Learning with others and building relationships is at the heart of creating change. Funders Together is excited to announce the thirty funders in our second Foundations for Racial Equity community of practice who will work together to advance racial equity in their homelessness and housing work.

Inside Philanthropy (April 2021)

"When all is said and done, I hope we use this as an opportunity to really imagine the things we thought were impossible that are actually possible." -- Jeremie Greer, Executive Director of Liberation in a Generation

Membership & Program Coordinator
she/her/hers

Myassa is the Membership and Program Coordinator. She gained her administrative and coordination skills working in various sectors including the school system, government agencies and property management (to name a few). She first experienced working with nonprofit organizations in 2008 when she interned with a grant organization at The Executive Office of The Mayor. This sparked a passion within her to become more involved with human rights especially in regard to women’s empowerment, youth and child development and racial equity. She is currently building a women’s support group that promotes positive relationships between women, community outreach and personal development.

She is a DC Native. She enjoys spending time with her children and close friends and creative outlets like painting, singing, tattooing and writing.

Ending youth and young adult homelessness will require transformation and re-orientation toward justice in the nation’s major systems serving young people—systems currently rooted in structural racism. The New Deal to End Youth Homelessness is a federal policy proposal that offers a roadmap to transform how young people, particularly Black, Brown, Indigenous, and LGBTQ young people, are supported in our society. 

“Pop-ups” are a way for our network to quickly hear work that philanthropy and our homelessness and housing partners are engaged in across the country. These were brief, 5-minute presentations designed to share information and invite follow-up conversations after the program is over. 

Philanthropy has been having more and more conversations about building relationships and trust, funding grassroots organizing, and shifting power to communities and people to get us closer toward equity and justice. Incrementally more and more funders are starting to shift their strategies and grantmaking to do this, but we also know that this work, while crucial, is also not easy.

Local policy and advocacy efforts are critical to implementing policies and processes that will support people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. We know that funders all across the country are working together locally and are increasingly engaging in policy and advocacy.

With a new presidential administration in office, housing and homelessness advocates have new opportunities to push for policies and processes rooted in evidence and justice. To kick off this year’s Funders Forum, national homelessness and housing leaders discussed their top policy priorities and how the work happening in local communities can both support this national advocacy and be informed by it. 

FTEH and California YIMBY hosted a briefing to introduce funders to Black and Latinx led/serving grassroots organizations that want to work deeper in housing affordability issues and center racial equity in the process. These are organizations with political influence, but they are not (yet) engaged in policy-making in Sacramento.

Nobody can solve homelessness on their own. But if we work together—health care providers, government agencies, nonprofits that provide needed services, and insurance payors – we can become an outstretched hand to help people experiencing homelessness and prevent others who are struggling with housing instability.

4949 East Kings Canyon Road Fresno, CA 93727-3812 (559) 244-5710 https://www.uwfm.org/

Primary Contact

Lindsay Fox
President and CEO
[email protected]

Organization Type

United Way

Mission

Overall, our goal at United Way is to mobilize the caring power of community to advance the common good of our residents here in Fresno and Madera Counties. We know that together, we can make a lasting impact in our neighborhoods, as well as the world at large.

Thank you so much for registering for 2021 Virtual Funders Forum. You will receive you confirmation/receipt email shortly. 

You will receive your unique link to join the Funders Forum from Zoom by March 8th. This email will also contain options to create a calendar reminder for yourself. If you do not receive your link to join the Zoom meeting by March 8th, please email Lauren Samblanet.

Transfers and Cancelations 

Transferring Your Registration

If you can no longer attend the Funders Forum and would like to transfer your entire registration to a colleague, please email Lauren Samblanet. We will accommodate transfer requests through 1pm ET on Monday, March 22, 2021.  

Please note that this option is only for transferring your whole registration to a colleague. If you can only attend part of the Funders Forum and wish for a colleague to also attend, they will need to have their own separate registration.  

Canceling Your Registration

Because we do not need to factor in space and food costs for this virtual Funders Forum, we are able to have a more lenient cancelation and refund policy for this event. We will accept registration refund requests through Friday, March 19 at 11:59 pm ET.  There will be no partial refunds.  

