Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation @ Aspen Institute’s Post

As July comes to a wrap, I want to express my deepest appreciation to all who made our conversation earlier this month possible at the Forum Conference in St. Louis! Nancy Sanabria (she/her) and Laura Smith for your trust, camaraderie, and candor; David Maurrasse for sharing your wisdom across the years; and Traci Slater-Rigaud and the United Philanthropy Forum community for the invitation and opportunity. And always grateful for Philanthropy New York and my colleagues' support, one of whom reminded me yesterday to share the 3 Rs from my remarks - so below is a summary. Spoiler: Although this panel is entitled "Advancing Racial Equity through Cohort Learning," cohort-based learning (CBL) is only one tool we use to support our funder members' journey in advancing more racially equitable practices within philanthropy: More importantly, the work of bringing folks along requires Resourcefulness, Relationship-Building, and Repetition (3 Rs). -- Resourcefulness: In other words, creativity. We use all the tools in our toolbox as philanthropy-mobilizing organizations: peer networks, issue-based working groups, skills-building programs, policy work, CBLs. With these wrap-around strategies, we nurture folks' learning, leadership, and growth in accessing their spheres of influence to effect change. We support their self-directed learning journey towards shifting practices. -- Relationship-building: Invite people in, and invite people to invite people in. Create the conditions for folks to learn, listen, engage, have difficult conversations, to increase trust and depth of relationships over multiple and consistent engagements. So when they're ready to act, they move together. -- Repetition: Regardless of the audience, which room or zoom we're in, what the session topic is, we remain clear and consistent, leading with our values and our commitments in service to a more democratic and just future. Rinse and repeat. We need each other to stay the course. And we need to remind ourselves that this is "forever work," and forever work requires Resourcefulness, Relationship-building, and Repetition - the 3 Rs. And might I add a fourth in this writing? Rest.

The Solidarity Collaborative’s work will draw from and build upon existing efforts of leaders and organizations at the forefront of solidarity work, offering inspiring examples of what is possible with greater intentionality around and investment in robust solidarity efforts. These examples include a series of cross-community Solidarity Summits, dedicated to fostering and supporting solidarity among social justice communities, where leaders such as Judith Browne Dianis were able to come together and share in their experiences. In our recent case study, Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project, shares about how Solidarity Summits offered the unique opportunity to learn about movement building and resource sharing alongside fellow social justice philanthropic leaders. Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/gKy2V6nF

When your nonprofit board lacks racial or ethnic diversity, you risk enacting plans that ineffectively address societal challenges and inequities, or even reinforce them. Launch your board’s DEI journey by discussing these five questions:

"The first step towards changing the status quo is to imagine alternatives“. - Alberto Alemanno, law professor, author, and founder of The Good Lobby. I concur that #ClimateJustice transcends being merely a #hashtag, a slogan, or a promise from #political and #industrial sectors. It embodies all these aspects but much more. Achieving #ClimateJustice requires collective power, ambition, and effort from every one of #us. The initial step involves imagining a future where climate justice becomes a tangible reality. By the way, The Good Lobby plays a crucial role in empowering nonprofits, activists, progressive businesses, and philanthropic organizations. They are instrumental in amplifying their voices and advocating for meaningful change within policy-making arenas. Thanks Allianz Foundation for this post <3

Rusty Stahl of Fund the People has shared a blog reflecting on two new studies from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) that offer more information about the crisis facing America’s nonprofit workforce — and how much funders do or do not care to address it. Rusty argues "that grantmakers are missing the fundamental connections between their own funding practices, how grantees can compensate staff, why burnout is on the upswing, and how all of this damages the ability of grantors and grantees alike to achieve their shared goals." Read it here: To Ensure Nonprofit Well-Being, Invest in Wages, Workload, and Working Conditions | The Center for Effective Philanthropy (cep.org)

Which is why Community Engagement is so valuable. By diving deep into collaboration, nonprofit leaders and volunteers unlock new potential. Join us on May 14 for an info session, and let's enhance our community together! https://bit.ly/4akcFWm Share your thoughts on engagement below. #NonprofitLeadership #CommunityEngagement #NonprofitCollaboration education. research. community.

New year, new opportunities to #shiftthepower in philanthropy and global development. Check out these new initiatives! See comments for direct links. They've also been added to Global Fund for Children's Growing Map of Resources to Reimagine Philanthropy and Global Development. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation has announced its 12-month Donor Transformation Challenge with an amazing reflection tool. January kicks off with "Dare to Imagine" new ways of supporting grassroots activists. Will you take the #DonorChallenge? Humentum is launching an Operationalizing Flexible Funding Working Group. For some reason funders still struggle with *how* to grant flexible funding. For 83% of GFC's partners over the past fiscal year, we were the first funder to offer flexible funding. #Flexiblefundingworks The Stupski Foundation has a new video series called Break Fake Rules. They write "These rules can hold us back from transformational change and create real harm to communities and causes we care about." Which fake rules will you break this year? #Breakfakerules Wish you could anonymously call out #crappyfundingpractices to help philanthropy be more equitable? Now you can with Crappy Funding Practices.

Fabulous webinar today from Philanthropy Together, introducing the most recent study of the collective giving landscape, identifying key characteristics as well as the incredible volume of this approach to individual philanthropy. https://lnkd.in/gaXyUE24 https://lnkd.in/gZsBJ2JC

Catch up with the critical discussions on public policy and philanthropy! This on-demand webinar features Sara Barba of Integer and offers essential insights for anyone in the #philanthropy and #wealthmanagement sector: https://bit.ly/3mFrAXa