Seven organizations collaborate to center community voices in philanthropic practice
When only 34 cents of every $100 of U.S. philanthropic investment is directed to AANHPI communities, the message is clear: philanthropy isn’t listening. This funding gap reflects a broader crisis across the sector, where decisions about communities are made without meaningful input from the people most affected.
Today, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy joins six leading organizations to launch Listen to Community, an initiative calling on funders to transform their relationships with communities by listening in ways that shift power and build trust.
The initiative brings together the aligned work of seven core strategy partners: AAPIP, Feedback Labs, Fund for Shared Insight, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, National Center for Family Philanthropy, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, and Native Americans in Philanthropy.
Listen to Community aims to engage more than 1,000 place-based funders across the United States at a moment when philanthropy faces mounting questions about its credibility and trust. Projects that communities neither need nor want continue to receive funding, perpetuating harm and eroding trust. The initiative challenges this pattern by advocating for “power with” approaches that begin with genuine listening.
“AAPIP’s responsibility is to ensure AANHPI community needs are being highlighted and to mobilize resources to our communities,” says Connie Chung Joe, CEO of AAPIP. “This initiative provides a framework that enables philanthropy to truly hear what’s happening on the ground and respond with the urgency our communities deserve.”
Genuine Engagement
Philanthropy frequently discusses the importance of listening and struggles to follow through with meaningful action. Listen to Community pushes funders to move beyond consultation toward practices that account for power dynamics, enable reciprocity, and lead to greater community ownership and self-determination.
For AANHPI communities, this shift is long overdue. Decades of funding disparities have left grassroots organizations under-resourced while their communities’ needs remain invisible in broader philanthropic conversations. When funders don’t take the time and space to listen, they miss the nuanced realities of Southeast Asian refugees, Pacific Islander communities, and the vast diversity within AANHPI populations.
Listen to Community supports complementary approaches including trust-based philanthropy, participatory grantmaking, community-driven philanthropy, and shifts in learning and evaluation practices. The initiative emphasizes listening as the foundational practice that enables these other approaches to succeed.
Cross-racial solidarity in action
AAPIP’s participation in Listen to Community reflects our commitment to cross-racial solidarity. Authentic listening requires funders to understand how systems of oppression intersect and how AANHPI communities’ struggles connect to broader movements for racial justice. This initiative provides a framework for funders to practice solidarity across racial lines while centering the voices of communities that have been historically marginalized.
A resource hub for transformation
Listen to Community launches as a resource and engagement hub featuring community voices, stories of funder listening practices, and practical tools. A website, blog, and forthcoming podcast will support funders committed to building more authentic and equitable relationships with communities.
Join us
Attend launch events at upcoming National Center for Family Philanthropy, CHANGE Philanthropy, and Center for Effective Philanthropy conferences in late October and early November. Sign up for the mailing list at listentocommunity.org to stay connected and access new resources.
Philanthropy reaches its greatest potential when it listens deeply, responds with courage, and shifts power where it belongs, to community. AAPIP invites funders to join us in this work.