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
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8:30 |
Breakfast |
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9:00 |
Opening and Welcome |
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Speakers:
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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:
Resources:
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. |
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12:00 |
Lunch |
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12:45 |
National Conference on Ending Homelessness Opening Plenary |
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2:00 |
The Role of Culturally-Specific Organizations in Ending Homelessness |
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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:
Resources |
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Funder Roundtables Participants broke into smaller groups to have deep conversations on the following topics:
Resources
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4:00 |
Wrap Up and Adjourn |
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4:30 |
Networking Reception |
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
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9:00 |
Philanthropy as a Partner to Congress on Housing and Homelessness Issues |
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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:
Resources: |
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
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9:00 |
Building Grantees’ Capacity for Racial Equity |
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Two foundation leaders kicked off an intimate, tactical conversation about building grantees’ capacity to advance racial equity. Speakers:
Resources:
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