In systemic change philanthropy the cliché about constant change is just a fact. Members of EDGE are constantly striving for more alignment between values and grant-making practices; continuously learning, making grants differently, and writing up reports and talking points to attract foundation leaders and colleagues to the ideas of systemic change and philanthropy’s responsibilities.

We see the role of the EDGE staff as fostering the community and the brave spaces for philanthropic practitioners who are frustrated with the sector to engage in honest conversations on how philanthropy can shift power, support intersectional justices, liberate resources, and ultimately become irrelevant. Our goals are to support learning, build community, and organize efforts – which we do through members’ dialogues, webinars, retreats, conferences, and thematic programs that bring together funders, movement representatives, and allies. We thrive on being a responsive organization driven by our members, guided by our board, supported by regional steering committees, and held accountable by our movement partners. But we are also seeking as a network to “walk the talk”, and to be creative and “edgey” in our organizing model and ways of working.

The past few years have been years of transition and reflection for EDGE, and we envision the coming year to be one of consolidation and continued experimentation, risk-taking, learning, and facing challenges as we bring on new staff and renew our programmatic offerings. While you get to hear from us on programmatic updates through our monthly updates to members and quarterly newsletters, we wanted to use this blog to give you a sneak peek into our governance process and announce our new Structure Working Group, an EDGE members initiative set up with the mandate to implement a participatory process which would result in recommendations for a new governance structure for the EDGE Funders Alliance.

EDGE has been experimenting with different organizing structures over the past several years. About 5 years ago the staff started a process toward becoming a non-hierarchical collective. It was a change process that supported EDGE as our membership, programmatic offerings and staff grew, but it was put on hold as many other changes took place at EDGE and around the world. As much as EDGE is an organization that embraces change, perhaps we tried to change too much all at once: transitioning to a co-director model, developing a shared leadership structure, growing the number of staff, as well as adapting programmatic offerings and ways of working during the pandemic. It was a lot to ask of ourselves at that time.

Last year while our member-led Board conducted an ED search, the staff continued to work and develop ways of organizing without a traditional hierarchy. The staff retained formal titles externally but internal decisions were made collectively in our weekly team meetings, through group evaluations, and in-person team building where we deepened our relationships, reflected on our team dynamics, and clarified our division of work. Our experiment worked well and led us towards thinking more concretely with the Board, steering groups and members on what skills, perspectives, and structures could contribute to a collective supporting a member-led network.

A member-led network, for now, means actively encouraging our governing bodies to support an accountability framework, ensuring that our actions align with our shared vision. Working groups and regional committees become the important sounding boards, sharing strategic visions and taking action. Members are active contributors, connecting, building, challenging, learning, and making things happen through our various initiatives and programs. But there is a lot more to explore and tighten! As mentioned above, following a proposal from the European Steering Group and tasked by the Board, a members-led Structure Working Group was tasked with assessing and (re)imagining EDGE’s structure, governance and decision-making processes.

EDGE hasn’t just stumbled upon its approach to the work; it’s been a journey of experimentation and a collection of experiences. Learning from both successes and failures, we’ve crafted a way of working that draws strength from the experiences of brilliant and dedicated former staff and collaborators. As our team and membership grow towards clarity of practice, we continue to build on a legacy shaped by those still connected to EDGE as members, consultants, friends, and mentors.

What makes the work slow and a bit frustrating at times is our intentional push against the tendency to want to provide ready-made solutions. We see the network as a place to ask questions, with more inquiry than prescription. It’s a nuanced dance with curiosity, fostering an environment where questions lead to exploration, innovation, and collective wisdom.

This can lead to uncomfortable conversations and even silence, but this is where a lot of the work is in our opinion!

As we continue to work towards a more values-aligned governance structure, we invite you to stay posted on our progress, to ask us questions, and remain in conversation.