The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast

SPECIAL EPISODE - Andy Carroll & Paul D. Daugherty Talk Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy

Any person at a leanly staffed foundation, no matter their role, can embrace Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP).

In this special podcast episode, Exponent Philanthropy CEO Paul D. Daugherty and senior advisor, producer, and host of the Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast, Andy Carroll discuss this critical mindset and practice, how it fills a gap in the space, and how anyone can begin to adopt CLIP.

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Andy Carroll is a senior advisor at Exponent Philanthropy and the producer and host of the Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast. Learn more about Andy Carroll »

Paul D. Daugherty is the CEO of Exponent Philanthropy. Learn more about Paul D. Daugherty »

Megan Oglesby & Joe Blosser - Catalyzing Job Creation by Supporting Our Region's Designers, Makers, and Creatives - Part 3

In Part 3 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser chronicle the creation of a prototyping and training facility called the Generator. Furniture design and craftmanship has had a long history in High Point. Though manufacturing shifted to other countries, many professional designers and skilled craftspeople continue to reside in the area. To support these creatives and their businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, Business High Point, developed a space downtown for furniture design prototyping and training. Learn how this unique facility contributes to the larger effort, co-led by the Congdon Foundation, to start, scale, and grow businesses, create jobs, and restore dynamism to High Point all through the year. 

 

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Megan Oglesby is the Executive Director of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation based in High Point, NC. The foundation board empowers Megan to fully immerse herself in the High Point community so that she is able to create and maintain strong relationships with nonprofit organizations and community leaders, to understand and articulate evolving needs in the city and region. Prior to joining the foundation, Megan held senior positions at Business High Point - Chamber of Commerce. Megan is a High Point native and currently resides in High Point with her husband and three children. 

 

Joe Blosser serves as the Chief Impact Officer of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. He previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at High Point University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Megan Oglesby & Joe Blosser- Creating a Coworking Space Designed to Support Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses in Our City - Part 2

In Part 2 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser describe a key part of the project, a coworking space called the Commons. Megan and Joe share how the Commons was designed to promote networking and idea generation, why the foundation and its partners decided to make access free, and the programming offered by the Chamber of Commerce to meet the needs of both nonprofit and for-profit startups. Learn how the scale and design of the Commons evolved beyond the original plan, and how the Congdon Foundation was clear about its specific role - to do what the for-profit sector cannot do to help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. 

 

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Megan Oglesby is the Executive Director of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation based in High Point, NC. The foundation board empowers Megan to fully immerse herself in the High Point community so that she is able to create and maintain strong relationships with nonprofit organizations and community leaders, to understand and articulate evolving needs in the city and region. Prior to joining the foundation, Megan held senior positions at Business High Point - Chamber of Commerce. Megan is a High Point native and currently resides in High Point with her husband and three children. 

 

Joe Blosser serves as the Chief Impact Officer of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. He previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at High Point University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Megan Oglesby & Joe Blosser - How a Lean Foundation Does What Government and Business Cannot Do, to Spark Job Growth and Economic Development - Part 1

Small, place-based foundations operate in almost every rural region, town, and city in the U.S. Many of these communities have experienced a dramatic loss of jobs in the past decades. As local foundations make grants to meet immediate needs, their leaders consider whether the foundations might also play a part in rejuvenating local economies and lifting opportunity and hope for the residents of their towns and regions. In this podcast, meet the staff of a foundation of two committed to doing just that - nurturing economic development in a city that once flourished with manufacturing jobs that sustained a large middle class. Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in High Point, North Carolina share ways they are devoting the foundation's many assets to help small businesses start, scale, and grow. Megan and Joe explore how a leanly staffed foundation can use its unique role and position to do what government and business cannot do to nurture economic development - by providing long-term strategic thinking and investment, taking higher risks, and supporting activity essential to business development that doesn't offer profit, such as training, equipment, space for entrepreneurs, and networking.  

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Megan Oglesby is the Executive Director of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation based in High Point, NC. The foundation board empowers Megan to fully immerse herself in the High Point community to create and maintain strong relationships with nonprofit organizations and community leaders, to understand and articulate evolving needs in the city and region. Before joining the foundation, Megan held senior positions at Business High Point - Chamber of Commerce. Megan is a High Point native and resides in High Point with her husband and three children. 

 

Joe Blosser serves as the Chief Impact Officer of the Earl and Kathryn Congdon Family Foundation. He previously served as the founding Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at High Point University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

 

Angela Hult – We Funded a Data Survey to Count People with Disabilities. The Results Were Stunning, and Helped Our Partners Change the Policy Landscape - Part 2

When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in housing designed for people with IDD, a key focus for the foundation. In this Podcast, Foundation President Angela Hult explains how she worked with grantees to package the data, and the diverse ways they shared it with policymakers in state and local government, and with affordable housing providers, to advocate for more funding for services, zoning changes, and other policy shifts. Angela shares some of the specific wins achieved by using the power of data to increase awareness about the needs and preferences of people with IDD, and to advance solutions.   

Angela Hult, President, the Kuni Foundation 

Angela’s career reflects her commitment to service and spans philanthropy, investor relations, global media, strategic communications, and social impact investing. She applies an entrepreneurial approach to developing impactful grantmaking and advocacy programs that advance cancer research and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities throughout Oregon and Washington. 

