In Solidago’s role as a foundation, it is building a set of alliances with foundations and individual donors who share Solidago’s values and interests but do not take the same risks with their grantmaking. These values include being strategic by funding groups that can have an impact on a scale greater than themselves; being effective in producing social benefits from the dollars invested; and getting resources to those who have the least so they can help themselves. In short, like many other foundations and donors, Solidago believes in the common good.

Taking a perspective—through economic justice, environmental justice, electoral justice and global justice—offers a keen insight into the needs of grassroots organizations. Solidago has found that organizing and coalition building is an effective way to invest in social services. As a public foundation, Solidago can help donors to fund organizing rather than direct services, to fund the people who need such benefits and services to organize on their own behalf to get them, and to be more effective.

We can accomplish much by assuming non-traditional roles as grantmakers when we:

• Foster and support a new generation of grassroots leaders
• Listen to forward thinkers in the field who envision a social justice movement
• Push the progressive edge in philanthropy, including engaging funders in learning new ways to move their agendas
• Become the conveners and facilitators of processesto bring grantees and other key stakeholders together, working in strategic collaboration to develop new models of self governance and redistribution of power

    Together with our funding partners and our grantees, Solidago looks for opportunities to work for fundamental, transformational change, where people’s shared experiences and collective power will result in a better world for all.