Founded in 2010, Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP) is a network of funders who are committed to fostering thriving communities in the Southern United States, by advancing structural and cultural change that result in equitable outcomes. GSP’s overall goal is to help achieve significant and sustained progress in the economic, social, and political outcomes of those who are least well off economically, politically, and socially in the South.
Our Core Values
Centering Community
We value the wisdom of Southern communities. We respect the people who are most affected by the decisions we make, and their voices and expertise guide our work.
Structural Change
We engage grassroots movement leaders and social justice funders to help achieve significant and sustained progress in the economic, social, and political outcomes of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and directly impacted communities in the South.
Education & Data
We share knowledge that builds community within GSP’s network, sharpens funders’ understanding of the Southern context and political landscape, and makes the case for investing deeply in the South.
Centering the South
We hold a deep conviction that “as goes the South, so goes the nation.”
The South is used as a testing ground for regressive policies that harm all of us. The wisdom, practice, innovation, and lived experience of marginalized Southerners has created the most brilliant solutions, under the harshest conditions, with the fewest resources. Investing in the South as the starting point, not as an afterthought, will achieve progressive change in the country.
Equity & Justice
We believe all people deserve dignity and access to the resources they need to thrive, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, immigration status, or national origin. We center race and gender equity, power building, diversity, and inclusion in our work to carve the pathway towards transformative change.
Relationships are Infrastructure
We believe sustained relationship-building is one of our most powerful tools for change. We are stronger when we work together and care for one another. We build trusting, reciprocal relationships that are not extractive, and we center people in all that we do.
“If the South—the birthplace of historic and destructive inequities—rallies to end structural injustice, it can model for the country what the journey toward racial justice and equity looks like.”
– Tamieka Mosley and Nathaniel Smith, The South Has Something to Say: COVID-19 and Our Chance for Transformation
The South receives less than 3% of philanthropic dollars nation-wide.
We created GSP to stop the pattern of underinvestment in the South by organizing philanthropic entities and resources that are needed to build the capacity of community-based organizations and networks leading structural change work in the region. Over the last nine years, we have experienced growth in the number of regional and national foundations that are prioritizing investments in the South…
Ignite Change With GSP
Join Our Network and Ignite Change! GSP is a membership-based network of philanthropic leaders, practitioners, and individuals dedicated to leveraging resources for structural change in the South.
Join Us
Help us affect change in the South. Our work ensures the best resources are offered to the most vulnerable and deserving communities.