Participatory Grantmaking, For Real

How to Share Power with Community Advisors Without Slowing Decisions

The Moment We’re In

Participatory grantmaking isn’t a trend anymore — it’s a turning point. Funders and nonprofits alike are realizing that communities most affected by social issues should help decide how money gets spent to solve them.

The concept sounds revolutionary. But the execution? That’s where even the most well-meaning organizations get stuck.

“We want to share power, but not lose speed.”
“We want community voice, but also compliance.”
“We want inclusion, not chaos.”

If you’ve said any of those things, you’re not alone — and you’re not wrong. The good news is this: participatory grantmaking can be structured, timely, and totally doable — even for smaller social enterprises and nonprofits.

At Angels for Angels, we’ve seen it firsthand. Our fiscally sponsored projects and community partners have piloted advisory models that distribute decision power without adding red tape.

Step 1: Anchor in Purpose — Not Optics

True participation starts with clarity. Before you invite community members into your decision-making process, answer one simple question:

“Why are we doing this?”

Is your goal to improve equity? Strengthen credibility? Test a community-informed approach before growing a new fund?

Your “why” determines your structure. For example:

• If the goal is authentic representation, advisors should hold a majority of decision votes.

• If it’s about strategic insight, the process might focus on advisory scoring or weighting.

Write your participation purpose statement before you start. It’s your North Star and the single best safeguard against mission drift or “performative inclusion.”

Step 2: Decide What Power Looks Like

Not every decision in your grantmaking process needs to be shared — but every one should be intentional. Break the process into clear stages and define who leads each one:

• Eligibility: Determine if applicants meet your mission and funding criteria. Typically handled by staff or your fiscal sponsor.

• Scoring: Invite your community panel to evaluate proposals using a shared, transparent rubric.

• Final Award Decisions: Consider a hybrid model where community advisors make recommendations and staff or the sponsor confirms awards.

• Oversight and Compliance: Keep reporting, legal, and fiduciary responsibilities with your fiscal sponsor or board.

When everyone understands their lane, participation becomes smoother and faster. A fiscal sponsor can hold legal accountability while empowering your community advisors to shape real funding decisions — creating a balanced structure that shares power without losing speed or compliance.

A fiscal sponsor like Angels for Angels can hold fiduciary and legal responsibility while your advisory panel holds moral and programmatic authority. That balance is the sweet spot.

Step 3: Recruit the Right People, the Right Way

The quality of your participation depends on who’s in the room.

Do:
- Seek people with lived experience in the issue area.
- Prioritize diversity — geographic, racial, generational.
- Pay them. Always.

Don’t:
- Fill seats with “usual suspects” or professional reviewers.
- Treat participation as charity work.

Compensating community advisors shows respect and accountability. Through fiscal sponsorship, you can streamline stipends, NDAs, and 1099s — no new payroll systems required.

Step 4: Build the Decision Framework Together

Participation without clarity = gridlock.

Before applications open, co-design your scoring framework with both staff and advisors. Keep it simple, with weighted categories that reflect your values. For example:

1. Community Impact (40%) — Does it matter locally?

2. Feasibility (25%) — Can they actually deliver?

3. Equity & Inclusion (20%) — Does it lift marginalized voices?

4. Learning Potential (15%) — Will it generate insight or innovation?

Once everyone agrees on this rubric, you’ve just removed 80% of future friction.

Step 5: Keep Infrastructure Light but Reliable

Small teams often worry that participatory models mean endless meetings and paperwork. They don’t have to.

Set up lean systems:

• Applications: Google Forms or Submittable

• Scoring: Airtable or Smartsheet templates

• Syncs: 30-minute weekly touchpoints

• Records: One-page summaries for transparency

Your fiscal sponsor can host the files, handle compliance documentation, and provide secure disbursement. You focus on decisions; they handle the machinery.

Step 6: Stay Compliant — and Fast

Participation does not mean paralysis.

Fiscal sponsors like Angels for Angels help you operate under Model C sponsorships where your project’s community panel can guide real funding decisions, while we ensure IRS compliance and accountability.

To keep momentum:

• Pre-screen applicants for eligibility.

• Approve conditionally, pending sponsor compliance review.

• Run rolling funding rounds instead of annual cycles.

That’s how shared power stays nimble.

Step 7: Make the Process Visible

Community trust grows in sunlight.

After awards are made, publish a short transparency summary:

• Number of applicants

• Selection criteria

• Who served as advisors

• What was learned

You don’t need to name individuals or disclose finances. The point is to show that your participatory process is more than talk — it’s tangible.

Step 8: Build Learning Into the Culture

Every cycle should get sharper.
After each grant round, ask your advisory panel and staff:

• What slowed us down?

• What improved decisions?

• How did shared power change outcomes?

Record those insights and adjust. Over time, this iterative model becomes your organization’s new muscle memory — participatory and professional, not ad hoc.

Step 9: Budget for Inclusion

Yes, participatory processes cost something — but the ROI is long-term legitimacy, stronger outcomes, and community loyalty.

Set aside 5–10% of your grantmaking budget for:

• Stipends and meeting facilitation

• Accessibility (translation, childcare, transportation)

• Coordination support

With a fiscal sponsor managing disbursements and compliance, those costs stay predictable — not bureaucratic.

Step 10: Tell the Story of Power Shared

The best way to inspire donors and peers is to humanize what you’ve built.

Share the story of how your community panel changed a funding outcome.
Highlight what they saw that staff missed.
Describe how participation itself became leadership development.

Those stories show funders that participatory grantmaking isn’t just moral — it’s strategic.

The Angels for Angels View

At Angels for Angels, we believe structure enables freedom.

By holding compliance and administration centrally, we make it possible for social enterprises and nonprofits to test new ways of sharing power without slowing their mission down.

When communities have a real seat at the table, decisions get better, faster, and more trusted. Participatory grantmaking, for real, isn’t just about process — it’s about partnership.

If you’re exploring a participatory model and need a compliant, collaborative home base, Angels for Angels can help; let’s build a structure that lets your community lead — confidently.

Final Word

You don’t need to choose between compliance and community power.
With the right structure — and the right fiscal sponsor — you can have both.

Because doing good shouldn’t mean giving up control. It should mean sharing it wisely.