The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast

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.  

Dan Ely - ”Actions Speak Louder Than Words.” When We Uncovered that Enslaved African People Contributed to the Wealth of the Foundation, Our Board and Staff Did More Than Make Statements

Dan Ely, Vice President and former Board Chair of the 1772 Foundation, shares the actions board and staff took as soon as they uncovered the connection between the foundation and profits made from the labor of African peoples enslaved in the late 18th century by the forebears of the benefactor, Stewart B. Kean. One operating principle of catalytic funders like the 1772 Foundation, is taking responsibility for an issue and acting creatively and decisively. By taking a series of steps immediately upon learning this information, the foundation offers other funders an example of action and accountability. Thanks to Afia Amobeaa-Sakyi, Director, Equity and Inclusion, at Exponent Philanthropy, for partnering on this episode.

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Dan Ely is a trustee of the 1772 Foundation and is former president of the foundation's board. Dan had a 40-year career with First National City Bank (now Citibank N.A.), serving in corporate banking and risk management positions, and later as managing director. Dan is on the board of the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson and also serves Raritan Headwaters Association in Gladstone, NJ. He was a volunteer fireman with the Ralston Engine Company for 17 years.

Joey Borgogna - Embracing a More Powerful Role for Our Foundation - Using Our Position to Nurture Leaders and Build a Peer Learning Community Part 2

In Part 2, Joey Borgogna of the Speranza Foundation shares the techniques he uses to build a peer learning community for the foundation's artist fellows, and personalize learning and technical assistance to individual artists' needs. The leadership program encompasses one-on-one coaching, peer interviews to learn about the artists' work and life, individualized training and technical assistance, group workshops, in-person visits to experience artists' work, and celebrations. Joey urges foundations working in any field to connect people in their network and nourish their growth as leaders and as human beings. 

Related Blog:

• Funding the Arts Is Funding for Social Change

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Joey Borgogna is a creative producer and coach at the intersection of art, philanthropy, culture, and community, whose work is inspired by humanitarian and cultural expeditions spanning 21 countries on 5 continents. He currently serves as Director of the Speranza Foundation where he manages the Lincoln City Fellowship, an annual enrichment program for individual artists.

Joey Borgogna - Embracing a More Powerful Role for Our Foundation - Using Our Position to Nurture Leaders and Build a Peer Learning Community Part 1

The pandemic underscored challenges faced by artists and performers, and at the same time, the indispensable role they play in sustaining our culture and connecting us. As Joey Borgogna, director of the Speranza Foundation, puts it, "We get the gift of artists being in the world." The foundation shifted from supporting arts creation, to the more hands-on work of building community among its artist fellows, to nurture renewal, growth, and leadership in ways personalized to the artists' individual needs. In Part 1 of this Podcast, Joey explains the "Why?" of this shift; in Part 2 he describes how he designs the training and builds the peer learning community. 

Related Blog:

• Funding the Arts Is Funding for Social Change

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Joey Borgogna is a creative producer and coach at the intersection of art, philanthropy, culture, and community, whose work is inspired by humanitarian and cultural expeditions spanning 21 countries on 5 continents. He currently serves as Director of the Speranza Foundation where he manages the Lincoln City Fellowship, an annual enrichment program for individual artists.

 

Richelle Todd-Yamoah ─ ”Not Thinking Anything Was Too Big” - A Small Foundation Partners with a CDFI and the State to Nurture Businesses and Fill Transportation Gaps in a Struggling Region

When working to advance its mission, the Pascale Sykes Foundation in New Jersey has never backed away from challenge and the need to venture into new kinds of work. The foundation focuses on nurturing opportunity and success for working families. Recognizing that lack of jobs and transportation in rural South Jersey undermined hope for families, the foundation built relationships with organizations in other parts of New Jersey to target resources to this underserved region. Richelle Todd-Yamoah explains how the relationships and expertise the foundation tapped into made it possible to fill gaps in the larger system that affects families. The foundation's work focused attention on South Jersey and catalyzed additional investment in this region by a factor of five. 

Related Blog:

• How We Help Black Business Enterprises Access Capital To Grow and Thrive

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Richelle Todd-Yamoah is Vice President of Programs and Operations at the Pascale Sykes Foundation, responsible for helping to strengthen the capacity of grantees in support of the foundation’s mission and Whole Family Approach. She has developed and maintained relationships with key philanthropic, government, and private stakeholders to encourage investment and partnership in this vital work. Richelle serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of South Jersey and Mural Arts Philadelphia. 

