EFN is exploring ways in which the network can support foundations and individual donors to deepen their engagement on finance-related work, in their roles as funders who make grants to civil society groups, and as investors who manage financial assets.
We conducted a survey of our members in May 2021 with the goal of understanding how funders approach finance-related work now, what motivates them to do more (or less) of it, what approaches they consider to be most effective, which CSOs they fund, what they perceive as barriers to working in this area, and the role of networks like EFN.
We are grateful to everyone who took the time to complete the survey, and to Harriet Williams and Catherine Bryan, who coordinate the EFN Finance Group in their capacity as EFN board members and led this work.
The key findings are summarised here, alongside points for reflection from Harriet and Catherine. The full results are presented here (with thanks to Klara Moore, a university student who volunteered her time to compile these slides).
We hope the results will inform a conversation about how the funding community can step up its work on the finance sector, which is a systemic driver of environmental harms but historically receives a low volume of philanthropic grants.
We welcome feedback on the results, and any ideas you may have for future EFN Finance events or research. Please feel free to get in touch with Harriet (harriet@thehourislate.com) and Catherine (catherine@synchronicityearth.org).