A national network of funders supporting strategic, innovative, and effective solutions to homelessness

March 2019

Return to the Calls and Convenings page

During our first in-person convening, we gathered to build relationships and deepen trust, share resources and learn from each other, and identify ways to collaborate. We learned from other foundation leaders and case studies about operationalizing racial equity and shared experiences through a organizational self-assessment. Through case consultations, we supported our peers who brought challenges to the table for peer support and input. As a group, we brought forth our most pressing questions and valuable resources and talked about the work for this community of practice as a whole. And, of course, we found moments of joy and appreciation for each other. 

Meeting Materials

 

Resources Mentioned During the Convening

Understanding racial history and whiteness

Case studies and guides about operationalizing racial equity

Research, data, and community building

Leadership and development tools

 

Convening Pre-work

  1. Read “Case Study No. 16: Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking” 
  2. Complete the pre-survey (sent via SurveyMonkey)
  3. Read our working list of racial equity definitions 
  4. Review foundational knowledge for FRE, including key concepts and resources (below)

 

Foundational Knowledge for FRE

Foundations for Racial Equity is designed for people who already have grounding in basic racial equity terms and principles. We expect all participants to have read the SPARC report and to have familiarity with key terms and concepts. Please ensure that you have familiarity with the following terms, tools, and resources (i.e. that you've done your "homework") so that conversation as a group can focus on what we want to accomplish as a group, rather than what certain concepts are.

If you would like to have an in-depth conversation about any of these fundamentals, please reach out to Stephanie to set up a time to talk. 

We joined Funders Together because we believe in the power of philanthropy to play a major role in ending homelessness, and we know we have much to learn from funders across the country.

-Christine Marge, Director of Housing and Financial Stability at United Way of Greater Los Angeles

I am thankful for the local partnerships here in the Pacific Northwest that we’ve been able to create and nurture thanks to the work of Funders Together. Having so many of the right players at the table makes our conversations – and all of our efforts – all the richer and more effective.

-David Wertheimer, Deputy Director at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children.

-President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964 State of the Union Address

Funders Together has given me a platform to engage the other funders in my community. Our local funding community has improved greatly to support housing first models and align of resources towards ending homelessness.

-Leslie Strnisha, Vice President at Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

Our family foundation convenes local funders and key community stakeholders around strategies to end homelessness in Houston. Funders Together members have been invaluable mentors to us in this effort, traveling to our community to share their expertise and examples of best practices from around the nation.

-Nancy Frees Fountain, Managing Director at The Frees Foundation


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