October 18th
Los Angles, California

The eighth edition of the Impact Awards was held in Los Angeles, California as part of CHANGE Philanthropy’s Unity Summit.  The October 16 – 19 conference is exploring strategies for utilizing power to advance philanthropic equity, with emphasis on how philanthropic institutions and individuals working in philanthropy can shift their practice. Across various session types and formats, summit participants will explore shifts in internal organizational practice that consider organizational climate and culture as well as realizing intersectional racial equity within philanthropic organizations; and external practice that examine use of capital, ways of engaging with accountability to community, and methods for leveraging collective power.

Check out the 2023 Impact Awards Booklet
Announcement (Press Release)
Re-watch the entire celebration
Russell Royball’s Introductory Remarks
Aaron Dorfman’s Closing Call to Action

Check out
#2023UnitySummt & #NCRPImpactAwards hashtags
to see our social media coverage

Congratulations to the 2023 NCRP Impact Awardees:

	the Raikes Foundation "CHANGING COURSE" AWARD FOR INCORPORATING FEEDBACK The “Changing Course” Award for Incorporating Feedback is given to the funder that has shifted their strategies and operations in response to feedback from their stakeholders, particularly those most affected by inequity and injustice. Since its creation in 2002, the Raikes Foundation has been committed to the belief that investing in the well-being of young people is the best investment that society can make in our collective future. The Seattle, Washington-based foundation makes grants in four core areas: education, housing stability for youth, racial equity and democracy, and impact-driven philanthropy. Through their grants, they seek to redefine financial impact, support individuals, and promote community agencies and solutions to build a more just and inclusive society where all young people have the support they need to achieve their full potential. Read More about the Raikes Foundation's efforts to bring people together to break down barriers that prevent communities from thriving and to support solutions that allow all of us to determine a fair and just future for America.
	Black Immigrants Bail Fund "GET UP, STAND UP" AWARD FOR BOLD RAPID RESPONSE The “Get Up, Stand Up” Award for Rapid-Response Grantmaking goes to a funder that provides timely, flexible resources and adjusted processes to respond quickly to urgent movement needs, especially those of smaller grassroots, frontline groups. At a time when frontline migrant justice organizations grapple with increasingly hostile environments and limited resources, Black Immigrants Bail Fund's extraordinary work, providing no-cost legal assistance and relief to Black immigrants who are wrongfully held in ICE detention, is more critical than ever. Their intersectional work to eradicate the mass incarceration of Black immigrants and to level the playing field of equity in due process is not done by anyone else, despite the heightened awareness of systemic racism and other obstacles in the immigration detention and criminal justice systems. Founded on the eve of Juneteenth 2020 as a collaboration between the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) and the African Bureau for Immigration & Social Affairs (ABISA), the BIBF offers support and aid to Black immigrants across the United States as they navigate the country's immigration detention system. They provide bond payments directly for those in need and no-cost legal representation during bond arrangements. Post-release, low-cost legal resources are offered per request. BIBF works immensely hard to locate pro-bono services as the request for post-release assistance grows. Unfortunately, pro-bono services for black immigrants are severely inaccessible, another grim reality. In recent years, they have increased their wrap-around services, even covering transportation after release and support services for sponsoring families of detainees nationwide. Working with individual donors, ex-detainees, mutual-aid groups, religious denominations, and several foundations, BIBF has paid nearly $1.01 million in bonds, secured $1.02 million in bond payments from its partner, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and helped liberate over 232 individuals from detention. The results are staggering for an organization of its capacity, but more is required to meet the needs of over five million pending bond requests. Read More on how the Black Immigrants Bail Fund is helping to meet the financial and transitional needs of Black immigrants seeking a better way of life in the United States.
	the Solidaire Network "MOVER AND SHAKER" AWARD FOR BOLD PEER ORGANIZING The “Mover and Shaker” Award for Bold Peer Organizing goes to a funder that centered their work on the needs of excluded and impacted communities, leveraging their reputation and convening power to advance systems-change strategies. Solidaire Network is a community of donor organizers who mobilize quickly to get critical resources to the frontlines of social justice movements. The Solidaire community holds a collective vision of radical giving that invites donors into the practice of transforming their relationship to power and wealth. Over the last five years, Solidaire Network has moved over $36 million to grassroots organizations, prioritizing long-term partnerships with frontline movements engaged in intersectional, diverse and innovative work to build power and create new systems rooted in solidarity and collectivity. Read More to find out how Solidaire is pushing the limitations of traditional philanthropy in pursuit of a more radical vision of accompanying and fortifying social movements.
	New York Women's Foundation "SMASHING SILOS" AWARD FOR INTERSECTIONAL GRANTMAKING The “Smashing Silos” Award for Intersectional Grantmaking is given to funders that worked in deep partnership with under-represented and vulnerable communities and supported multi-issue and cross-identity efforts to address systemic causes of social, economic or environmental challenges. New York Women's Foundation has advanced a dynamic philanthropic strategy that is rooted in the belief that people living the issues know the answers and that when women and gender-expansive people thrive, their families and communities also thrive. The Foundation has used the blueprint of radical generosity and radical collaboration to drive the future we collectively desire, locally and globally. The Foundation, among the largest women-led grantmaking organizations in the world, has used a trust-based philanthropic model to support multi-issue and cross-identity efforts affecting women and families. A recent testimony to The Foundation’s nimble and community-led approach was seen in its response to supporting groups in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June of 2022. Read More about how the foundation has doubled their grantmaking to groups in the wake of the Dobbs decision and how it uses the blueprint of radical generosity and radical collaboration to drive the future we collectively desire and deserve.
	Vu Le “PABLO EISENBERG MEMORIAL PRIZE’ FOR PHILANTHROPY CRITICISM The inaugural “Pablo Eisenberg Memorial Prize” for Philanthropy Criticism. This award was recently established after the passing late last year of one of NCRP’s founders, Pablo Eisenberg. The honor seeks to spotlight the kind of bold truth telling that Pablo modeled all throughout his public career. NonProfit AF’s Vu Le is not just an accomplished writer, speaker, and nonprofit leader. He reads like the kind of person that that can carry a conversation with both your Mama and your tax bracket-busting prospective donor. The truth teller that you didn’t know you needed – that is until you hear yourself chuckle at the all too familiar anecdotes that jump off the screens of his regular Batcave of online expression and analysis (mobile, desktop – take your pick.). His entries just aren’t the musings of some AI-influenced algorithm but borne of a life in the trenches of the non-profit industrial complex, somewhere in the space bordered by SWOT analyses, strategic frameworks and general operating requests. Title-wise, he is the former Executive Director of both the Vietnamese Friendship Association and RVC, a Seattle-based nonprofit that promotes developing leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities. So at least two seven-year cycles of standing with and in-between staff, boards, funders and communities at the pay scales of service, not profit. But to tons of followers and admirers in the nonprofit and fundraising world, Vu is simply a dynamic voice who holds philanthropy accountable, challenging long-held narratives about wealth. He holds up a mirror to the sector's intentions, actions and funding. His writing courageously communicates what so many think and know about the sector, but who may not have the right words or platform to express them. A person who is more than up to the challenge of carrying on the legacy of philanthropic criticism and speaking truth to power like former NCRP Board Chair and sector trailblazer, Pablo Eisenberg. Read More