Independent researcher Sarah E. Frost recently spoke to the leaders of five collaborations that feature on ACF’s Funders Collaborative Hub. Here she reflects on some common themes highlighted by these conversations.
Funders are increasingly under pressure to respond to deep, systemic challenges, from inequality and trauma to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than facing these issues alone, many are turning to collaboration, coming together to test new approaches, share learning and support one another to change how funding is done, not just what it pays for.
As an independent evaluation and learning specialist, I was recently asked by ACF to speak to the leaders of five collaborations that feature on the Funders Collaborative Hub. ACF wanted to understand more about the need for each collaboration, how funders and their grant recipients had benefited, and what they had learned.
In this blog I reflect on some common themes emerging from these discussions.
The collaborations
The people I spoke to had played instrumental roles in developing the following collaborations:
- DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Data Standard
- Trauma Informed Grantmaking Community of Practice
- Payment for Involvement Learning Community
- Surrey Family Foundations Network
- AI for Grantmakers
You can read more about each of these collaborations in their individual case studies published on the Hub.
What the collaborations achieved
Although each collaboration focuses on a different theme, their core aims are broadly similar. They were all created to raise awareness of issues that matter to the sector. They connect people who are working on, or affected by, the same issues and create spaces where funders can learn together rather than in isolation. In various ways, they have also created spaces to learn from grant recipients, people with lived experience of the issues they are working on and others who bring different perspectives that can help funders better understand the impact of their collaborations.
Across the five examples, collaboration leaders talked about wanting to generate shared learning and understanding, and to create a safe space for peer support. Collaborations developed and produced resources and tools to create shared solutions and help funders embed better practice in their work. These have included a payment for involvement playbook, a DEI data standard and an AI experiment library to name a few.
Many also have an explicit ambition to influence wider policy and practice, stimulating ongoing sector conversations and giving funders a stronger collective voice when engaging with government and civil society.
How they work in practice
Despite their different topics, the collaborations share common approaches. Each has a lead person or small team responsible for promoting the work, recruiting members, arranging events and often writing blogs or reflections. In most cases this sits within someone’s paid role, but in one case the coordination was done voluntarily.
A key activity for all the collaborations was to create regular opportunities for members to meet. These meet-ups were usually online, with some in‑person events, and frequency varying from two to six sessions a year. These gatherings combined structured input, often in the form of contributions from funders, sector leaders and topic experts, as well as space for discussion, networking and informal peer support – something that leaders consistently describe as central to their success.
Some collaborations also created dedicated digital spaces to keep people connected between meetings. These range from simple forums for sharing documents, blogs and updates, through to more developed platforms hosting experiment libraries, tools and handbooks.
Top tips to help collaborations thrive
Looking across the case studies, a set of ten practical enablers emerges for anyone considering starting a collaboration.
- A really clear purpose – being explicit about what the collaboration is trying to achieve and for whom
- Adequate resource and time to co-ordinate the work, including defined leaders who can keep things moving
- Efficient and effective onboarding and information-sharing processes for members
- Regular, engaging events that respond to members’ needs and interests
- Peer facilitation and shared leadership unlocking more capacity for growth
- An online space to share resources and maintain relationships between meetings
- Involving the right people, and keeping the group open to new partners
- A culture of openness and generosity where people are willing to share both successes and challenges
- Systems to support members to go beyond personal learning and create organisational change
- Patience and persistence – recognising that relationship-building and change take time and require ongoing commitment
These ingredients have enabled collaborations to build momentum, deepen trust and translate conversations into learning and changes in funder behaviour.
The ACF team’s practical support, with updating pages, promoting events, sharing blogs and resources, has been really useful. The credibility that comes with being hosted on a trusted platform was important too.
The challenges they face
Alongside the positives, collaboration leaders were clear about the challenges they face. Resourcing was a recurring theme. Many juggle this work alongside full-time roles, and those that rely on voluntary effort are worried about sustainability in the long term. Where a specific grant came to an end, one collaboration had little option but to close, despite ongoing demand from members: "There’s so much more you could do if you had a more dedicated resource... there's such massive demand."
A lack of digital infrastructure has also been a barrier for some collaborations. One group without an online space reflected that even a simple shared platform or mailing list would have helped sustain engagement between meetings. Other challenges included keeping content focused and relevant, designing events that work for a diverse membership, reaching certain types of funders and donors, and managing varied levels of member engagement, which can slow progress.
External factors added further complexity for some. Elections, shifts in policy and the closure of key funders disrupted some collaborations’ efforts to influence wider agendas. Leaders also highlighted the slow pace of structural change – embedding new practices and cultures takes time, particularly where funders operate independently and long-standing foundations can be cautious about altering established ways of working.
How the Funders Collaborative Hub helps
Across all five case studies, being featured on the Funders Collaborative Hub was seen as a major strength. It helped collaborations raise their profile, share learning and attract new members – some reaching audiences they had no prior relationship with. Some leaders felt they were able to reach far larger numbers than would have been possible through social media or direct outreach alone.
The ACF team’s practical support, with updating pages, promoting events, sharing blogs and resources, has been really useful. The credibility that comes with being hosted on a trusted platform was important too – collaboration leaders described the Hub as a recognised “place to go”, which boosts legitimacy and encourages funders to engage. The Hub has also started to enable cross-pollination, helping collaborations connect with each other and share learning across themes.
This is some of what the collaboration leaders had to say about the role of the Hub:
"It's enabled us to have a level of legitimacy that…other funders were able to kind of engage with."
"It provided an easy mechanism to host the key materials and to let people know [the collaboration] exists."
“If ACF are saying, this is a place to go to explore this stuff, that comes with a real prestige.”
“The Hub has been amazing at helping us to make those connections and to get the word out that we exist and what we’re doing.”
"It really made a big difference to the number of people who contacted us... about 70% of the funders got in touch via the Hub.”
Shared learning
While the five collaborations operate in very different spaces, they highlight some common learning points.
Relationships and trust matter as much as formal structures - whether discussing payment for involvement, family philanthropy, trauma, AI or DEI - each collaboration works because people are prepared to be honest, listen and learn together over time.
Peer support reduces isolation and these spaces have served to legitimise not knowing all the answers and invite co‑creation instead.
A flexible infrastructure can unlock a surprising amount of progress, even with limited resource. Most collaborations run on limited resource, combining committed core teams with digital tools and shared facilitation.
And finally, changing things takes time. Shifting cultures, around power or the role of technology, requires patience, persistence and a willingness to experiment and learn together over time. The collaborations have provided space to do just that.
The good news is that this learning is already shaping practice on the ground. By learning together, funders are finding new ways to respond to complexity and use their influence more responsibly. If there is one key message to take from these case studies, it is that collaboration is something funders really want and need – not a side-project or a 'nice to have'. It is becoming one of the main ways funding practice itself can be strengthened.
Thanks to the five collaboration leaders - Josh Cockcroft, Esther Foreman, Zoe Coltart, Lisa Raftery and Dan Sutch - for sharing their experiences and insights so generously for the benefit of the wider sector.
Find out more
Explore our collection of case studies to read more about the difference these funder collaborations have made, and what they've learned along the way.
The Funders Collaborative Hub publishes a range of perspectives. The views expressed here are those of the authors, not necessarily those of ACF.
