Bioregional Flow Funding

= "a trust-based, decentralized funding model that removes institutional bottlenecks and allows financial resources to flow directly to bioregional organizing teams – coalitions of local leaders". [1]

Description

Syd Harvey Griffith:

"Bioregional Flow Funding is a model that shifts financial resource decision-making into the hands of those who know their ecosystems and communities best. It's about trusting local leaders, providing direct resources to bioregional organizing teams, and creating a global network of place-based regeneration.

Kinship Earth and the Earth Regeneration Fund are working together to empower bioregions to self-organize, share knowledge, and flow funding where it will have the greatest impact.

This isn't just a new funding model – it's a shift in mindset. It's a commitment to resourcing those on the frontlines of regeneration and ensuring they have what they need."

(https://www.bioregionalearth.org/blog/flow-funding)

Discussion

Syd Harvey Griffith:

"Flow Funding takes funding down to the grassroots. Grassroots initiatives outperform top-down approaches in disaster response (Global Humanitarian Assistance Report, 2021). Grassroots organizations often operate on less than $50,000 annually, but achieve high impact (Global Greengrants Fund). Community-led conservation is 2.5 times more cost-effective (International Institute for Environment and Development). Community-driven projects have a 50% higher success rate due to local knowledge and ownership (World Bank).

Flow funding trusts the people who live and organize on the ground to allocate resources themselves. It puts decision-making power directly in the hands of those best positioned to effectively use funds. By shifting financial decision-making away from institutions and into grassroots leadership, Flow Funding removes bureaucracy, accelerates real impact, strengthens local economies, and ensures resources go directly where they are most needed.

The basic process of Flow Funding is that a funder gives money – with little paperwork or constraints – to an individual or group in a community with whom they've built a trusted relationship. The recipient is then free to give out the money over time, usually in small amounts, to people/projects on the ground that need the boost in a moment of opportunity or need. Essential reporting requirements focus on who received the funds and for what purpose, with no mandated outcomes. In Kinship Earth's case, recipients are invited to reflect after their one-year term serving and answer four questions: What inspired you? What surprised you? What challenged you? What moved you? This approach values trust and storytelling over rigid metrics.

The whole idea of Flow Funding is that money flows through a community, at a grassroots level, like water.

To see the impact of Flow Funding, take a look at successful models like The Fountain, River Network, and Regenerosity. These initiatives demonstrate how shifting power to local leaders leads to faster, more effective, and more equitable outcomes.

Flow Funding is already working. It's proving that when we trust communities, provide them with direct resources, and remove unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, real change happens.

Bioregional Flow Funding is a trust-based, decentralized funding model that removes institutional bottlenecks and allows financial resources to flow directly to bioregional organizing teams – coalitions of local leaders who understand their land, ecosystems, and communities."

(https://www.bioregionalearth.org/blog/flow-funding)

Examples

• of flow funding: The Fountain, River Network, and Regenerosity

• of bioregional flow funding: The Earth Regeneration Fund and Kinship Earth