Partnerships are absolutely essential to our work.

We believe that real social change and real social justice are created by people with a vision, working together, building communities, organizations and movements. As we see it, global justice starts with people working together for concrete improvements in those local communities—from reforesting a hillside to pressuring a mayor for clean public water—and builds up to the national, regional and international levels.

Since 1983 it has been our privilege to form lasting partnerships with some of the most vibrant and effective progressive social change movements and organizations in the world, helping to build bridges between their work in the Global South and the generosity and activism of our supporters and allies in the U.S.

Our long-term, trust-rich relationships are built on:

Shared vision and values—No collaboration will last long unless it is constructed on a solid foundation of shared values. These include commitment to structural social change, democratic organizational life and gender, ethnic and other social equality.

Walking together for the long haul—Meaningful South-North collaborations to transform the persistent injustices in the world require a mutual sense of long-term commitment. While we fund specific projects each year, we are really supporting each partners’ long-range vision and strategic plan.

Reciprocity—In every relationship, each partner has resources that are critical to the success of the work; one does not simply give while the other takes. Creative solutions to global problems come from assuming joint responsibilities drawn from each organizations’ talents.

Transparency—Honest, open communication is essential to an effective partnership.

Trust—The degree of mutual trust present in a partnership sets the boundaries of its achievements. Trust is not only written into contractual obligations but expressed through friendship and solidarity.

Our commitment to our partners:

Dollars for sustainable development and human rights—Financial resources in support of visionary community-led sustainable development and human rights work are critical to each of Grassroots’ partnerships. To avoid distorting programs and budgets, we strive for longer-term, predictable commitments with careful discussion of restrictions of funds.

Sparking debate and collective action through innovative communications strategies—Effective communications strategies occupy an increasingly important role in social transformation. We are committed to not only helping our partners improve their communications capabilities in their home countries but to communicating about our partners’ stories and aspirations to the U.S. public to inspire active global citizenry.

Strengthening alliances, the core architecture of social change—Weaving a web of strong allies is critical to becoming a successful social change organization and building a broad movement. In an era of increasing global integration, we offer resources to our partners to pursue cross-border learning exchanges and alliance building opportunities.