Place-based Investing from the Inside Out is a new series from Equal Measure for funders considering or refining place-based investing for their portfolio of strategies. The series draws on our decades of experience with place-based initiatives and our commitment to incorporating diversity, equity, inclusion, and learning into our engagements.
Place-based investing (PBI) is a powerful philanthropic strategy to catalyze substantive social change in communities. At Equal Measure, we believe PBIs offer an opportunity for funders to support communities and local decision makers, shine a brighter light on inequitable systems, and promote more equitable approaches to change—breaking down silos and siloed thinking, building new and inclusive relationships, and elevating diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
In this first brief, funders are introduced to the characteristics of their organizations that matter most to the success of place-based investments. The characteristics are evident in a funding organization’s internal structures, culture, and norms; their interplay can support or hinder place-based strategies and efforts to center communities.
The brief includes a four-stage discussion guide for funding teams and staff to reflect on the characteristics of their own organizations. The guide provides a sequence for internal conversations to uncover and begin to align organizational dynamics with effective place-based investments. Learn more.
