Wagner Foundation

We are proud to support Root Capital and the Women in Agriculture Initiative over the past 12 years. An extremely rewarding relationship that has grown and strengthened over time. Our founder, Charlotte Wagner sums up our approach to philanthropy; “Our partnership exemplifies the accompaniment approach. Root Capital has allowed us to learn alongside them and those learnings have been instrumental in shaping our work in many areas of our funding.”   Thank you Root and Willy Foote for your important work, and congratulations on 25 years.   #WomenInAgriculture #Accompaniment

Wagner Foundation is hiring a part-time Gallery Coordinator to join our team. Learn more and apply for this position at the following link: bit.ly/3MxqVAX   The Gallery Coordinator is a new, part-time position for the Foundation, to support the ongoing needs of the Wagner Foundation Gallery. Wagner Foundation Gallery, established at our offices in 2024, is an experimental exhibition space for contemporary art that addresses the role of arts in civic life and supports artists who transform our understanding of social change. Working in direct partnership with the Program Officer and Curator, Arts & Culture, this position serves as a key connection point for producing high-quality exhibitions and exhibition related programming.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, small businesses have accounted for 55% of total net job creation since 2013.   However, the flow of funding and resources supporting small businesses is not equitable, and philanthropy has a role to play in changing that.   Wagner Foundation was thrilled to host members of the Philanthropy Massachusetts Small Business Development Funder Learning Collaborative for a panel discussion on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by small businesses owned by people of color across Massachusetts.   If you are a funder interested in collaborating with others to identify needs, set shared goals, and develop strategies to strengthen and support the small business ecosystem across Massachusetts, we encourage you to join us.    Thank you J.P. Morgan for your support. Interested in learning more please reach out to Karleen Porcena, MBA at kporcena@philanthropyma.org. Thank you to our amazing panelists: *Nicole Obi, President and CEO, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. *Eneida Roman, President and CEO, Amplify LatinX *Q.J. Shi, Director, Asian Business Empowerment Council *Priya Lane, Esq., Biz Grow Director, Lawyers for Civil Rights *Donna Kelley, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Babson College

Applications are NOW OPEN for the National Birth Justice Fellowship! Register now for 10/29 info session to learn more about this dignity-centered leadership program designed to build capacity for advancing birth equity across the United States. We are proud to support the important work of Vital Village Networks and this fellowship which provides a unique opportunity for 5 community leaders.

Congratulations to our partner Community Health Impact Coalition and Dr. Madeleine Ballard for receiving the Roux Prize. A well-deserved recognition for your tireless work advocating for community health workers worldwide. The Roux Prize recognizes individuals all over the globe who have leveraged evidence-based health data to improve population health. Watch the video, it’s worth the 7 minutes!

Celebrating this stellar coverage of Tomashi Jackson's exhibition at Tufts University Art Galleries. Excited to be in partnership to showcase the excellent work of local artists. Don't miss the panel tonight 6-7:30pm https://lnkd.in/e-RKG7aq

Systems change takes time, but more importantly, it takes community. Thank you to the Vital Village Networks team for co-hosting the Birth Equity Leadership Roundtable following day one of the National Community Leadership Summit.   The leadership in the room last night was built on decades of wisdom, driven by a true passion and commitment to birth equity. For funders to engage with the broader ecosystem of birth equity leaders and explore how to resource the movement to advance the work forward is a powerful shift from the status quo. We can’t underestimate the intentionality and time invested by the birth equity community that went into the groundwork and relationship building to make an event like last night possible. Together, we were part of building towards something new.   We hope Massachusetts can serve as a model for other states with our collaborative efforts to create a maternal health system by and for birthing people and their families—one that spans the full reproductive lifecycle. We have the will, the resources, and the leadership to make it happen.

We’ve recently returned from Philadelphia and experienced 'Convalescence', the incredible work of artist Pepón Osorio. This exhibition is a vivid example of how art can catalyze important conversations about health equity and the role human-centered institutions can play in transforming health systems.   We’re grateful to partner with Curator Rob Blackson and Megan Voeller, Director of Humanities Thomas Jefferson University a leader in the emerging field of Medical Humanities. Special thanks to Charles Pohl for your vital work centering the human experience within medical institutions.   As funders, thought partners, and advocates, we remain committed to advancing a more equitable healthcare system. https://lnkd.in/ewkg74p9

A critical message echoed throughout #CGI2024 and #UNGA79 this week: We all have a role to play in advancing social change and community voice should be at the center.    We are grateful to be in partnership with incredible organizations like Community Health Impact Coalition on the frontlines of advancing equity in the health workforce, in health outcomes and in gender disparities. We are committed to our role as funders in providing flexible capital to support their work, accompanying them along the journey as thought partners and using our voice to advocate for change. As Dr. Madeleine Ballard said, investing in the professionalization of Community Health Workers (#proCHWs) is not a cost, but instead an investment in our collective health.

Week 2 on the job and our brilliant new Program Officer of International Partnerships, Ruvimbo Mushavi joins Wagner Foundation at #CGI2024. Pretty amazing to see President Bill Clinton present President Joe Biden with a Global Citizen award, what an incredible end to day 1! Ruvimbo joins us after recently completing the Master in Public Policy (MPP) program at the Harvard Kennedy School, and brings a unique perspective gleaned from her work at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Zimbabwe. Welcome Ruvimbo! We can’t wait to get to work.