Explore Our Articles

Check out our story archive and search for a specific article here

How We Did It: Building the PGM Community of Practice
How We Did It: Building the PGM Community of PracticeA reflection on the growth of the 1,500-person participatory grantmaking communityHannah Paterson
What Tool Should I Use to Survey My Community?
What Tool Should I Use to Survey My Community?A new "Consumer Reports" for digital participation platforms, from People PoweredKevin McClendon
The Ukrainian Activists Taking on Big Philanthropy
The Ukrainian Activists Taking on Big PhilanthropyLess than 20% of humanitarian aid to Ukraine goes directly to grassroots NGOs. A coalition of Ukrainian activists is trying to change thatBen Wrobel
Tamira Benitez Wants to Help DC's Grassroots Leaders Heal
Tamira Benitez Wants to Help DC’s Grassroots Leaders HealTwo years into her tenure, the head of Diverse City Fund is leaning into healing support for on-the-ground organizersBen Wrobel
Editorial: Ground Game
Editorial: Ground GameMoving money to unfamiliar places is hard. That’s why philanthropy leaders are innovating by shifting power to the grassrootsProximate
Research Roundup: Grassroots Grantmaking
Research Roundup: Grassroots GrantmakingWe read six reports about grassroots grantmaking, and pulled out the highlightsProximate
The Citizen Leaders Shaping Climate Policy
The Citizen Leaders Shaping Climate PolicyThe Climate Democracy Accelerator is helping groups around the world build participatory climate projectsMeg Massey
New Report Advocates For Participatory Banking
Is this participatory banking's moment?A new report makes the case for community power in bankingMeg Massey
Can Participatory Budgeting Revive Trust in Brazil's Democracy?
Can Participatory Budgeting Revive Trust in Brazil's Democracy?Months after the attack on the National Congress, President Lula is betting on a new digital platform to give citizens a voice in their democracyMarcela Martins
A New Map of Participatory Grantmaking in the UK
Mapping Participatory Grantmaking in the UKParticipatory grantmaking is growing in the UK - how far along is it?Proximate
What Village Capital Learned from 150 Cohorts of Peer Review
What Village Capital Learned from 150 Cohorts of Peer ReviewA Q&A with Village Capital’s CEO on the occasion of their 150th cohort of peer-selected investmentBen Wrobel
What We Learned From Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's PGM Report
What We Learned From Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's PGM reportThe foundation released a report reflecting on their experiment with participatory grantmakingProximate
Growing #ShiftThePower in Kenya will Drive Durable Development
Growing #ShiftThePower in Kenya will drive more durable developmentA movement is growing in Kenya to shift power to communitiesWanjiru Kanyiha and Elizaphan Ogechi
A Novel Way to Predict the Weather in Malawi
A Novel Way to Predict the Weather in MalawiCan Malawi's participatory weather forecasting project change the game in a changing climate?Rabson Kondowe
Food as Medicine? A Vermont Foodbank Tries Culturally-Relevant Food
A Vermont Foodbank Tries Culturally-Relevant FoodVermont's largest food bank is responding to the state's growing diversity by offering culturally-relevant foodBen Wrobel
A Toolkit for Participatory Investing
A New Toolkit for Participatory InvestingA new playbook from Common Future helps foundations drive participation in investingMeg Massey
Participatory Grantmaking Changed My Mind About Sex Work
Participatory Grantmaking Changed My Mind About Sex WorkA personal essay about the power of connection – and the possibility of growthRose Longhurst
The Kamaʻāina Creatives Tackling Climate Change
The Kamaʻāina Creatives Tackling Climate ChangeA new, experimental venture studio designed to invest in Hawai‘i creative talentMeg Massey
Can Citizen Science Drive the Sustainable Development Goals?
Can Citizen Science Drive the Sustainable Development Goals?A new collection of articles demonstrates the potential of citizen science to measure and drive the SDGsProximate
Putting Patients at the Heart of Medical Research
Putting Patients at the Heart of Medical ResearchA model for patient-centered careJess Rimington and Joanna L. Cea
Slowly But Surely, Foundations Are Changing How They Invest Their Endowments
Slowly But Surely, Foundations Are Changing How They Invest Their EndowmentsAs grantees ask hard questions about where their grant money comes from, more donors are trusting values-aligned asset managers with their endowments
Repairing Development • Issue 4 What Happened to Resourcefulness?
What Happened to Resourcefulness?Too often there's a narrative that people are operating in deficiency. But in fact, they are demonstrating resourcefulnessIsabelle Clérié
Repairing Development • Issue 3 Shiny Resumes, Stale Ideas
Repairing Development • Issue 3 Shiny Resumes, Stale IdeasTo development practitioners – please actively unlearn what you think you know about the Global MajorityIsabelle Clérié
Repairing Development • Issue 2 We Need More Anthropologists in Development
We Need More Anthropologists in DevelopmentAs we talk about community-led anything, there is an urgency to build anthropological skill sets like participant observation and thick descriptionIsabelle Clérié
Repairing Development • Issue 1 USAID’s Freeze and the Future of Aid
USAID’s Freeze and the Future of AidWelcome to a new newsletter for Proximate, where I reflect on the possibilities for a world without traditional international aid.Isabelle Clérié
Our Vision for Proximate Brasil
Our Vision for Proximate BrasilAn exploration of participatory problem-solving in Brazil, by BraziliansJoana Ribeiro Mortari

Proximate is an independent media platform covering movements for participatory problem-solving. We look at the news through the lens of money: how it’s given away, how it’s invested, and how it’s distributed by government.
We are a fiscally sponsored project of Movement Strategy Center.

Get Our Monthly Issues

Proximate
© 2025 PROXIMATE ® ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.