Be Less WEIRD: What US Funders Can Learn from Global Majority Philanthropic Practice | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"Social scientists in the United States have long wrestled with a fundamental problem: Most of the research about human behavior that they are taught has been conducted on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic populations-what psychologist Joseph Henrich and colleagues have dubbed "WEIRD" societies. These populations represent roughly 12 percent of humanity, yet their behavioral patterns are treated as central to understanding universal truths."

"Philanthropy in the United States suffers from a similar form of myopia. We've built our sector on the assumption that US institutional models represent the pinnacle of philanthropic practice. We pride ourselves on "learning journeys" and "listening tours" while consistently overlooking many of the world's most effective philanthropic innovations-not because they're obscure, but because they exist outside the institutional frameworks we reflexively recognize as legitimate."

"It's time for the philanthropic sector to recognize that the most innovative solutions for sustainable social change aren't being developed in foundation boardrooms. The irony in the current historical moment is acute. As trust in US institutions declines and global challenges demand urgent response, philanthropy as we know it looks ill-equipped for the volatility and complexity ahead."

"Meanwhile, communities comprising the Global Majority -which includes people of African, Asian, Latin American, and Indigenous descent, who constitute approximately 85 percent of the world's population-have spent generations navigating political instability, resource constraints, and urgent crises. Similarly disregarded communities closer to home have also developed their own models of collective care and mutual aid. These include Indigenous communities, Black communities, and poor communities."

Social science research has often relied on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic populations, which represent a small share of humanity, yet their findings are treated as universal. Philanthropy in the United States shows a similar bias by assuming US institutional models represent the best philanthropic practice. Learning journeys and listening tours can still miss innovations that exist outside familiar frameworks. As trust in US institutions declines and global problems intensify, philanthropy appears unprepared for volatility and complexity. Communities making up the Global Majority, along with Indigenous, Black, and poor communities, have long navigated instability and resource constraints. They have developed flexible, crisis-tested, community-rooted philanthropic practices that can be more effective.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.