Through the Fund for Shared Insight (Shared Insight), Barr has supported efforts since 2016 to seed and build a culture of listening and feedback in the social sector and particularly in our region. Nationally, Shared Insight has nurtured several anchor organizations that advance this work, including Feedback Labs. We believe that Feedback Labs’ work to provide training and tools to nonprofits and philanthropy to listen and act on high quality feedback from the people at the heart of our work are key to a more effective and equitable sector. —Yvonne Belanger, Director of Learning + Evaluation at Barr

For the past two decades, I’ve worked alongside nonprofits and funders during challenging moments. When Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, my job at GlobalGiving was to support local organizations working to rebuild their own communities. The need always outweighed the resources, and the decisions were difficult. In those moments, what helped me see the path forward wasn’t a longer grant application or another spreadsheet—it was conversations with the people and local organizations that had lived and worked for years in the affected areas. Listening to communities (and the organizations that knew them best) was essential to understanding how to prioritize limited funding in the face of so much need.

This year, that lesson feels urgent again. Federal funding freezes, deep cuts to the social safety net, and a prolonged government shutdown have left communities hurting, and the nonprofits that serve them scrambling. Marginalized groups face heightened risks, while nonprofits and philanthropy, under increased scrutiny from the current administration, are facing criticism and threats tied to their political stances. Slashed budgets for international development are already having deadly repercussions around the world. Add to that an intensifying climate crisis and shrinking civic space globally, and it’s no wonder so many of us feel overwhelmed. But in my experience, moments of uncertainty are exactly when listening matters most.

What we’re hearing from our network

At Feedback Labs, we support nonprofits and funders to listen and respond to the people at the heart of their work in equitable, inclusive ways. We have seen the power of listening to guide action, such as when funders loosened grant terms and partnered with nonprofits during the pandemic to meet urgent needs.

This year, funders and nonprofits in our network have told us they recognize the importance of listening but aren’t sure where to start, or how to center community voices without exposing vulnerable people to greater risk. They have questions like: How do you navigate deep divisions while staying true to your mission? How do you keep feedback loops open without adding more burden to communities already stretched to their limits?

These challenges, shared by organizations across our network, underscored a need for practical guidance. That’s why we’ve created Listening in This Moment, a set of resources designed to equip nonprofits, funders, and others with the clarity and tools they need to listen effectively right now.

Three ways to listen well to the people at the heart of your work

To listen effectively in moments of uncertainty, nonprofits and funders need practical, safe, and human ways to stay connected to those at the heart of their work. Three ideas from the guide stand out:

• Listen close to home and with focus. Start with the people who already trust you. Nonprofits and funders can get the most useful, honest feedback from community members, grantees, or program participants who have already engaged with you, have shared input before, and have seen you act on it.
• Build on what you already know. Before asking for feedback, review what you already know about community members’ needs, including past feedback, internal data, reports from partners, or conversations with other organizations. You can also use existing forums, like town halls or program meetings, to gather input without adding extra burden. When you ask for additional input, focus on what you can realistically offer to address the feedback.
• Protect the people you listen to. Giving input can be risky for community members and grantees in a volatile environment. Be transparent about how feedback will be used, only ask for information you have a clear plan to use, and default to anonymous data unless there’s a compelling reason to identify individual people or organizations. Each of these practices helps keep relationships strong and responsive, even when everything else feels uncertain.

Leaning in to listening — daunting but doable

Pausing to take time to listen well can feel daunting when the future is uncertain. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that closing our ears never helps us find our way. Listening is how we navigate the road ahead, together, and it’s what brings us back to what matters most: the people at the heart of our work.
To support our network, we have created two key resources:

• Listening in This Moment: A Guide for Funders is available now, free to read online or download as a PDF.
• In January, we will host a three-part webinar series featuring tools and stories from nonprofits and funders. The sessions will cover: High-Quality Listening Through Uncertainty and Rapid Change; Prioritizing Safety and Security in High-Quality Listening; and Effective Listening Across Difference. You can register for the session most relevant to your needs.