 

Colleen O’Keefe ─ ”We Never Would Have Made This Impact by Relying on Grant Proposals.” How Listening and Building Relationships Allowed a Small Foundation to Catalyze Transformation - Part 2

Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting people to step back and reflect, and convening staff from diverse agencies re-framed and transformed the work. By listening and convening, the foundation was able to look at underlying causes, focus on prevention, and target its support to remove barriers and scale up services that had potential to change the way children and families were served, and address racial disparities.  

 

Related Blogs

• https://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/blog/listening-in-on-a-system/
• https://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/blog/targeting-racial-disparities-in-child-welfare/

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Colleen O’Keefe is the Executive Director of The Sauer Family Foundation, whose mission is to invest in strengthening the well-being of children, so they thrive in their families and communities. In Minnesota she led a systems reform effort for the Child Welfare system and continues to work alongside colleagues on the reform efforts. Colleen has facilitated conversations for Exponent Philanthropy’s national community of lean funders on aligning philanthropic work for greatest impact, and the importance of listening.

Colleen O’Keefe ─ ”We Never Would Have Made This Impact by Relying on Grant Proposals.” How Listening and Building Relationships Allowed a Small Foundation to Catalyze Transformation - Part 1

Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting people to step back and reflect, and convening staff from diverse agencies re-framed and transformed the work. By listening and convening, the foundation was able to look at underlying causes, focus on prevention, and target its support to remove barriers and scale up services that had potential to change the way children and families were served, and address racial disparities.  

 

Related Blogs

• https://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/blog/listening-in-on-a-system/
• https://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/blog/targeting-racial-disparities-in-child-welfare/

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Colleen O’Keefe is the Executive Director of The Sauer Family Foundation, whose mission is to invest in strengthening the well-being of children, so they thrive in their families and communities. In Minnesota she led a systems reform effort for the Child Welfare system and continues to work alongside colleagues on the reform efforts. Colleen has facilitated conversations for Exponent Philanthropy’s national community of lean funders on aligning philanthropic work for greatest impact, and the importance of listening.

Kimberly Quintero — How a Next Generation Influences Its Family to Embrace Environment, Social Justice as Integral to the Mission

Families that welcome the engagement and ideas of their next generations open up the potential for innovation and new opportunity. Kimberly Quintero, Program Associate at the Pincus Family Foundation, explains how foundation staff facilitate involvement by the 3^rd generation, their collaboration with the board, and partnership with grantees. 

Hear how the next generation of foundation leaders honors the founders' values while linking the mission to address current and emerging issues. This evolution thrives because of mutual respect among the generations, constant conversation, and the support of talented and experienced staff. .  

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Kimberly Quintero is the Program Associate of the Pincus Family Foundation located outside of Philadelphia, PA. She has been instrumental in supporting the foundation's next generations and the junior board in their development as grantmakers, and the executive team with grantmaking. Kimberly is passionate about sharing knowledge and reducing barriers to accessing resources. Before joining PFF, Kimberly co-founded and oversaw Aquinas Center Immigration Legal Services. 

https://pincusfamilyfoundation.org/

Henry Rael — How a Small, Place-Based Foundation Was Instrumental in Catalyzing Investment in Native American Communities, in Ways Determined by the Communities Themselves Part 2

What impact can result when a funder collaborative engages deeper and deeper with nonprofits, and keeps challenging how it does philanthropy? The journey of a collaborative catalyzed by the McCune Foundation, a small foundation in New Mexico, led to the design of a platform enabling a wide variety of private and public funders to build capacity and leadership in Native American communities, in ways prioritized by tribal leaders and community members. Henry Rael of the McCune Foundation shares how the platform structure also builds capacity of Native American-led groups to apply for millions of Federal dollars, and to direct these funds in ways determined by the communities themselves.  

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Henry Rael, Director of Strategy and Initiatives at the McCune Foundation in New Mexico, has 20 years of experience with innovative enterprise design and development across for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Notable projects include a start-up Bluetooth semiconductor company, a cooperative of small farms, a communications firm serving nonprofits, and several collaborative funding structures. 

https://nmmccune.org/