2019 Funders Institute

From July 22-24, 2019, we convened sixty funders in Washington, DC for our annual Funders Institute to learn about removing barriers to advance racial equity from the ground up. Held in conjunction with the National Conference on Ending Homelessness, program participants learned about what other funders are doing to advance racial equity, Native homelessness, how to engage in advocacy at the congressional level, and how to support grantees in doing racial equity work.

Resources related to specific conversations are linked to in the agenda below.

For information and resources on racial equity and homelessness, visit our Racial Equity Resource Page.

You can also learn more about what participants took away by reading the Funders Institute recap by Marci Lu, senior program officer at the William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation. We'll soon be posting another reflection from Erik Houser, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Campion Advocacy Fund.

Monday, July 22, 2019

8:30	Breakfast
9:00	Opening and Welcome
	Speakers: Amanda Andere, CEO, Funders Together to End Homelessness Nan Roman, President and CEO, National Alliance to End Homelessness
	How Is Philanthropy Advancing Racial Equity from the Ground Up? We had a conversation with four foundation leaders to talk about what it means to advance racial equity from the ground up; how funders are centering people with lived expertise; and what funders are doing to support their grantees. Speakers: Angelique Kedem, Senior Associate, Race, Ethnic Equity and Inclusion, The Annie E. Casey Foundation Anita Patel, Leadership Programs Director, Bush Foundation Yanique Redwood, President and CEO, Consumer Health Foundation Leticia Peguero, Vice President of Programs, Nathan Cummings Foundation Resources: Video of morning panel Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance, by Edgar Villanueva Consumer Health Foundation’s racial equity impact assessment tool Annie E. Casey Foundation’s report on Operationalizing Equity: Putting the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Racial and Ethnic Equity and Inclusion Framework into Action Trust Building and the Process of Learning: Reflections from the Foundations for Racial Equity March Convening Implications for Grantmaking in Housing and Homelessness After the morning conversation, participants had an opportunity to talk to peers about their own work and discuss implications for their funding in housing and homelessness.
12:00	Lunch
12:45	National Conference on Ending Homelessness Opening Plenary
2:00	The Role of Culturally-Specific Organizations in Ending Homelessness
	We started a larger conversation about the role of culturally-specific organizations in ending homelessness by learning about Native homelessness and the work of a Native-led and serving organization in Seattle, WA. Speaker: Colleen Echohawk, Executive Director, Chief Seattle Club Resources View the recording of her talk here.
	Funder Roundtables Participants broke into smaller groups to have deep conversations on the following topics: Ways to influence and bring your board along in racial equity work Native homelessness and the role of culturally-specific organizations in ending homelessness How to make grantee site visits more equitable Decolonizing your bookshelf – literature, art, resources, and trainers to expand your learning and understanding of race Resources National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Toolkit for Consultants to Grantmakers A great booklist of classics, recent fiction, essays, and non-fiction by authors of color. This list was curated by Martha Toll, executive director of Butler Family Fund and Funders Together board member. The reading list generated during the Funders Institute roundtable conversation on decolonizing your bookshelf A list of poems and books of poetry that explore race, curated by Funders Together Membership and Program Coordinator, Lauren Samblanet.
4:00	Wrap Up and Adjourn
4:30	Networking Reception

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

9:00

Philanthropy as a Partner to Congress on Housing and Homelessness Issues

In this session, funders heard from congressional staffers about how they gather information and opinions that influence policy decisions. Funders had an opportunity to share what housing and homelessness solutions are working and how certain policies can help scale those solutions.

Speakers:

Beth Cooper, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Jason Woolwine, Senate Committee on Transportation, Housing and Development Appropriations
Yasmin Rigney, Senator Harris (D-CA)
Trey Reffett, Senator Schatz (D-HI)

Resources:

Recap of key takeaways

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

9:00

Building Grantees’ Capacity for Racial Equity

Two foundation leaders kicked off an intimate, tactical conversation about building grantees’ capacity to advance racial equity.

Speakers:

Aisha Alexander Young, Senior Director for Strategy and Equity, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
Hanh Le, Executive Director, Weissberg Foundation

Resources:

Meyer Foundation’s funding approach that explains their funding goals and partnerships
Washington Regional Association of Grantmaker’s Putting Racism on the Table series

Do you like this post?