Last week, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, several of the nation’s top foundations pledged to ease or eliminate restrictions on grants, reduce asks of grantees, and support and uplift the voices of grantee partners. From the pledge: “By acting together to provide flexibility to our grantee partners, we believe we can help them…
In the past week, I’ve marveled at how swiftly my non-profit and funder colleagues have adapted to the drastically changed conditions of our lives. Complex, in-person events were seamlessly hosted on virtual platforms in what seemed like a 24-hour pivot. We are all now wizards of Zoom, Blue Jeans, Skype, and other technologies for virtual…
The spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 is at once both unforeseen and inevitable. Michael Lerner of Commonweal and Resilience Project writes, “The coronavirus illustrates how perfectly predictable threats (viral pandemics) disrupt profoundly interconnected and fragile global systems. Financial markets, supply chains, consumer behavior, tourism, healthcare, and both national and global events are all affected by…
Philanthropy is in a cultural moment of power-reckoning; The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project offers a clear next step Press Contact: Shaady Salehi shaady@trustbasedphilanthropy.org January 22, 2020, San Francisco, CA – Today, the Headwaters Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, and The Whitman Institute announce the launch of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, a five-year, peer-to-peer funder initiative with…
What makes for great relationships between funders and their nonprofit partners? We have always believed that it starts with respect, authenticity, and honesty across power differentials in ways that build trust over time. In fact, we have often written about ways to bridge power divides by being proactive, relational funders who don’t create conditions where…