Opportunities for Social Work to Strengthen Community Power
In a moment when communities face complex, intersecting challenges, from systemic inequities to climate-related disasters, the call for more just and human-centered approaches to philanthropy has never been louder. At the St. Joseph Fund, we believe the way forward begins with relationships, trust, and a deep respect for community wisdom.
These values aren’t just fundamental in grantmaking. They’re the very heart of social work.
Amy Huang, program officer, brings education and experience in social work to her philanthropic role at SJF. “Social work can be applied to every aspect of your world,” she explains. “It’s about social justice, the love of people, and nurturing human relationships.”
Rooted in Social Justice – Connecting the Tenets of Social Work to Philanthropy
These six principles of the Tenets of Social Work reflect the core values of philanthropy. Amy is grateful to connect social work practices with these disciplines to dismantle harmful systems and create conditions that enable communities to thrive.
Amy sees a clear connection between harmful trends in both philanthropy and social work. In particular, the over reliance on monitoring and prescriptive metrics. In social work, well-intentioned grants within service delivery provisions often compel practitioners to adopt a surveillance role, tracking individuals against institutional benchmarks rather than centering on their humanity.
In philanthropy, similar structures can unintentionally shift power away from communities, especially when relationships are built on rigid metrics, top-down decision-making, or short-term outcomes. SJF’s response has been to move from a compliance-driven model to one rooted in dialogue, co-creation, and partnership. “We don’t prescribe solutions,” Amy says. “We work alongside organizations, respecting their self-determination.”
Rather than imposing externally defined measures of success, we invest in long-term relationships grounded in mutual respect, active listening, and shared learning.
This means funding without unnecessary burdens, valuing stories and lived experience alongside data, and walking alongside our partners as co-creators of change. By doing so, we aim to return power to communities and honor their capacity to lead efforts that foster healing, resilience, and justice.
From Micro to Macro — Building Community Power through a Strength-Based Lens
Social work teaches practitioners to see the world through three interconnected levels of analysis.
This multi-layered approach resists the deficit mindset that too often defines both charity and casework. Instead of focusing on what communities lack, it should start from the belief that every person and organization has assets to contribute. Focusing on strengths allows us to work together to identify root causes and build long-term solutions by shifting the lens from what communities lack to what they already hold—resilience, wisdom, relationships, cultural knowledge, and lived experience. When we center these assets, we move beyond short-term fixes and instead foster collaboration built on dignity and mutual respect.
To do this, we leverage our networks, relationships, and expertise, so that the burden doesn’t rest solely on grantees. It also means rethinking what philanthropy funds. Rather than tying dollars strictly to programs or services, SJF invests in the invisible infrastructure that allows organizations to be creative, responsive, and sustainable. This might involve funding leadership development, operational support, or coalition-building—all of which enhance the benefits of service delivery.
At its core, this work is about integrity. “Stewardship should focus on building a just society,” Amy affirms. “Where we spend our resources, and how we spend them, should directly benefit those most impacted.” Amy is also committed to the principles of a Just Transition Investment Framework: moving away from our current extractive economy towards a more regenerative economic system.
By integrating the principles of social work into philanthropy, we continue to live out our mission to build communities that are more whole, more healed, and more able to flourish, hope, love, and grow.
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