The philanthropic sector is hungry. Equity has taken its rightful place as a central discussion in how funders do their work and seek to benefit their communities – a review of any prominent sector blog, publication or conference bears the evidence – and practitioners are hungry for resources on how to operationalize equity commitments internally and in their grantmaking, to support marginalized communities and change systems.
That’s why those of us at NCRP were so excited to publish Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice earlier this month.
This toolkit is for grantmakers that are serious about advancing equity, and comes at a critical time in the Trump era and NCRP’s history. Its compelling framework on building, sharing and wielding power to advance equity and justice builds on previous work by NCRP and our fellow CHANGE partners, and offers important ingredients for funder success.
Upon the buzz-worthy release of the guide, NCRP announced that it had convened two pilot advisory and peer learning groups – one for a cohort of expert consultants and one for an intimate group of grantmakers. Last week, we shared the participants in the former, and are now eager to share participants in the latter!
The primary purpose of the exciting new program for funders is to provide structured support for implementation of the toolkit’s self-assessment processes; facilitate learning and knowledge sharing among peer funders, both in the group and more broadly in the sector; and invite user insights to help NCRP improve and iterate Philamplify tools, resources and engagement strategies.
This is NCRP’s first effort in bringing together champions in this way, and we’ve appreciated learning from fellow philanthropy-serving organizations that have deep experience in facilitating fellowships and communities of practice, such as ABFE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Justice Funders and InDEEP.
The 11 participating institutions from across the country and the staff members representing them in the 12-month pilot program are:
1. Appalachian Community Fund based in Knoxville, TN, represented by executive director Margo Miller.
2. Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina based in Charleston, SC, represented by vice president of grantmaking and public leadership Edie Blakeslee.
3. Deaconess Foundation based in St. Louis, MO, represented by vice president of strategic alignment Matt Oldani. (Note: Rev. Starksy Wilson, Deaconess’s president and CEO, chairs NCRP’s board.)
4. Embrey Family Foundation based in Dallas, TX, represented by Diane Hosey, who oversees philanthropic outreach.
5. The Cleveland Foundation based in Cleveland, OH, represented by program officer Kristi Andrasik. (Note: Kristi served on the Power Moves advisory committee.)
6. Colorado Health Foundation based in Denver, CO, represented by portfolio director Jehan Benton-Clark.
7. Healthy Communities Foundation based in Riverside, IL, represented by program officer Nora Garcia.
8. Seattle Foundation based in Seattle, WA, represented by community learning officer Diana Paredes.
9. Weissberg Foundation based in Arlington, VA, represented by executive director Hanh Le.
10. Women’s Foundation of California based in Oakland, CA, represented by program officer Rhiannon Rossi.
11. Woods Fund Chicago based in Chicago, IL, represented by lead program officer Alejandra L. Ibanez.
To learn more about these foundations, visit the full listing on our website!
Activities will include one-on-one calls with fellow participants, full group virtual meetings and in-person gatherings at sector conferences. The program will also offer deeper engagement and sector leadership with NCRP and our network, so keep an eye out for more from these exemplary grantmakers! First up is Hanh of the Weissberg Foundation as a featured speaker on this week’s webinar on May 30th – RSVP to join the discussion and/or to receive the recap blog post and recording.
While we aren’t accepting additional participants for the groups, NCRP may expand and offer the program again in 2019 and beyond based on interest from the field. We’re looking forward to improving the program’s structure and activities in response to feedback, and sharing updates with the field.
In the meantime, NCRP is eager to provide soft coaching and thought partnership to other toolkit users. Are you interested in using Power Moves with your organization or clients? Download the guide and feel free to contact us to explore use and potential partnership, and/or to connect with any of the participating foundations!
Caitlin Duffy is senior associate for learning and engagement at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). She is one of two lead staff members for the Philamplify project, along with Lisa Ranghelli, senior director for assessment and special projects and primary author of the toolkit. Follow @NCRP, @DuffyInDC and @lisa_rang on Twitter, and join the conversation using #PowerMovesEquity!
This post was updated on 5/30/18.