We Are the Prairie Dogs
A collective movement to fund the relationships, trust, and care that make systems change possible.
Co-written by 30+ activists
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.
Faster, more adaptive responses to crises and opportunities.
Shifts in power as those most affected lead and shape decisions alongside others.
Vast – and more effective – spread of resources, ideas, and habits further.
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, seeing movements, ecosystems, and coalitions – and the weavers and catalysts that power them – as strategic, not supplemental to change.
“There’s a scent in philanthropy that we need to change…but most of us don’t know where to start.”
Sandra Ortiz Diaz
Too Much Talk,
Not Enough Weaving
Across the globe, many funders are already experimenting with this approach to funding.
With what it means to listen deeply, navigate complexity, and work in solidarity.
And for decades, hundreds of networks and activists around the world have been quietly guiding funders in how to shift towards such practices.
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 in parallel, but pay little attention to how relationships can reinforce and support one another, or how insights and knowledge can cross-pollinate for broader awareness.
And we keep getting stuck in loops of bold talk – but with little action that actually shifts mindsets and culture.
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.
So the ways of funding largely remain the same.
We know the system is inherently wrong, but feel stuck in how to shift it.
So we go along with it. Play the game. 🎲
Fooling 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 – and makes the invisible work of systems change visible.
Our goal is lofty but clear: we want to see the majority of funders 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.
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:
01
Experimental: trying something new that tests assumptions and behaviors – and risk small failures that unlock bigger transformation.
02
Collaborative: created and carried out with others – weaving trust, deepening shared accountability, and fostering collective momentum.
03
Playfully disruptive: flipping norms, challenging habits, and poking at power – with creativity, humor, and joy.
Collectively, our work will not replace what anyone is doing, but amplify, connect, and strengthen it for shared impact. We will make our change more meaningful and visible, and feel empowered to be bolder together.
And by documenting and sharing our actions, we will spark replication, remixing, and rippling to 100,000’s more worldwide.
Connecting Tunnels Below the Surface
We call ourselves the Prairie Dogs after the incredible creatures known as ecosystem engineers.
Prairie dogs 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!
You’ll be invited to join a global community designing creative ideas, challenging one another, and combining our power to spark actions that actually shift funding practices.
And, who care deeply for one another.
We Are the Tipping Point
Change is possible. Many of us have been feeling it.
We’re in a unique moment in time. There is momentum. And frustration. And desire to change.
But such moments can be lost easily. And if they are, we must simply wait for the next one to come.
It’s time to flip the script on who shapes the funding system.
What part will you play?
This manifesto was written over 9 months by:
Carri Munn
Catherine Dempsey
Ese Emerhi
Hana ElSafoury
Laura Savage
Vanessa Stevens
Amanda Mercedes Gigler
Agnes Meneses
Bipasha Ray
Chandrika Sahai
David Lubell
June Holley
Jane Wei Skillern
Liz Weaver
Lana Jelenjev
Luz Avruj
Ross Hall
Russ Gaskin
Sandra Angelica Ortiz Diaz
Michelle Baldwin
Tim Draimin
Gladys Rowe
Hafsa Mustafa
Vaida Odongo
Ines Marques
Gannon Gillespie
Carolina Carvalho
Hrishabh Sandilya
Bonnie Hewson
Aparajitha Suresh
Nono Sekhoto
Abigail Sarmac
Alexandra Stef