I approach research and writing as a learner, not as an expert or a spokesperson for the people and places I encounter. My role in U.S. philanthropy—and my identity as a white woman from the United States—shape my access, assumptions, and the power I carry. These principles guide how I listen, learn, and share.
- Be clear about my role. I will explain who I am, why I am asking questions, how I may use what I learn, and what I can and cannot offer.
- Ask for specific consent. Access is not permission to publish. I will seek consent before quoting, identifying, photographing, recording, or sharing someone’s knowledge or experience.
- Respect what is not mine to share. Some knowledge should remain private, within a community, or rooted in its original place and language. Not everything I learn needs to become content.
- Protect context and complexity. I will not flatten distinct histories, cultures, or communities into easy comparisons. I will separate what I observe from what others tell me and from my own interpretation.
- Share narrative authority. When my writing relies on someone’s knowledge or experience, I will offer opportunities to review relevant passages and correct inaccuracies or harmful framing.
- Practice reciprocity. I will ask what would be useful, whether that means sharing a draft or final piece, offering communications support, crediting community-led work, or choosing not to publish.
- Examine who benefits and who carries risk. Before sharing, I will consider who gains visibility, credibility, or professional value—and whether anyone could be exposed, misrepresented, or reduced to evidence for my argument.
- Write beyond harm. I will attend to injustice without portraying communities only through crisis or need. I will also recognize knowledge, leadership, cultural authority, resistance, creativity, and joy.
- Carry the learning back to my own practice. I will not use community experience to critique philanthropy from a safe distance. I will ask how the learning should change my own institutional choices, relationships, and use of power.
- Remain accountable. I will verify facts, keep track of permissions, welcome correction, and revise my work when new context or feedback requires it.
My commitment is not to treat people, places, or knowledge as material available for my use simply because I have been given access. I will try to learn with humility, share with care, and support community knowledge, authority, dignity, and well-being rather than appropriate them.