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions to Stephanie Chan at [email protected]

Funder networks and collaboratives provide the opportunity for philanthropy to create a greater impact in communities through advocacy and policy. However, when each foundation has its own advocacy priorities, it can be difficult to create a common agenda for the funder network or collaborative.  

The Health System Funders for Housing Justice is generously supported by CommonSpirit Health.   

Overview 

During COVID, we have seen how important housing is to allow people to safely social distance from others and practice safe hygiene activities, such as handwashing, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Given that an analysis on unemployment projects a 40-45% increase in homelessness, it will take coordinated, collaborative efforts to prevent people from becoming homeless, to support the healthcare needs of people currently experiencing homelessness, and to move people experiencing homelessness into safe, stable housing. 

Funders Together to End Homelessness, with the generous support of CommonSpirit Health, is launching the Health System Funders for Housing Justice, which will center on the inextricable link between healthcare and homelessness systems and the belief that housing is healthcare. 

Network Goals 

Health System Funders for Housing Justice participants will: 

• Map out and prioritize opportunities for health systems to have an impact on the homelessness system at state and national levels 
• Create an action agenda for the network that includes investment opportunities, advocacy and policy priorities, and partnership recommendations 
• Build trust and a structure among participants for sustained collaboration after Funders Together’s facilitation formally ends 

Who should participate? 

This network is open to health systems interested in coordinating resources and strategies to better prevent and end homelessness. Individual participants must meet the following criteria:  

• Believe that housing is healthcare and understand how homelessness and housing instability affect health outcomes. 
• Have positional authority in their organization to direct or influence how investments are made at a regional or national level. 
• Have positional authority in their organization to engage in or direct the engagement of policy and advocacy activities.  
• Be able and willing to meet the participant expectations outlined below. 

Participant Expectations 

The success of this community of practice depends on the full commitment of each participant. While we understand that conflicts will always arise, we also hope participants will commit to: 

• Participating in a pre-survey, an intake interview, and other periodic check-in calls with facilitators.  
• Attending monthly videoconference meetings and biannual virtual convenings. 
• Sharing and learning in real time with peers and colleagues. 

How to Join 

If you are interested in joining the Health System Funders for Housing Justice or have any questions about the network, please reach out to Tabitha Blackwell at [email protected]. 

702 County Square Drive, Suite 100 Ventura, CA 93003 (805) 485-6288 https://vcunitedway.org/

Primary Contact

Eric Harrison
President & CEO
[email protected]

Organization Type

United Way

Mission

To improve lives by inspiring and mobilizing the caring power and resources of our community.

Other Contacts

Maya Naylor
Accountant
[email protected]

As part of our Commitment to Racial Equity and in light of the racial justice awakening in this country, Funders Together is sharing statements, articles, and other resources that highlight the voices of Black leaders in the fields of philanthropy, homelessness, and intersecting systems. While it’s important for white leaders to speak up, we can further our commitments to racial equity by listening to, learning from, and incorporating the recommendations of Black leadership into not only our grantmaking but also into the structures of our organizations.

Funders Together features these statements in bi-monthly emails. To be added to that mailing list, please email Lauren Samblanet at [email protected]. These emails are only available for members of Funders Together, private funders, United Ways, corporate giving programs, and philanthropy-serving organizations.

This page will be continually updated to include each statement that we highlight.

Mimi Fox Melton

Last month, Nikole Hannah-Jones released a statement about her decision to decline a tenure offer at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Mimi Fox Melton, CEO of Code2040, wrote a series of tweets in response to Hannah-Jones's statement that demonstrate how philanthropy perpetuates harm through control and paternalism.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Mimi's Twitter thread.

Bobby Watts: Tears, Relief, Anger

Tying together his emotions that stemmed from the verdict of the Derek Chauvin trial to the larger social injustices that deepen those feelings, Bobby Watts, CEO of National Health Care for the Homeless Council, clarifies the need for a true reckoning with race in the U.S. in his recent statement, Tears, Relief, Anger.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Bobby's statement.

Shimica Gaskins Interview About the California Black Freedom Fund

In February, philanthropic organizations in California launched the Black Freedom Fund. This $100 million fund, co-created with Black leaders and organizers, provides resources to Black-led power-building organizations over the next five years. Shimica Gaskins, Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund-California, highlighted the necessity of the fund, of power-building for Black communities, and what philanthropy should consider in their funding on the Black Freedom Fund website.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Shimica's interview.

