Years ago, when The Whitman Institute board put our spend out in motion, we envisioned our final retreat. A large, warm gathering of colleagues who had become friends and family would rest and reflect under the beautiful stars and trees of California’s northern coast. There would be toasts over fire pits, connection, inquiry, dancing, and…
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 Decolonizing Wealth, Edgar Villanueva provides a refreshing perspective on the future of philanthropy and finance, pointing to Native wisdom as a way to dismantle the oppressive systems that permeate the sector today. With Edgar’s book launch just around the corner, we sat down with him to hear more about his vision and how it…
A Trust-Based, Collaborative Relationship from the Start Thousand Currents became part of the Whitman Institute family in 2013, after an unexpectedly fruitful lunch meeting between Rajasvini Bhansali and John Esterle. “We got together to brainstorm what it would look like for Thousand Currents to model donor education–much like our [grantee] partners do political education in…
Headwaters Foundation in Missoula, Montana is a new health conversion foundation that has been committed to embracing trust-based philanthropy since its inception. This commitment has led to a number of innovations – including GO! Grants that are designed to put grant funds in the hands of grantees in less than a month – as well…