Donor Collaboratives

It’s nice to be allies. It’s better to be partners.

As a funder, you want to share information with like-minded parties because it makes you both stronger. But what you really need is to go beyond sharing and become strategic collaborators: partners who don’t just fight the same fight, but fight on the same team.

There are problems too immense or complex for any one funder or organization to overcome. At Proteus, we build strong donor collaboratives so that our combined assets, networks, resources, and efforts work in concert to create maximum impact.

Our collaboratives bring funders and movement leaders together to identify challenges and opportunities to achieve collective goals, build collaborative strategies for change, and bolster the field through grantmaking, leadership development, and other forms of support.

Democracy Needs a New Champion: All of Us

Like never before, our democracy is under assault. Corporate and special interests are making it harder for everyday people to participate in the political process, have a fair day in court, and exercise their right to protest — all fundamental pillars of our democracy. It’s time to fight back.

At Piper Fund, we champion work that gives a stronger voice to disenfranchised communities and defends democratic ideals and institutions. We collaborate with funders and movement leaders to build community power and create a healthy democracy that protects fundamental rights for all individuals.

Piper Fund
Image of the Georgia State Capitol
Piper Fund
Inside Philanthropy | To Protect Democracy, Funders Must Look to the States
BY Piper Fund | April 6, 2021
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People holding signs at a Black Lives Matter protest.
Piper Fund
Protecting the Right to Protest: 2020 Highlights
BY Julia Reticker-Flynn | February 4, 2021
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Toward an Inclusive, Equitable and Just Society

America is a land of diverse cultures and faiths, but not all of these communities have enjoyed equal protection under the law. In particular, Muslim, Arab and South Asian (MASA) communities frequently experience acts of anti-Muslim bigotry and xenophobia as well as structural and societal barriers designed to sideline these growing and influential communities.

As the only national donor collaborative dedicated to supporting MASA communities, the RISE Together Fund works with partners to bolster the critical work of MASA communities to rise together locally and nationally to build community power and resilience, to diversify the media coverage of MASA communities, and to advocate for the rights of their communities and all those impacted by racism and xenophobia.

RISE Together Fund
Uplifting Gender Justice Activism – Queer Crescent
BY Sheila Bapat | June 29, 2021
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Uplifting Gender Justice Activism – Desis Rising Up & Moving
BY Sheila Bapat | March 30, 2021
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A United Front for LGBTQ and Reproductive Justice

We believe in the right of every individual to control their sexual and reproductive health and to live freely and with dignity in their gender identity and sexual orientation. We believe that these unalienable human rights should never be undermined by discrimination, whether justified by law, social norms, or religion.

Recognizing that victories in the LGBTQ and reproductive justice movements advance one another, the Rights, Faith and Democracy Collaborative aligns and unites leaders and organizations in diverse coalitions to maximize collective impact. Together with progressive faith leaders and communities, we fight against discrimination under the false guise of religious liberty.

Rights, Faith & Democracy Collaborative
Front view of US Supreme Court
rfdc
Time for Philanthropy to Step Up, The Supreme Court is Eviscerating Queer and Gender Justice
BY RFDC | June 21, 2021
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rfdc
2020 in Review: Rights, Faith & Democracy Collaborative
BY RFDC | February 24, 2021
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Winning the Freedom to Marry

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued an historic ruling holding that denying the freedom to marry to same-sex couples violates the constitution. In doing so, the Court extended marriage equality immediately to all fifty states and enshrined the freedom to marry as a basic constitutional right.

For eleven years before this decision, the Civil Marriage Collaborative worked diligently to support a wide array of public education efforts to change hearts and minds on marriage equality. The CMC awarded grants to leaders in the field, worked closely with grantees and other allied organizations, and collaborated with key national stakeholders to maximize the effectiveness of philanthropy’s role in the overarching effort to advance this critical civil and human rights issue.

Civil Marriage Collaborative
Hearts & Minds: The Story of the Civil Marriage Collaborative
BY Proteus Fund | June 26, 2015
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Get in Touch

We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out if you have any questions about donor collaboratives at Proteus Fund, or if you’d like more information about how we might partner.