Lindsay Hill: The Raikes Foundation Established a Black Leadership & Power Fund—Here’s What It Took to Make it Happen

In August, the Raikes Foundation launched the Black Leadership & Power Fund, which consists of $1 million in funding to support the dismantling of anti-Black racism. Lindsay Hill, Raikes Foundation's Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the time, shared the process of moving from statements to action in her blog post for Funders Together.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Lindsay's blog post.

Susan Thomas: A Personal Reflection by Melville Trust President Susan Thomas

In her recent personal reflection, President of the Melville Charitable Trust and Funders Together board member Susan Thomas, discusses how our nation's policies impact Black and Brown communities, and the connection between healthcare, housing, low wages and homelessness.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Susan's reflection.

Tony Richardson: Foundations, Act on What You Control to Confront Racism

Funders Together board member and Executive Director of The Nord Family Foundation, Tony Richardson highlighted in his blog for The Center for Effective Philanthropy, how foundations can be more actively addressing racial bias and working toward racial equity.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read Tony's blog post.

True Colors United for Black Lives

In the youth and young adult homelessness space, we often hear the phrase nothing about us without us, which means that youth and young people with lived expertise of homelessness should not just be included in the designing of solutions to homelessness, but also have real decision-making power. True Colors United, a Funders Together partner, put this important value into practice in both the process used to create their statement, True Colors United for Black Lives, and in the statement’s content.

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read True Colors United for Black Lives.

ABFE: We Must be in it for the Long Haul

In June, ABFE, a membership-based philanthropic organization that advocates for responsive and transformative investments in Black communities and a critical partner of Funders Together, released their statement requesting action from philanthropy against anti-Black racism. 

Read Funders Together's write-up.
Read ABFE's statement.

17782 Sky Park Circle Irvine, CA 92614 www.cooperhousinginstitute.org

Primary Contact

Wilfred Cooper, Sr.
Co-Founder
[email protected]

Organization Type

Family Foundation

Other Contacts

Luz Romero
HR Coordinator
[email protected]

Thank you for registering for the 2020 Funders Forum and National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults Conference. Here is your receipt. We look forward to seeing you in February! A follow up email with event logistics will be sent closer to the date of the Funders Forum

Hotel rooms fill up quickly, so please register for your hotel room today. 

The National Alliance to End Homelessness room block at the Oakland Marriott City Center has sold out. Other nearby hotels include:

• Hampton Inn Oakland Downtown-City Center
• Trending Inn 
• There are also two options slightly further away (about a 10 minute walk): Z Hotel Jack London Square and the Waterfront Hotel.

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions to Stephanie Chan at [email protected]

FUNDERS FORUM ONLY REGISTRATION

Use this page to register if you would like to attend ONLY the Funders Forum on Wednesday, February 19. This option allows you to attend the entire Funders Forum, including our funders networking reception, but does not allow access to the Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults Conference

• Funders Together dues-paying members and funding partners: $250

• Non-dues paying members and non-members: $400

Payment options 

Register and pay online.

Register below for only the 2020 Funders Forum. 

(Please note: we are only able to process online registration payments via PayPal at this time.)

Pay by check

If you prefer to pay by check, please mail your registration payment to the address below with “2020 Funders Forum registration” in the memo line. Then, send us an email to let us know that you plan to pay by check and we will register you for the event. 

Mail checks to:

Funders Together to End Homelessness
89 South Street, Suite 803 
Boston, MA 02111 

Please note that the registration for the Funders Forum and joint registration for the Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults Conference is exclusively for private funders, including foundations, United Ways, corporate giving programs, individual philanthropists, and philanthropy serving organizations (PSOs). If you have questions about your eligibility to register, please contact Stephanie Chan, Director of Membership and Programs at Funders Together to End Homelessness.

Cancellation policy

Cancellation requests made by Monday, December 30th, 2019 will incur a $50 cancellation fee. Requests made between Tuesday, December 31, 2019 and Monday, February 3, 2020 will incur a $150 cancellation fee. Cancellations made after Monday, February 3, 2020 will receive no refund.

To cancel a registration, send a request to Lauren Samblanet, Membership and Program Coordinator. Refunds for paid registrations are subject to approval and a cancellation fee. You will receive an email when your refund has been processed.