What We Are Doing to Meet the Moment

Dear Friends and Partners,

Like so many, we have been grappling with how to meet the moment as the rug is being pulled out from under the global relief and development sector’s work. As funders—and as human beings—we are taking in the scale and urgency of this moment.

Over the past two months, we have listened closely to our grantee partners, Advisory Board, and colleagues. The message is clear: philanthropy must do more than just business as usual; we must speak out, adapt, and rethink entrenched systems. As Lior Ipp of The Roddenberry Foundation asks:

We don’t have all the answers, and we’re not here to opine on the broader direction of global aid—though we value those who are. Instead, we want to start at a very human level, because everything we do at Imago Dei Fund emanates from this: a deep sense of faith, a belief in human dignity, and an unwavering commitment to those doing the work on the ground.

Below, we share ten tangible ways we are responding—not as a definitive solution, but as part of an ongoing journey to meet this moment with integrity and action as we discern what is ours to do.

To our partners—you are the heartbeat of this work, and we stand with you.

To our fellow funders—this is a time for bold action, shared learning, and a funding approach that truly uplifts those on the ground.

1. Listening First: Centering Our Partners’ and Advisors’ Voices

Many of you know that our work is rooted in our faith and a deep belief in the imago dei—our shared dignity and equal worth as bearers of God’s image. What’s happening is taking a massive toll on low-income, marginalized communities, and our belief compels us to stand in solidarity with those whose dignity is most at risk. This moment calls for people of faith to stand together and lead with purpose, advocating for what is right and just in our communities and the world.

In early February, we reached out to our grantee partners to express our solidarity and gather feedback on the effects of the USAID funding freeze and the domestic policy shifts impacting them. Over 80% of our partners responded, with some experiencing immediate impacts, while others, though less directly affected, shared deep concern. Since then, the majority have reported both direct and indirect negative consequences from these rapid shifts in policy and funding.

In response, we have convened our Advisory Board, conducted calls with partners, connected with peer funders, participated in relevant webinars, and we look forward to engaging in in-person conversations at events like the Skoll World Forum. Through these ongoing efforts, we are committed to deep listening and staying connected to our partners.

2. Rooting Decision-Making in Faith and Discernment

In this moment, as we feel the weight of the world’s tears, we are invited to sink deeper into our humanity and see the sacredness in everyone and everything. From this sacred space of human solidarity, we ask:

During Lent, we (Ross & Emily) are participating in a weekly meditation series led by Fr. Richard Rohr, based on his book, The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage. In a time when faith and religion are often politicized and distorted, we seek to draw from the deeper, humbler wells of faith that we believe are still needed and valuable for our world.

This meditation, grounded in the timeless wisdom of the Hebrew prophets, reflects their profound lament about the human condition—the fractures and tears we have caused each other, yet also a deep longing to heal, to find a way to be human together. It is a call to restore wholeness and health to our global family.

3. Doubling Down on Our Core Practices

We firmly believe that change is most effective when driven by those closest to the challenges faced, and we trust our partners to know what is most needed in their communities. As one of our advisors noted, “Local leaders are the shock absorbers who step in and fill the void.”

Our strategy has long focused on building sustainable change that is less dependent on aid, so we prioritize generous, flexible giving and longer-term investments in locally-led organizations—especially those that center women and girls and address the deeper roots of gender-based injustice.

At the core of our approach is a deep commitment to relational, trust-based practices including:

• Giving multi-year, unrestricted grants, so our partners have the flexibility to continuously engage with their communities, learn from them, and innovate.
• Minimizing administrative burdens, so our partners can focus on developing solutions and navigating the challenges this moment brings.
• Prioritizing the well-being of leaders and staff by offering dedicated well-being grants.
• Staying responsive and listening attentively to requests for advice and support.
• Investing in networks and coalitions to encourage and preserve the linkages between leaders.

To our fellow funders—if you don’t already offer multi-year, flexible funding, we encourage you to explore adjusting your grantmaking practices. Flexible funding is especially critical in times of crisis.

