FSG researchers Abigail Ridgway and Miya Cain began with a practical question: how can foundations best contribute to equitable systems change?

Their new report, The Funder’s Palette, draws on more than 125 practitioner interviews and maps the different approaches funders can take through grants, staff capacity, relationships, influence, and organisational platforms.

Alongside practical tactics and examples from the field, Ridgway and Cain introduce “Being the Change”—the idea that how foundations make decisions, share power, and show up in their relationships with communities is itself part of systems-change practice.

The report will be particularly useful to funders, organisations, and practitioners considering how resources, relationships, and institutional practices can support lasting change.