Peacebuilders’ work is not straightforward. They work in volatile contexts and are constantly forced to overcome new challenges. So, they need funders to be their allies. To provide financial support that helps them address long-term local concerns and adapt to changing community needs.

We only get to be this true ally some of the time – through generous, unrestricted donations from the public and funding from flexible, trust-based funders. This kind of funding is invaluable, and if we could, we’d rely on it entirely. But there isn’t enough.

Instead, we rely on the funding most common in our sector – restricted grants for short-term, time-bound initiatives, with strict requirements on the local partners accessing the money.

But why do funders, including us, fund this way at all?

Why don’t we choose to be allies instead?  

Why don’t we always ensure peacebuilders can be adaptable?

Why do we expect them to spend hours filling out due diligence or reporting forms, which are rarely in their own language, instead of delivering lifesaving conflict transformation?   

Why are they forced to justify how every penny is being spent, when they know better than us what the needs of their context are?     

The truth is that too many funders, including Peace Direct, focus on satisfying their own administrative processes more than on providing effective support. Even recently, we’ve seen funders demand intensive fortnightly reporting, request information that would endanger communities, and break multi-year contracts with just a month’s notice.

We know that for some funders, shifting away from restricted funding is seen as too risky. But what about the risks we’re exposing peacebuilders to? Isn’t the greatest risk of all the likelihood of violence escalating while we fail to be flexible enough for peacebuilders to respond?

Changing may not be easy, but this is not a challenge we can ignore. Read our partners’ perspectives on the impact of funding approaches to see why. And then read on, to discover how we and some of our funders are changing for the better.
‍

We can do better, together. Several of the funders we work with have proven that the changes our partners need are eminently possible. With our support, they have listened to our partners’ perspectives and committed to providing better funding.

It’s meant having difficult conversations internally, challenging assumptions, and recognising the way practices can reinforce problematic power dynamics. But they’ve made peacebuilders the priority, and succeeded in changing their approaches.

These changes look different for every funder. It could be imposing less rigorous reporting requirements. Speeding up decision-making processes. Co-building budgets with peacebuilders and ensuring they can be flexibly adjusted at short-notice. Making the measures of success more relevant to the contexts our partners work in. Taking on the burden of national compliance rules instead of passing it all along to partners.

Whatever it is, these shifting sands are creating a world where funding is more fair and equitable. A world where peace is more possible.