Since elected, Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration have been committed to driving inclusive, equitable investment throughout California, with a particular focus on the underinvested regions of inland California, from the San Joaquin Valley to the Inland Empire.
You can’t have impact investing without impact. But what is the impact that we want to see when we make an investment? And how do we know if we are successful? Just like in grantmaking, impact investing requires a theory of change and a thoughtful framework for measurement.
In philanthropy, we sometimes overlook or deprioritize the interpersonal skills required to do this work well. This includes the ability to connect dots, show up in an emotionally intelligent way, listen actively and empathically, and know when to get out of the way. It also requires a clear understanding of power, and how power imbalances between funders and grantee partners are exacerbated by race, gender, and class inequities. Cultivating and advancing effective interpersonal skills requires practitioners to bring self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and willingness to take multiple perspectives into account.
The work we do in philanthropy—and the work of our nonprofit partners—is not immune to the complexities and chaos of a changing world. Amidst a global pandemic, threats to our democracy, and environmental devastation, we are pushed to be hyperproductive problem-solvers. While these tendencies are brought to bear “in the heat of the moment,” they’re limiting over the long-term, especially when strategic thinking and attuned sensitivities are needed. We cultivate the latter by slowing down, stilling our minds, getting in touch with signals from our body, and allowing the resulting data to inform our action. Beneath our professional titles and roles, trust-based philanthropy acknowledges that we are one piece of a longer arc of time and a larger ecosystem, and that sometimes, we have to go slowly if we want to go far.
Fill out the form below to register for What Do We Do Next? Recalibrating Philanthropy in Post-Election California.
A stronger, more just California becomes possible when every Californian, regardless of what they look like or how long they’ve been here, can shape the future of our state. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, around 80% of California’s registered voters voted, the highest since 1964.
Philanthropy California has invited Kathleen Kelly Janus, Senior Advisor on Social Innovation to Governor Gavin Newsom, to use our platform to provide an update from the Office of the Governor on California's public-pr
We are reminded, as we close this year, that moments of disruption, such as those we're experiencing, are also moments to advance change.
Since coming to office, Governor Gavin Newsom has made bold investments in California's children- from $1.8 billion in early childhood to a comprehensive paid family leave policy.
Thank you for registering for California's Master Plan for Early Learning and Care. Please check your email for a confirmation.
Join Nonprofit Finance Fund and Philanthropy California to advance full cost practices for the nonprofit sector by participating in a remote learning series in February. This workshop series invites you to take what you’ve learned as a nonprofit leader or funder and help pave the way for others to have transformative conversations about more equitable funding practices.
Philanthropy and the nonprofits they support we’re engaged in incredible work at the start of 2020. But the world drastically changed in March of last year.
Trust-based philanthropy is anchored in an understanding of power and privilege, historical and systemic racism and structural oppression, and how these shape people’s realities in profoundly different ways. As grantmakers, we have a responsibility to confront the reality that philanthropy originated from and has often contributed to systemic inequities, both in the ways wealth is accumulated and its dissemination is controlled. While these discussions may be challenging and difficult, this type of self-reflection is fundamental to the work of trust-based philanthropy. As individuals and institutions, we must be willing to recognize historical trauma and systemic power, examine our own relationship to power and money, and be willing to give up some of that power and control in a spirit of service and collaboration with those who are closer to the issues at hand.
A trust-based culture—one that prioritizes power-sharing, dialogue, transparency, and learning—is essential to cultivating relationships of trust within organizations. Simply put, being a trust-based organization requires there to be trust within your organization—among staff, between staff and board, and between the board and the CEO. When this trust is broken, or if it is never built to begin with, it can seep into the external aspects of your work with the potential of threatening your relationships, credibility, and reputation.
Trust-based philanthropy encourages us to rethink our notions of traditional philanthropic roles, which tend to prioritize transactions over relationships. In fact, a trust-based approach encourages us to understand our roles as partners working in service of nonprofits and communities. Traditional Philanthropy has institutionalized and perpetuated harmful tropes about funders as experts and nonprofits as needy people who need to be held accountable. This has been perpetuated institutionally through our grantmaking practices, but also in less obvious ways, such as job descriptions, theories of change, program descriptions, and the language we use to describe our work.
The California state budget has a significant impact on nonprofits, grantmakers, and our communities.
Join Nonprofit Finance Fund and Philanthropy California to advance full cost practices for the nonprofit sector by participating in a remote learning series in March. This workshop series invites you to take what you’ve learned as a nonprofit leader or funder and help pave the way for others to have transformative conversations about more equitable funding practices.
March 1st marked the beginning of California’s transition to a Third Party Administrator (TPA), Blue Shield of California, to manage vaccine administration statewide. As this transition occurs, public-private partnerships will become more crucial than ever. Join us to hear from Blue Shield directly about their work, and to hear from state leaders on how they plan to coordinate with the TPA and continue to center equity in this next phase of vaccine distribution. Speakers will highlight key opportunities for philanthropy, and investments that are needed now to shore up our communities in ways that will engender long-term sustainability well beyond the current crisis.
By Phuong Pham, Katie Janowiak