We Are the Prairie Dogs
A collective movement to fund the relationships, trust, and care that make systems change possible.
It’s becoming undeniable.
As crises compound around the world, funding relationships and collaborative infrastructure is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity.
And networks are the engine that makes this possible. They enable:
More innovative and sustainable solutions as unlikely allies connect across silos.
Shifts in power as those most affected shape decisions alongside others.
Faster, more adaptive responses to crises and opportunities.
Vast – and more effective – spread of resources, ideas, and habits.
This is not theoretical.
It has been proven again, again, and again.
Or just ask one of the 1,000’s of network leaders around the globe to see what’s been working on the ground.
The Exception, Not the Rule
Despite the overwhelming evidence, funding these invisible root systems of systems change is still far from the norm.
The vast majority of the funding ecosystem is still shaped by structures that made sense in another era – isolated interventions, single organizations, short-term results
Our preliminary analysis estimates that 94% of the traditional global philanthropic landscape overlooks the relational, systemic work that makes real change possible.
This is about funding what matters.
Funding what matters means resourcing the messy magic 🧞♂️ of working, experimenting and learning together.
It means investing in trust, collective capacity, and equity.
And supporting care, healing, and storytelling.
It’s about shifting what we value to see movements, ecosystems, and coalitions – and the weavers and catalysts that power them – as strategic, not supplemental to change.
Too Much Talk, Not Enough Weaving
Across the globe, many funders are already experimenting with what it means to listen deeply, navigate complexity, and work in solidarity.
And for decades, 100’s of networks and activists have quietly, authentically guided funders in how to make these shifts. 🪻
But despite this brilliant work, there is one major missing ingredient: connection.
Stuck in vastly diverse frameworks, our language ends up competing for attention rather than coordinating for shared awareness.
We run hundreds of convenings, paying little attention to how relationships can reinforce one another or how insights can cross-pollinate.
And we keep getting stuck in loops of bold talk—with little action that enables lasting shifts to entire funding ecosystems.
So we feel frustrated.
Stretched thin.
Disillusioned and burnt out. 🧯
Buzz words rise and fall, promising practices fail to spread.
Where our efforts do make progress, it’s often only to be reversed later in the blink of an eye.
And the ways of funding largely remain the same.
We know the system is inherently wrong.
But we feel stuck in how to shift it.
So we go along with it.
Play the game. 🐿️
And fool ourselves into thinking we can change the system alone.
Let’s Make the Invisible Budget Lines Visible 🦚
What if every funder committed to fueling the connective tissue that makes systemic change possible?
What change would we see in the next decade? In our lifetimes?
That’s why we’re introducing a call to build a collective movement that revalues what matters in funding.
Our goal is lofty but clear: over the next decade, we want to see the majority of funders worldwide actively supporting relationships, trust, and collaborative infrastructure.
Not just the big foundations – but also collective funds, community foundations, and private wealth holders.
And not symbolic commitments, but real, documented budget lines — backed by people who believe in them.
Tiny Acts, Tremendous Ripples
How do we aim to do this? By collectively activating, connecting, and documenting 1,000’s of small, bold, concrete actions around the globe.
These acts will be:
🍄 Experimental: testing assumptions and behaviors by trying something new you might not otherwise do alone
🦄 Playfully disruptive: flipping norms, challenging habits, and poking at power – with creativity, humor, and joy
🐝 Collaborative: doing this all—naturally—with others you wouldn’t normally do it with
Importantly, all of this work will not replace what anyone is doing—but amplify, connect, and strengthen it.
We will make our change more meaningful and visible, and feel empowered to be bolder together.
Tunnels Below the Surface
We call ourselves the Prairie Dogs after the incredible ecosystem engineers who build vast underground networks of tunnels that connect entire colonies — while keeping them safe, resilient, and able to adapt.
Above ground, they’re always in communication, calls rippling across the colony to alert and inform.
And, with the soil, paths, and meat they produce, they create the conditions for 100’s of other species to thrive. 🐇
We see ourselves as the same: small alone, mighty together, coordinating our signals to weave a deeply integrated network.
Join the Movement: Become a Prairie Dog!
If you are a:
Network, movement, or grassroots leader
Philanthropic activist, consultant, or researcher
Funder who wants to use your power to do real good
Then sign up to become a Prairie Dog! 🐾
And join an extraordinarily creative, courageous, edge-pushing global community.
We Are the Tipping Point
We’re in a unique moment in time.
Change is possible. Many of us have been feeling it.
There is momentum – and desire to change.
It’s time to flip the script on who shapes the funding system.
What part will you play?
By…
Over 9 months, through workshops, conversations, and co-writing, 40+ individuals contributed to conceptualizing and writing this piece, including:
Abigail Sarmac
Agnes Meneses
Alexandra Stef
Amanda Mercedes Gigler
Aparajitha Suresh
Bipasha Ray
Bonnie Hewson
Brendon Johnson
Carri Munn
Catherine Dempsey
Chandrika Sahai
David Lubell
Ese Emerhi
Fabian Pfortmüller
Gannon Gillespie
Gladys Rowe
Hafsa Mustafa
Hana ElSafoury
Ines Marques
Jane Wei Skillern
June Holley
Lana Jelenjev
Laura Savage
Liz Weaver
Luz Avruj
Michel Bachmann
Michelle Baldwin
Motaz Attalla
Nono Sekhoto
Ross Hall
Russ Gaskin
Sandra Angelica Ortiz Diaz
Tim Draimin
Vanessa Stevens
Vaida Odongo
Stewarded by the Fito Network.