Meet the foundations that took home NCRP Impact Awards
Congratulations to these NCRP Impact Awardees:
 | Nellie Mae Education Foundation"CHANGING COURSE" AWARD FOR INCORPORATING FEEDBACKThe “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.The Nellie Mae Education Foundation has made a deliberate and intention effort over the last several years to change not just what they were funding but how they are funding it. They reviewed and redesigned their organizational strategy, culture, and practices in order to build a new grantmaking strategy that explicitly focused on advancing racial equity in public education. And they did it by not just asking tough questions of themselves, but also bring in community leaders as equal partners, advisors and decisionmakers. The result is a movement toward more general operating support and multi-year grants. It’s also meant streamlining reporting expectations and giving more flexibility to grantees in the ways that show “impact” or “results.” And they are just starting. Read More |
 | California Wellness Foundation"GET UP, STAND UP" AWARD FOR BOLD RAPID RESPONSEThe “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.In recent years, California has been hit regularly with a series of natural disasters: fires of unprecedented magnitude; floods and mudslides; and earthquakes. Recovery from those events often put an even greater strain and burden on under-resourced communities. And that was before COVID-19. The staff at the Californian Wellness Foundation urgently stepped up, making proactive, core support grants to current partners, eliminating most of the upfront paperwork, accelerating the review process and easing or eliminating reporting requirements. They got the money out the door quickly and, in the process, got outside of their own box of traditional funding. All in all, prioritizing organizations that were providing relief to communities of color, undocumented individuals, seniors, and those ineligible for government relief. Read More |
 | Four Freedoms Fund"MOVER AND SHAKER" AWARD FOR BOLD PEER ORGANIZINGThe “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.Since its founding in 2003, Four Freedoms Fund has infused the immigrant justice movement with over $180 million and provided crucial technical assistance to deepen organizational capacity. From an initial handful of grantees in 2003, FFF now supports organizations, coalitions and networks operating in approximately 30 states and Washington DC. ‘ The work it has facilitated in the last several years has helped provide the fertile ground for the leadership of so many immigrant communities to blossom. Their investments in the long-term ability of immigrant justice organizations to effectively organize and build power from the ground up has helped challenge immigration enforcement, mobilize immigrant voters and secure inclusive state and local immigrant justice policies. They are pushing the sector to help build the infrastructure that the movement needs to respond to critical opportunities and threats, building the current momentum that looks to transform our federal immigration systems. Read More |
 | Third Wave Fund"SMASHING SILOS" AWARD FOR INTERSECTIONAL GRANTMAKINGThe “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.Since 1996, the Third Wave Fund’s grantmaking and donor mobilizing has strived to advance the community power, well-being and self-determination of those people and communities traditionally and continuously left out of philanthropy. That includes young Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPoC) and queer, trans, and intersex people most directly impacted by -- and ultimately best positioned to end -- gender oppression. Third Wave recognizes that justice is intersectional and that supporting grantees through moments of crisis and towards long-term sustainability means helping them work toward both personal and structural change that focuses on gender, racial, economic, disability, healing, and transformative justice. As funders, we should strive to be as unapologetic as the Third Wave Fund in supporting movements that recognize that none of us are truly free until all of us are free. Read More |
 | Emergent Fund"GET UP, STAND UP" AWARD FOR BOLD RAPID RESPONSEImmediately after the 2016 election, the Emergent Fund knew it had to act quickly to mobilize funders to support organizing happening across the country in response to harmful policies coming out of the administration. The founding partners of Emergent Fund – Solidaire Network, Women Donors Network, Threshold Foundation and the Democracy Alliance – came together to create this rapid response fund to help move quick resources with no strings attached to communities that were, and continue to be, under attack by federal policies and priorities. Keep reading |
 | The Libra Foundation"CHANGING COURSE" AWARD FOR INCORPORATING FEEDBACKIn 2002, Nicholas and Susan Pritzker, and their children, Regan, Isaac, Joby and Jacob, established The Libra Foundation, a vehicle for social change that was endowed with $33 million and a focus on women’s rights at the outset. That focus quickly broadened to a domestic human rights lens, making modest grants to organizations working on social justice, drug policy, women’s rights and the environment. Keep reading |
 | Marguerite Casey Foundation"SMASHING SILOS" AWARD FOR INTERSECTIONAL GRANTMAKINGSince 2001, Marguerite Casey Foundation has nurtured a movement led by low-income families advocating for change by providing substantial long-term grants that cross issues, regions, egos, politics, organizational turf, race and ethnicity. Families do not experience poverty one issue at a time, but instead face a spectrum of issues. The foundation funds organizations that work on issues across that spectrum, from health care and voting rights to employment and child care. Keep reading |
 | Unbound Philanthropy"MOVER AND SHAKER" AWARD FOR BOLD PEER ORGANIZINGWe live at a time when false and misleading narratives about people who are immigrants and refugees, Muslims, people of color and Native people – especially those who are women, queer, transgender and/or disabled – are deeply polarizing societies and damaging and sometimes destroying the lives of individuals and communities. For all of us working toward a just and vibrant society where we can all flourish – where we uphold human dignity, value our diversity and embrace our common humanity – we must help shape narratives about our communities. Keep reading |
 | Foundation for Louisiana"MOVER AND SHAKER" AWARD FOR BOLD PEER ORGANIZINGFor much of its 12-year existence, Foundation for Louisiana (FFL) has centered inclusive engagement and equitable outcomes in all its work. One of the best expressions of these values has been the relationships and partnerships in and through philanthropy that provide the financial, strategic and leadership resources necessary to grow the field’s capacity in this way. Keep reading |
