Elemental
Elemental emerged from a participatory research and design process that was grounded in deep listening, collective ideation, and liberatory vision. It reflects the experiences, insights, and analysis of global movement leaders, narrative practitioners, and funders working across issues, identities, and geographies.
Building on and complementing existing work in the philanthropic sector and the field, Elemental seeks to contribute to an enabling environment for resourcing narrative power — and prefigure the future of philanthropy in how we show up today.
We work to facilitate:
Interconnection
Ecosystem Cultivation
Intelligence
Knowledge Exchange
Imagination
Funding Experiments
Integration
Strategic Alignment
Through this comprehensive approach, we will:
✦ Deepen the analysis and capacities in philanthropy for how to effectively resource narrative infrastructure and power building
✦ Reduce the burden of funder education for movement actors
✦ Mobilize resources for individuals, organizations, and networks that play key roles in narrative ecosystems
✦ Enable collaboration among funders and narrative practitioners
Some of the ways we have done this include:
✦ Publishing articles and podcasts in multiple languages on how to fund narrative ecosystems and infrastructure
✦ Presenting at philanthropy events, such as Human Rights Funders Network, Philea, and Network of European Foundations
✦ Partnering with funder affinity groups, such as EDGE Funders Alliance, Global Fund for Community Foundations, and Ariadne Network
✦ Contributing to the funder engagement efforts of movement leaders and narrative practitioners, such as Puentes, ReFrame, Global Narrative Hive, Hope-based Communications, and the Radical Communicators Network
Activities in progress:
Funder convenings
Mapping narrative funding streams in philanthropy
Grantmaking strategy assessment and advising
The Team
Chiara K. Cattaneo
Chiara has co-designed and implemented transnational, multi-stakeholder initiatives with grassroots organisations, INGOs, and philanthropy, and engaged extensively in advocacy that is focused on migration and modern slavery in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. She currently works with nonprofit organizations and private foundations to build strategic capacities, develop accountability, and sustain meaningful dialogue across these ecosystems.
Mandy Van Deven
Mandy has directed global and regional portfolios for private and family foundations that redistributed more than $14.5 million in grants and capacity building support to groups in 10 countries that advance gender, racial, economic, and climate justice and strengthen the infrastructure for narrative power. She is the founder of Both/And Solutions, a global consulting collective that draws on professional expertise and lived experience to provide strategic advice to individual wealth holders and philanthropic institutions, enable organizational and field learning, and design, implement, and assess funding and capacity building initiatives. Mandy also serves on the boards of Puentes and Thousand Currents.
Funder Collaborators
Kataly Foundation provided seed funding for the research and design phases in 2021-2022. Since 2023, additional funders include Lankelly Chase, Carmack Collective, Independence Public Media Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Oak Foundation, and an individual philanthropist.
