharing your findings about what’s working and what isn’t. Transparency about your successes and challenges builds credibility and provides opportunities for learning and growth.

To scale our impact, Schools Plus employs a four-stage model: incubate, grow, scale and influence policy. This model has enabled us to expand programs across Australia, reaching over 30 schools with a single program, in some cases. Our work has even been adopted by state departments of education, integrating our programs into their curriculum.

Philanthropy is a vehicle to pioneer new and innovative ways of doing things, drive meaningful change and build partnerships that enrich communities for generations.

For business leaders who might be new to the philanthropy space, the question isn’t whether you can make a difference – it’s how can you start.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.