The Edge Fund, a new venture on social justice philanthropy in the UK, may be of great interest to you. Here’s some information from their website:
There’s a big problem with philanthropy very few people want to talk about: the system that creates the wealth of philanthropists also causes many of the problems philanthropy attempts to solve. We don’t need philanthropists, what we need is a new world where everyone has equal rights and a fair share. If people have the means and are free of oppression, they’ll solve their own problems, they don’t need someone else’s solutions thrust upon them (especially if they happen to belong to someone with a vested interest in preserving the status quo).
Since we currently live in a world where there are pots of money to distribute, whether from individuals or funding bodies, we have a fantastic opportunity to help create real change. We believe that in the struggle for the lasting systemic social and ecological change we need, the best funding strategy is to support projects that spring from the grassroots, and which help to grow powerful, horizontal social movements. But if those with money are serious about wanting to see systemic positive transformation in society, they need to take action to devolve their own power.
The Edge Fund is an experiment to find ways of putting the decisions about funding not in the hands of those with money, but in the hands of those who don’t. You could call it Occupy Philanthropy (though we aren’t affiliated officially to the Occupy Movement). Hopefully in the process we’ll help to create a world where philanthropists are no longer needed, or even exist. We believe in philanthropy doing itself out of business. Join us!
For more information, go to their website.