4. Giving More

As trustees, we have prioritized “giving while living” over building a large endowment to pass on to future generations. We view the 5% distribution requirement for private foundations as the floor, not the ceiling, and have always been called to give more. While we already planned to distribute 20% of our corpus this year, the urgency of this moment, marked by deep uncertainty and pain, has motivated us to increase our budget by 5% for this year. Much of this additional funding will go toward solidarity grants for our smaller direct service grantee partners, helping sustain them during this challenging time. We will also continue to add new grantee partners in line with our current strategy.

5: Rethinking the Rules of Philanthropy and Encouraging Others to Do the Same

What is needed the most is very obvious, but we don’t hear a lot of funders doing this yet—Get more money flowing to trusted organizations that can steward it well. During the COVID-19 crisis, we saw what was possible when donors and DAF holders responded with urgency to mobilize resources to meet the moment. Now, we face another inflection point—one that calls for the same bold action.

This is an opportunity for philanthropists and wealth holders to reflect on the financial norms that have shaped our sector—where accumulating wealth, even within philanthropic vehicles, has often been the default. We share our decision to increase our giving, not to boast, but to challenge philanthropic norms and inspire others to do the same. Let’s not waste a good crisis—let it inspire us to dig deeper, give more and meet this moment with the generosity it calls for.

6. Offering Direct Cash Assistance

Though most of our grantmaking goes to nonprofits, since our founding we have supported church partners in Boston to get money directly in the hands of people facing particular needs. Recognizing the effectiveness of direct cash in poverty alleviation, we are exploring ways to expand this approach.

This year, in fact, we are happy to be joining in as one of the lead donors to launch the Bridge Project in Boston, which will provide direct cash to 250 low-income expectant and new mothers in the city. Additionally, we are exploring a direct cash pilot with several grantee partners in East Africa.

The premise behind both of these initiatives—and the movement behind direct cash in general—is simple: in many cases, the most efficient and dignifying way to help is to get money directly into the hands of those who need it. We are excited about both of these initiatives and joining in on the global direct cash movement that many believe is an important way of giving particularly in crisis times like this.

7. Spotlighting the Relief and Development Sector— Especially Among People of Faith

It is hard to convey to people further removed from this sector how immediate, harsh, and tumultuous the last two months have been for non-profit leaders on the frontlines and the communities they serve. We are committed to using our platform to destigmatize and elevate the relief and development sector, particularly Christian relief and development, and creating learning and networking opportunities for people of faith to better understand this vital work. Now is the time to lean in and do our part to stand with and support the incredible people of faith doing the often-unsung work of repair in our broken world.

We are particularly aware of the amount of wealth sitting in donor-advised funds that could make a significant difference right now, helping stabilize organizations meeting critical needs in their communities here and abroad. We have some ideas in motion and would love to connect with others interested in creating a learning and funding community to move more philanthropic dollars to incredible faith-inspired organizations around the world.

8. Identifying Co-Funding Opportunities

Right in our backyard, Mayor Wu has been playing an amazing role standing up for Boston as an inclusive and safe city, and she is developing a collaborative fund to support Boston’s immigrant communities that we are considering investing in to step up what we are already doing in Boston to meet this moment. We currently fund many churches and organizations in Boston that are serving diaspora communities and doing herculean work to respond to community needs. This fund offers a way to come together with others in a more collective response. If you keep your radar up, you will see that many other such investable opportunities are forming to meet this moment in real-time and in creative and responsive ways.

9. Supporting Our Grantee Partners With Contingency Planning

We recognize the massive uncertainty in the current environment and the ripple effects down the line already deeply felt by our grantee partners. We are exploring ways to offer resources like contingency and longer-term scenario planning workshops to strengthen organizational resilience.

10. Taking Heart

Last but not least, we continue to stay grounded in the deep Current of Life that runs through all things—offering hope, love, and glimmers of direction to navigate uncertain times with courage, clarity and purpose. Whether motivated by faith and/or solidarity with humankind, we all are connected. Times like these can prompt us all to find this deeper place of the heart and let it nourish, guide and challenge us each to lean into whatever is being asked of us.

That’s it — this is what we are doing! We hope this offers some inspiration to anyone grappling with what is yours to do to meet this very challenging moment. As we lean in, we are also learning and growing, embracing this journey with curiosity and humility.