Flipping the Script on Philanthropy: Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
Photo courtesy of Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University
A Conversation with Edgar Villanueva
Edgar Villanueva has risen to global prominence as an expert on social justice philanthropy, a field that continues to flourish as increasing attention is placed on growing economic inequality. In his book, “Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance,” Villanueva shares some provocative ideas on how philanthropy can create lasting change and help level the playing field. His work has meaningful implications for not-for-profit leaders, fundraisers and volunteers alike.
During an hour-long keynote interview at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Austin annual conference, in front of a wide array of professional fundraisers, corporate donors, and philanthropists, I was privileged to explore these concepts with Villanueva himself. Here are some highlights:
McKissick: You intentionally wanted “Decolonizing Wealth” to be provocative – please tell me why?
Villanueva: We didn’t need another academic book on philanthropy that regurgitated the same material that was out there. …What I didn’t see in the sector in terms of written materials was someone who was willing to speak truth to power. It has been very taboo to be critical of philanthropy but I felt compelled to offer something that was going to push us further into this conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion. It is provocative, but I am speaking the truth in love.
We need to dig as deep as we can into the truth no matter how difficult or uncomfortable so we can move forward into positive changes.
Thank you for your courage, and your leadership. So many fundraisers and philanthropists want to make positive change, but as you say it requires difficult and uncomfortable conversations. What advice do you have on where people should begin the journey if they don’t know where to start?
When we get into issues of racial equity and justice, it’s deeply personal and emotional. I invite folks to bring their own person and humanity into the conversation. The work of equity is about personal transformation first – when we do the inner work it will influence the way we approach our outer work and the changes that need to be made in our workplaces will become more obvious. It’s important for fundraisers to put aside the traditions we’ve all subscribed to – the fundraising cycle and all the common frames – to approach things differently and find a better world. We have to do something radically different. The word radical means getting back to the root cause: how did we get here? And how do we get out?
What does colonization have to do with philanthropy?
I recently learned that 30 states have no mention of Native Americans in K-12 history books. I have a deep sense of love for this country but I’ve learned as an adult that there are many things that children are taught that just aren’t accurate. When we talk about decolonizing, it’s really just the process of unlearning and relearning, and again we have to start with ourselves. It’s about healing. Not just about the history of Native Americans, or Black people as a result of slavery. It’s also for white people to understand where they came from and what their history is.
We have all been assimilated in to this idea of being an individual and preserving individualism, which leads to competition. Being in competition is not an indigenous way of being.
In my culture, we call this examination of your own ancestral values your “original instructions.” When you go back far enough you find out and understand the values of your ancestors, what was important to them and how they took care of each other in community, what we find most often is a very similar world view and approach to that which we’ve lost along the way. Most of us are not old enough to be personally responsible for historical wrongdoings, but we are all here together now and it’s up to us to understand what has happened throughout history in this country where we are so torn apart. There are so many vast disparities that disproportionately affect communities of color. If not us, then who? What can we do to together to get out of this mess to heal and repair and move forward?
How does Indigenous Wisdom help fundraisers and non-profits overcome approaching their work with a scarcity mentality?
Scarcity mindset is a direct by product of the history of colonization and the expansion of the ideology of race. There has always been a force at play that gained power by hoarding wealth and keeping on top. This causes the groups without power to have a mindset of scarcity, and infighting between them was a tactic used to keep them in that mindset. Colonization caused exploitation. I call this the “colonization virus,” which still exists today.
In the realm of philanthropy we also have those dynamics. We have only 1 percent of institutional wealth that is released, which causes us to be in competition for the remaining limited resources. Again, being in competition is not an indigenous way of being. The reality is there are ample dollars out there – there are one trillion dollars in philanthropic capital available. But the keepers of that wealth are incentivized to hoard it versus put it into our public system. I hope people will come to understand the game at play – how can we rise above it? How do we not subscribe to the scarcity mindset? What if we flip the paradigm and foundations have to compete to give to us? We have power on our end but we have to organize and work together against the mindset of scarcity and not play the game that is rigged against us.
Speaking of viruses, we know the coronavirus disproportionately affects people of color. What are your thoughts on how we could use this moment in time to help advance the conversation about the greater needs in communities of color?
This pandemic is bringing to light what we’ve known for so long – people of color are the canaries in the coal mine. When systems fail, we hurt the most because we have been under invested in for so long and are already suffering such high disparities in health and educational outcomes. We are predisposed to suffering because of poverty.
What we must do as resource mobilizers is prioritize these communities of color. Funding can be used for reparations and healing. We know the hurt is the worst there and we have to prioritize.
When you look at where the hurt is, in communities of color, we are not taking the water to the fire. We have a long way to go. We need to over-invest in communities of color if we want to catch up.
What’s exciting about this moment is that because of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement I’ve seen many foundations that are responding and making changes in ways that before were thought to be impossible. We know it can be done. We can’t go back now to the things the way things were. We need to keep pushing for philanthropy to be relevant and to respond to what’s happening in communities right now.
…
Editors note: I strongly encourage all not-for-profit professionals and community leaders to learn more about the important work Edgar Villanueva is doing. For more information, and to find his book, visit his website here.
AND … I was so inspired by Edgar, I decided to donate the proceeds of my next 3 C’s workshop to AFP Austin. It's a fundraiser for the fundraisers! Anyone who wants to achieve a greater sense of balance between their Community work, Career success, and Caring for themselves and others is invited. Click here for more information.