Funders Together to End Homelessness was excited to host our 2022 Funders Institute from July 25-27 in conjunction with the 2022 National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Attendees joined us in person in Washington, DC for a program designed to create space for deep peer-to-peer and peer-to-expert connections.  

2021 Virtual Funders Institute

September 28-30, 2021

Funders Together to End Homelessness held our annual Funders Institute on September 28-30, 2021. Over these three days, participants heard from leaders in the field, made new connections with funders from across the country, and found joy together. This year, we dove deep on what narrative change research is telling us, how philanthropy can fight against the criminalization of homelessness, and what's happening nationally to push for housing as a human right and housing justice. 

On March 23-24, we held our 2021 Funders Forum: Housing Policies and Partnerships Rooted in Justice, which focused on housing justice policy priorities at the national, state, and local levels, and opportunities for public-private partnerships. 

Under a new Presidential Administration, housing and homelessness advocates are working to proactively push for policies and practices that are rooted in evidence and justice. And, as the country continues to grapple with the effects COVID-19 and racism has on homelessness, it is important for philanthropy to lean into public-private partnerships.

See below for details and resources from the event. A blog post with reflections from the Funders Forum is coming soon.

 Co-sponsor: 

On August 11-13, 2020 we held our annual Funders Institute virtually and engaged in principled struggle to push for racial justice in our work to end homelessness. Attributed to N’tanya Lee, the concept of principled struggle is that struggle is a condition for change and liberation and that to disagree and grapple with each other is an inevitable and necessary part of racial equity work.

As a movement of funders working to prevent and end homelessness, we collaborated to push and support each other while also finding joy together. We focused our conversations on issues including COVID-19 and homelessness, how philanthropy can engage strategically in policy and advocacy, and how we should use our voice and dollars to seek racial and housing justice.

We kicked off with a plenary conversation for the first hour of each day followed by a choice of curated breakout conversations. Resources related to specific conversations are linked below.

You can read a recap of the Funders Institute on our blog here. 

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

Event co-sponsor: 

Thank you to our Networking and Learning sponsor!

On February 19, 2020, we convened sixty funders in Oakland, CA for our annual Funders Forum to learn about philanthropy's evolving role in catalyzing solutions to ending homelessness. Held in conjunction with the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults Conference, convening participants heard about policy changes happening at the national and local levels, how different groups are thinking about narrative change, the latest evaluation findings about rapid rehousing and diversion efforts, and much more.

Resources related to specific conversations are linked below.

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.

On February 20, 2019, nearly 50 funders convened in San Diego at the 2019 Funders Forum to learn about unsheltered homelessness and building both public and political will to end it. Held in conjunction with the National Alliance to End Homelessness's Solutions for Individual Homeless Adults national conference, attendees had the opportunity to learn about unsheltered homelessness, responses to address unsheltered homelessness from communities across the country, how funders can support the work to end it, and how to build the public and political will to change the system.

For information and resources on unsheltered homelessness, visit our Unsheltered Homelessness Resource page.

Read more about the 2019 Funders Forum in the convening recap by Kristin Williams of the Sherwood Foundation.

The 2018 Funders Institute was held in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness. In addition to our one-day Institute, the event continued through the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Each day featured workshop sessions planned by Funders Together with content and discussion exclusively for private funders. Below is the agenda for the Institute outlining the various sessions that were offered along with resources that supplemented the topics covered.

The 2018 Funders Forum was held in Los Angeles in conjunction with the National Conference on Ending Family and Youth Homelessness. Seventy individuals representing 34 different foundations and United Ways joined us as we explored philanthropy’s role in preventing and ending family and youth homelessness.

This year's Funders Institute was held in conjunction with the National Conference on Ending Homelessness in Washington, D.C and followed a new format. In addition to our 1-day Institute, the event continue through the National Conference on Ending Homelessness. Each day featured workshop sessions planned by Funders Together with content and discussion exclusively for private funders. Below is the agenda for the Institute outlining the various sessions that were offered along with resources that supplemented the topics covered.