Across many regions, communities are facing rising inequality, shrinking civic space, climate pressures, and increasingly uncertain public commitments. Yet one thing is clear from the SSIR piece: local leaders continue to push forward and deliver meaningful progress. They bring deep understanding of their context, build coalitions that last, and design solutions that remain strong even as political landscapes shift. Many of them were never dependent on foreign aid to begin with, and instead have built approaches rooted in local ownership and long‑term resilience. Despite this, only 0.6 percent of global funding reaches local actors directly, revealing a major gap between intention and action in global philanthropy. What needs to change Philanthropy can play a stronger role by: • Treating local organizations as true partners • Trusting locally grounded insight over distant assumptions • Designing funding models that shift decision‑making closer to the communities affected Local leaders are already transforming systems from within and creating lasting impact. Our responsibility is to support their momentum with flexible resources and genuine partnership. [ssir.org] My takeaway Real, durable social change begins with the people closest to the work. This article is a timely reminder that supporting local leadership is not just effective, it is essential. Read the full article here: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/philanthropy-supporting-local-leaders