The Social Change Pod

Why does traditional philanthropy rely so heavily on rigid, transactional controls, and how is that micro-management stifling real, systemic change?Join The Social Change Nest's Kristen Woolf together with Claudia Giampietri from Healthy Food Healthy Planet and Sandra Kushrawi from Famtastisch Foundation as they unpack the urgent shift toward trust-based, flexible funding.Together, they explore why complex "wicked" problems, such as transforming our food systems, cannot be solved with short-term project grants or rigid KPIs. Instead, they share how rewriting the traditional philanthropic playbook through relational check-ins, shared risk, and innovative co-design models can shift power directly back to grassroots movements. They also dive into the critical role of infrastructure, discussing how partnering with a fiscal host like The Social Change Nest allows intermediaries and funders to be braver, de-risk radical collaboration, and make movement funding more human.

In this episode, our consultant Rachel Krengel speaks to Lindon Rankin, who is an organiser at the African ‘n’ Caribbean Wellbeing Group based in Southwark. Lindon’s is one of the many community groups we at SCA support. In this podcast, Rachel talks to Lindon about his journey into community organising, his experiences of organising during the pandemic and how he believes grassroots groups can structure and govern themselves for maximum impact.

In this podcast, speak to Mita Desai, programme manager for the Young Trustees Movement. She shares her journey into activism and discusses how to build a successful strategy, movement-building misconceptions and balancing the need to lead with the need to let go of control.

This is part 1 of a two-part interview featuring Brian Young, the Executive Director of Action Network in conversation with Betsy, our principal director. Action Network is a non-profit dedicated to providing cutting edge technology to the progressive movement.Brian discusses how to build power between people, rather than their online profiles. Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.orgFollow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAgHosts: Betsy Dillner and Kate EdwardsGuest: Brian YoungProducer: Maria MancusoTheme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we chat with Uma Mishra-Newbery, Executive Director of Women’s March Global, to talk through some of the challenges inherent in the funding sector and the opportunities that lie in changing the traditional approach. Uma is running a session at our ‘Losing Control in funding and commissioning event’ on the 4th March 2020. It will be a day of honest conversations with funders, grantmakers and grantees looking at how we should be innovating to better address the social challenges we face today. Uma’s session is on ‘Funding movements and networks, not people and projects'. Find out more here: https://www.losingcontrol.org/losing-control-in-funding-commissioning/Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.orgFollow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAgHost: Esther ForemanGuest: Uma Mishra-NewberyProducer: Maria MancusoTheme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we caught up with Jo Wells, director of the Blagrave Trust and founding funder of the Young Trustees Movement, which brings together a number of organisations with the aim of doubling the number of young people serving on charity sector boards over the next five years.Jo talks to us about her decision to get behind The Young Trustees Movement, why it is so necessary for the future of charity governance and what it means to take a systemic approach that puts young people at the heart of driving change. Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.orgFollow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAgHost: Mita DesaiGuest: Jo WellsProducer: Maria MancusoTheme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this podcast Pete Burden introduces sociocracy, a consent-based decision making approach to organising. Pete is an organisational strategist, coach and facilitator with over 30 years’ experience working with purpose-driven businesses and organisations.In the second part of this episode, ‘Art of Hosting’ practitioner Jose Barco talks us through acting with purpose and the Art of Hosting approach to harnessing a groups collective wisdom and self-organizing capacity.Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.orgFollow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAgHost: Kate EdwardsGuests: Pete Burden and Jose BarcoProducer: Maria MancusoTheme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode we speak with Kristiana Wrixon, Head of Policy at ACEVO and leader of the research on bullying in the workplace and creating safer cultures.The Center for Mental Health and ACEVO recently published "In Plain Sight: Workplace Bullying in Charities and Implications for Leadership". This is the second report ACEVO have released following reports about bullying, abusive, and exploitative behavior taking place in some charities that came to light last year.In this episode Kristiana reflects on what the report's findings say about the state of workplace wellbeing in the sector, and crucially, what can be done to improve it. Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAgHost: Louise LapGuests: @KristianaWrixonProducer: Maria MancusoTheme music by Loyalty Freak Music