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Read "Dispelling Fear and Anxiety About Advocacy For Your Foundation Board" by Angela Hult

Angela Hult – We Funded a Data Survey to Count People with Disabilities. The Results Were Stunning, and Helped Our Partners Change the Policy Landscape - Part 1

When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in housing designed for people with IDD, a key focus for the foundation. In this Podcast, Foundation President Angela Hult explains how she worked with grantees to package the data, and the diverse ways they shared it with policymakers in state and local government, and with affordable housing providers, to advocate for more funding for services, zoning changes, and other policy shifts. Angela shares some of the specific wins achieved by using the power of data to increase awareness about the needs and preferences of people with IDD, and to advance solutions.   

Angela Hult, President, the Kuni Foundation 

Angela’s career reflects her commitment to service and spans philanthropy, investor relations, global media, strategic communications, and social impact investing. She applies an entrepreneurial approach to developing impactful grantmaking and advocacy programs that advance cancer research and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities throughout Oregon and Washington. 

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Read "Dispelling Fear and Anxiety About Advocacy For Your Foundation Board" by Angela Hult

John Amoroso - Any Funder Can Support Issue Advocacy by Their Partners. A Step-By-Step Guide to Funding Advocacy and Engaging Your Board

The David and Lura Lovell Foundation supports its nonprofit grantees to engage in a wide range of issue advocacy activities. Through this support, the foundation acts on its mission to help its partners achieve wins that not only alleviate issues but may actually solve persistent or urgent social problems. Among the successes of its grantee partners is the passing of two bipartisan federal bills that protect survivors of sexual misconduct from being silenced. In this Podcast, foundation Executive Director John Amoroso offers a step-by-step guide to funding issue advocacy. The process begins by educating your board and staff about the legal safe space to fund advocacy, with the help of expert legal counsel. Once you know the parameters, engage your grantees in conversations to learn how you can help advance their advocacy work. Then begin supporting them. John emphasizes how any foundation can fund this game-changing work.  

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John Amoroso is executive director of The David and Lura Lovell Foundation, supporting work in mental health, integrative health and wellness, youth access to the arts, and gender parity. Previously, John collaborated on community building, organizational management, fund development, capacity building, and grantmaking in nonprofit, government, and private sectors. 

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This Podcast is a companion to Exponent Philanthropy's Advocacy Field Guide for Lean Funders and to Exponent's Primer on the Legal Aspects of Advocacy Grantmaking

DISCLAIMER: Exponent Philanthropy is not a law or accounting firm. The information contained here is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for expert legal, tax, or other professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Exponent advises all foundations to seek independent counsel, for any tax, accounting, or legal issues.

Jennie Riley - How a Small Foundation Builds Communities’ Power to Advance Health Justice, by Supporting Advocacy, Organizing, and Civic Engagement - Part 2

When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health justice. The Rx Foundation empowers community residents of all backgrounds to call on leaders and elected officials to take action on the community's needs for health and wellness, encompassing clean water and air, nutritious food, affordable housing, racial and gender equity, and access to healthcare. The foundation works to help residents hold their leaders accountable at the local and national levels. Learn how a foundation with one staff person uses all its resources to build the power and agency of communities nationwide. 

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Jennie Riley is the Executive Director of the Rx Foundation, where she led a transformation of mission and philanthropic practice to advance health justice throughout the United States. Jennie is a graduate of Smith College and The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

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Read "Pivoting to Advocacy and Organizing: Changing Grantmaking Tactics in Service of Our Core Mission" by Jennie Riley >>

 

Jennie Riley - How a Small Foundation Builds Communities’ Power to Advance Health Justice, by Supporting Advocacy, Organizing, and Civic Engagement - Part 1

When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health justice. The Rx Foundation empowers community residents of all backgrounds to call on leaders and elected officials to take action on the community's needs for health and wellness, encompassing clean water and air, nutritious food, affordable housing, racial and gender equity, and access to healthcare. The foundation works to help residents hold their leaders accountable at the local and national levels. Learn how a foundation with one staff person uses all its resources to build the power and agency of communities nationwide. 

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Jennie Riley is the Executive Director of the Rx Foundation, where she led a transformation of mission and philanthropic practice to advance health justice throughout the United States. Jennie is a graduate of Smith College and The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy.

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Read "Pivoting to Advocacy and Organizing: Changing Grantmaking Tactics in Service of Our Core Mission" by Jennie Riley >>

 

Libby Kyles - Recognizing the Work of Community Leaders Who Dedicate Themselves to Social Justice Work, at Considerable Personal Expense

Listening to community members and people with field experience is an essential practice of funders who make outsized impact. Listening to the community revealed to the Tzedek Social Justice Fund in Asheville, North Carolina the need to offer respite and recognition to individuals who have devoted years of paid and unpaid labor to supporting fellow residents. Many of these individuals have worked to tear down systemic racism, gender inequality, and religious prejudice. The foundation decided to lift up and celebrate these often unrecognized leaders with grant awards. Libby Kyles, Director of Community Led Grantmaking, shares with us two kinds of awards the foundation makes to community leaders and portrays examples of the work awardees have done to weave the community together and dismantle systems of injustice.   

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Libby Kyles is the Director of Community Led Grantmaking for Tzedek Social Justice Fund. A native of Asheville, Libby spent 20 years in North Carolina classrooms while also completing her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from East Tennessee State University. Libby co-founded Youth Transformed for Life (YTL) and served as the Executive Director until June 2019. Libby continues to work in the community as the Chair of the Board for Asheville-Buncombe Community Land Trust. She is also the founder and principal consultant for Changing LENS Consulting.