The origin stories of philanthropic organizations can be incredibly inspiring. Take Andrew Carnegie, for instance, who is known as the father of modern philanthropy. You may have learned about Carnegie’s story in school; he worked his way up from being a bobbin boy at a cotton factory to selling railroad commissions and oil on Wall Street, accumulating enormous wealth in the process. In his later life, he eventually gave his fortune away, setting the stage for dozens of organizations with his namesake today.

However, while our origin stories may be shared in an inspirational manner, there are often traumatic aspects when we reflect on how foundations generate so much wealth. For example, although Carnegie gave away his fortune, he earned much of it by exploiting workers with poor wages, destroying unions, and even instigating violence when workers went on strike, resulting in the deaths of 24 people. While Carnegie owned multiple lavish homes, his workers lived in poverty and worked more than twelve hours a day in dangerous environments.

Carnegie’s story is not the only link between philanthropy and historically traumatic events. Many wealthy organizations have origin stories connected to exploitation and oppression of the very communities they aim to serve today. Though we may think of those events as being long over, we must consider how these traumatic beginnings may impact our ability to connect with communities today. Let’s discuss how to understand the trauma associated with our organizations origin stories and how to repair the harm done to our communities.

How Past Traumas Affect Modern-Day Philanthropy

As mentioned, many philanthropic organizations originally began building wealth through abusive tactics that left past generations hurting. Though those organizations have gone on to help many new generations, it’s important to empathize with your community about how your organization may have impacted their ancestors. For many who receive aid from your org, filling out an application for money or help may hold traumatic feelings. 

We must also consider the tasks we ask our communities to complete before providing help. Long applications, waiting times, and speaking to boards can be a burden to those who need help–especially when they might rightfully believe the funding they’re applying for belonged to their ancestors in the first place. By creating all these hoops to jump through, organizations ask community members to prove themselves over and over in front of the group that may have originally contributed to their pain. As a result, the application process may be filled with guilt, hurt and anger for recipients of your org’s funding.

We can’t change our origin stories, or erase the generational trauma our organizations may be tied to. So how can we better serve our communities without creating more harm?

How Philanthropy Can Be More Trauma-Informed

We must go back to our origin stories to understand how to repair the damage done to our communities. Begin by asking where your organization’s funding originated from, and how it built wealth over time. When we can recognize our wrongdoings and name them, we engage in important truth-telling that gives clues for how to mend past mistakes. We can make our communities feel more seen and heard when we acknowledge transgressions towards them.

It’s also important to consider how your organization shows up and delivers resources to your communities. When we operate from a place of empathy, we can see the whole picture, and how the process of asking for help can be stressful for our recipients. This may enable your organization to reframe your application process; when doing so, we encourage you to ask your community members what they would like to change, and then listen. By being open to their point of view, you create more partnership with your community and begin to understand their needs on a deeper level.

While we can’t undo our origin stories, we can make changes today to ensure they don’t repeat themselves over time. By informing ourselves about the past, we can build empathy for our communities, creating bonds that can improve the future of the communities and our organizations.

If you’d like to learn more about how to make your organization more trauma-informed, contact ROI’s cofounder, Vichi Jagannathan at vichi@ruralopportunity.org.