The Time Is Always Right To Do What Is Right
By: Mama Hope
Tags: Global Development, International Development, Organizational Change, Nonprofit Fundraising, Fundraising

MAMA HOPE was founded with the intention to support a shift in the way global development operates. In a sector that is historically rooted in colonial systems, where power is held by high income countries and “development” is maintained by foreign actors through the control of finances and assets, we have always aimed to practice something different. Guided by the missions and visions of our partner organizations, we build pathways for locally-driven solutions, created by those who know their challenges best — the communities themselves. We provide unrestricted funding and put full trust in community leaders already doing the work. With feedback from our partners and the changing tides of the sector, we are constantly learning and our inputs continue to evolve. Yet one thing has always remained: our desire to see the emergence of a new global approach to development in which communities hold the power and resources they need to drive their own futures.

However, the road to fulfilling this vision has not been straightforward. For the past few years we have been striving to become truly values aligned — moving to a non-hierarchical structure, diversifying our fundraising sources, focusing on hiring more staff from the countries in which our partners work, and planning for a transition to leadership that is representative of the countries our partners are from. We also developed a brand new iteration of the Global Advocate Fellowship Program that allows us to engage more emerging leaders from our partner countries.

Despite the many benefits of this adaptive approach, we have found it consistently difficult to maintain a predictable flow of financial resources that will allow our partners to have flexibility and autonomy to fulfill their own visions. We rely on the generosity of donors and grantors who also believe in the power of community-led development, but unfortunately the sector has consistently prioritized donor interests over community interests. It holds tight to old ideas that perpetuate “west is best” thinking and negative stereotypes about low-income countries, which foster distrust in the ability of communities to lead their own change. In 2017, local and national NGOs directly received only 0.4% of all international humanitarian assistance (Global Humanitarian Assistance Report, 2018). Yet 97% of the community-led initiatives that our partners have envisioned, developed and implemented themselves are still operating, growing, and providing effective and essential services to their communities. Imagine the shift that would take place if more funding was driven directly to community-led organizations.

In the face of COVID-19 and a global economic downturn, aligned funding opportunities have been even harder to come by and our transition to become increasingly community-driven has stalled. We have recognized that our desire to stay in alignment with our mission, more fully support our partners, and truly shift the way global development is done, requires a significant change within our own team. While incremental changes have been in progress for some time, a more fundamental transition is stemming from the financial pressures we’re feeling. Several staff will be moving on from MAMA HOPE, in an effort to build financial resilience, accelerate our support for our community partners, and make necessary room for new voices on our team and in global development at large. While we scale down our team today, we look forward to scaling back up with a reinvigorated commitment to community-led development in MAMA HOPE’s next chapter. If this year has taught us anything, it’s that people and plans are adaptable and resilient. Even more, we are reminded that at the end of the day, the time is always right to do what is right.

We truly believe that the steps we are taking are the best moves forward for MAMA HOPE, our partners, and their ongoing success. We are hopeful about growing in ways that will root us more deeply in our community-led model and help us be a better partner for everyone in the MAMA HOPE family. This transition is reflective of the sector we want to see. It’s reflective of the growing strength of community-led practices globally. It’s reflective of the movement towards community-centric fundraising and ethical, authentic partnerships. It’s in this process that we continue to push for long-term shifts in power dynamics in the sector. True change is bubbling beneath the surface. We are full of hope for what’s next and humbled to be a part of it.

As always, we invite you to join us in driving this change. Wherever possible, give directly to community-led initiatives. Allow flexibility in your funding by giving without restrictions. Listen to the voices of those most impacted by issues you are working to solve, and then promote their ideas and solutions. Behind every stereotype there are complex, unique, vibrant places and people with visions for their futures, who should have access to all the power and resources they need to fulfill them. If the global development sector truly aims to change lives, this is where we must start. Together we’ll continue to shift the narrative!