 | Groundswell Fund"SMASHING SILOS" AWARD FOR INTERSECTIONAL GRANTMAKINGWe invest in grassroots organizing that advances policy and systems change; that cuts across race, class, gender and sexuality; and that uses brave and innovative strategies informed from the ground up by communities directly impacted. This multi-issue, multi-identity solidarity approach has always been critical but is even more so now amidst a political terrain where millions of newly activated people are looking to plug-in to organizations to make a change. Keep reading |
 | Meyer Memorial Trust"CHANGING COURSE" AWARD FOR INCORPORATING FEEDBACKA few years into a journey driven by stakeholder input, Meyer refocused its grantmaking in four areas where it might have the greatest impact: housing, education, the environment and Oregon’s diverse communities. Meyer pledged, beyond funding programs, to use the foundation’s voice to advocate for change and convene across the sector. Meyer also laid out a bold equity and inclusion statement that begins, “Our goal is to make equity as much a part of our everyday operations as it is a part of Meyer Memorial Trust’s mission … we can’t get there without equity.” Keep reading |
 | Solutions Project"GET UP, STAND UP" AWARD FOR RAPID RESPONSESolutions Project believes that clean energy is a civil rights issue. So from the earliest rumblings of a resistance forming in North Dakota, it stood at the ready to support indigenous leadership working tirelessly to block the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the spring of 2016, Solutions Project first leveraged its Fighter Fund to support a gathering of tribal leaders brought together by the Indigenous Environmental Network to plot to stop the dirty energy infrastructure and support a just transition to a clean, regenerative economy. Keep reading |
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SMALL/MIDSIZE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONThe Consumer Health Foundation advocates for health and racial equity through programs and investments that advance the health and well-being of low-income communities and communities of color. |
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LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONThe Haas Jr. Fund seeks to fulfill its founders’ vision of a just and compassionate society where all people have the opportunity to live, work and raise their families with dignity. |
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CORPORATE FOUNDATIONThe company is recognized internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and environmental activism, contributing over $68 million in grants and in-kind donations to date. |
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COMMUNITY FOUNDATION/GRANTMAKING PUBLIC CHARITYThe Sandler Foundation invests in strategic organizations and exceptional leaders that seek to improve the rights, opportunities and well-being of others, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. |
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CORPORATE FOUNDATIONBlue Shield of California Foundation Blue Shield of California Foundation is a private philanthropic organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and making health care accessible, effective and affordable for California’s underserved. |
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COMMUNITY FOUNDATION/GRANTMAKING PUBLIC CHARITYBrooklyn Community Foundation is on a mission to spark lasting social change, mobilizing people, capital and expertise for a fair and just Brooklyn. The foundation and its donors have provided over $20 million in grants to more than 300 nonprofits throughout New York City’s largest borough, bolstering vital programs and services while responding to urgent community needs and opportunities. |
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SMALL/MIDSIZE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONFounded in 1956, Needmor Fund is widely recognized in the world of social justice philanthropy. This small family foundation is driven by its mission, “to work with others to bring about social justice,” with increasing democratic participation as its core vision and value. |
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SMALL/MIDSIZE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONOne of the oldest foundations in the country, the New York Foundation was established in 1909 with a gift of $1 million from Alfred M. Heinsheimer and his brother, Louis. From the beginning, the trustees argued that the role of philanthropy was to broaden awareness of social problems, not limit its grantmaking to direct charity. |
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LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONOpen Society Foundations, a family of offices and foundations established by George Soros, seek to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. |
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CORPORATE FOUNDATIONEstablished in 1985, the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is known for working to advance social and environmental justice and encouraging safe and sustainable food systems. |
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LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONIn just 18 years, The California Endowment has become a top player in expanding access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities. |
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SMALL/MIDSIZE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONEstablished in 1959, the Hill-Snowdon Foundation is committed to its vision of fair and just society where low-income families and communities can thrive. |
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GRANTMAKING PUBLIC CHARITYThe Liberty Hill Foundation raised expectations – and eyebrows – in 1976 when it was founded to underwrite long-term social change through grassroots and community organizing. |
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GRANTMAKING PUBLIC CHARITYCalifornia Community Foundation The California Community Foundation (CCF) has been greater Los Angeles’ community foundation since 1915. Its mission is to “strengthen Los Angeles communities through effective philanthropy and civic engagement.” |
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CORPORATE FOUNDATIONThe pioneer spirit that guides Levi Strauss & Co. is evident in the gutsy foundation it created in 1952. Today, the Levi Strauss Foundation drives cutting-edge and effective grantmaking for justice, supporting innovative community partnerships and promoting the practice of good corporate citizenship. |
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LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONEstablished by Jennifer and Peter Buffett seven years ago, NoVo invests worldwide in systemic change to foster a transformation from a world of domination and exploitation to one of collaboration and partnership. |
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SMALL/MIDSIZE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONWoods Fund Chicago is a bold grantmaker that finds – and funds – projects that draw on the power of communities to fight the brutality of poverty and structural racism. It invests in the smartest solutions, understanding they must be community-driven to create real, systemic change and believes in collaborative practice that ensures a lasting impact. |
