At the Trevor Noah Foundation, our work is guided by a belief that lasting change
in education is driven by those closest to the problem. Through the Khulani Nathi
Innovation Fund (KNIF), we are intentionally experimenting with a different way
of funding—one that prioritises trust, learning, and partnership over rigid
compliance and control.
KNIF was designed as more than a funding mechanism. It is a learning platform
that challenges traditional philanthropic norms by offering flexible, unrestricted
support to organisations leading systemic change in South Africa’s education
ecosystem. Central to this approach is a shift in power: from funder as gatekeeper
to funder as partner.
In this reflection, our Grantmaking Lead, who spearheaded the design and
implementation of KNIF, shares a deeply personal account of her professional
journey. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience managing highly
regulated, compliance-driven grants, she reflects on what it has meant to unlearn
long-held assumptions about accountability, risk, and rigour, and to embrace
trust-based philanthropy in practice.
This piece offers an honest look at what happens when grantmaking moves
beyond checklists and reporting frameworks and begins with listening, humility,
and respect for proximate leadership. It is not a declaration of arrival, but a
reflection on an ongoing journey. One that continues to shape how we show up
as partners to the organisations and communities we serve.
From compliance to trust, what I have learned about letting go in Grantmaking
My journey in grantmaking began over 15 years ago, managing programmes funded through traditional institutional donor models – such as USAID, NIH, PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation. At the time, rigour meant strict compliance and accountability.
Detailed proposals, extensive due diligence, tightly defined deliverables, and carefully monitored milestones were, to me, signs of responsible, sound grants management and accountability. They reassured funders that resources were being used correctly and that risk was being managed.
After joining the Trevor Noah Foundation in 2025 as a Grantmaking Lead and taking on responsibility for the KNIF, I began to question whether traditional grantmaking practices truly served the organisations we aim to support, or whether they mainly served our own need for certainty. It was at this point that my journey toward trust-based philanthropy began—not with a theory or framework, but with people and the communities we serve.
What due diligence and site visits really revealed
Photo Credit: Left to right: Vuyolwethi Tswelekile – Community Engagement Officer (EELC); Katherine Sutherland – Head of Research (EELC); Khuselwa Mxatule – Assistant Director of Impact & Learning (TNF); Sibongile Maepa – Grantsmaking Lead (TNF); Tshego Phala – Executive Director (EELC) & Mufaro Magidi – Head of Support Services –operations and Finance (EELC).
Through due diligence processes and site visits, I have had the privilege of spending time with organisations deeply rooted in their communities. I have seen teams operating under immense pressure, navigating funding uncertainty, overburdened by rigorous compliance and cumbersome reporting, facing capacity constraints, and navigating complex social realities – yet still delivering innovative and contextually relevant solutions.
What struck me most was not a lack of accountability or ambition. It was the opposite. These organisations understood their work, their communities, and their challenges as well as solutions to those challenges far better than any external template could capture. And yet, many felt compelled to shape their narratives to fit what they thought funders wanted to hear.
I began to notice how traditional grantmaking processes often extract information without offering much in return: long application processes, repeated requests for the same documents, and compliance-heavy requirements that absorb precious time and energy. In some cases, due diligence became less about understanding risk and more about signalling power. However, this realisation was necessary.
The shift from Trust to Support
The shift to trust-based funding has prompted deep reflection. I have found myself repeatedly returning to a simple but profound question: how do we move from asking, “Can we trust them?” to asking, “How can we support them?” Trust-based philanthropy challenged me to reframe this entirely – centering not on whether an organisation is trustworthy, but on what it needs to succeed. For me, this shift does not mean letting go of accountability, but rather, recognising that trust and accountability go hand in hand and are mutually reinforcing. When organisations are trusted, resourced flexibly, and engaged as partners rather than grantees, they are more open about challenges, more honest about risks, and more invested in learning.
My recent experience with due diligence and site visits reinforced that due diligence is a conversation and a shared learning process, rather than an interrogation and compliance exercise, and that site visits are opportunities to listen and not to verify. What stood out most for me was the deep passion on the ground – the teams are genuinely invested in their work, deeply rooted in their communities, and profoundly committed to making a difference. Most of them are aligned with KNIF in terms of proximate leadership – they have all demonstrated how they are embedded in the communities they serve, and how they co-create with communities.
What letting go has taught me
Letting go of power and control has taught me several important lessons:
- Expertise lives closest to the problem. Organisations working on the ground, alongside communities, are best placed to define and design solutions that reflect lived realities.
- Flexibility is not a risk, but rigidity is. Unrestricted and flexible funding enables organisations to respond to changing realities.
- Relationships matter more than processes. Strong partnerships create the conditions for impact far more effectively than complex systems.
- Trust must be practiced, not proclaimed. It shows up in timelines, communication, funding structures, and how we respond when things don’t go as planned.
An ongoing journey
The shift from traditional grantmaking to trust-based philanthropy is not a destination I have reached, but a practice I am still learning. It requires constant reflection, humility, and a willingness to challenge ingrained norms within philanthropic institutions. Most importantly, it requires deep and consistent listening to the organisations we aim to support. If philanthropy is truly about advancing equity and systemic change, then trust cannot be an add-on. It must be the foundation.
