Earlier this year, the nonprofit OneVillage Partners invited Mortenson Family Foundation to write an article for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies (IJPS). The article was meant to share our learnings in philanthropy as we continue to focus on centering community voices in the work we do.
For decades, the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors have been trying to solve issues in communities that have been harmed by the impacts of colonization, capitalism, and other isms for hundreds of years. One thing has become abundantly clear: If nonprofits and foundations continue determining solutions in communities, the changes in these communities will be mostly slow and unsustainable.
In the article, we do our best to share why it is important to center community voices and what our journey has been to get to where we are today. We still have much more learning to do. But when our partners make these kinds of requests, we do our best to meet the moment. A big thank you to OneVillage Partners for this call to action!
