Heartward Strategic’s Post

Returning wealth can be reparative and healing, and can turn complicity into solidarity.. In practicing solidarity, fortunately, there are highly organized and effective social movements whom we can turn to, composed of and led by frontline communities, who are paving the way toward transformative change. However, while social movements have gained some recognition and acceptance within philanthropy, many funders still engage with them primarily out of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) obligations rather than a genuine understanding of their necessity and functioning. Simply including social movements in existing philanthropic portfolios is not enough. So, what if philanthropy funded social movements like it wanted them to win? Our co-Executive Directors, Chung Wha Hong and Sara Mersha, explore how philanthropy can fundamentally shift its relationship with social movements to achieve the equity and justice it seeks. Read more about it in this piece for Kosmos Journal’s Healing Wealth issue: https://lnkd.in/eahzwdSg

Explore how place-based partnerships are becoming a driving force in the fight for equity. Our latest article on Inside Philanthropy delves into the significance of these localized collaborations and their impact on community development and social justice. Jennifer Splansky Juster, Monique Miles and Cindy Santos, Guest Contributors report: The role of place-based partnerships in advancing equity Successful examples and case studies Strategies for building effective local collaborations Join the discussion on how localized efforts can drive meaningful change in communities. Tagging Fearless Fund Collective Impact Forum The Aspen Institute Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative #PlaceBasedPartnerships #Equity #CommunityDevelopment #SocialJustice #InsidePhilanthropy #CommunityDriven #LocalCollaboration #SystemicChange #EquitableDevelopment #CommunityEmpowerment #Resilience #SustainableProgress #Philanthropy

In #publichealth, there has been much emphasis on focusing on individuals-- education and people-based strategies. However, #placebased strategies provide a complementary approach that influences behaviors in the context of where people are. Therefore, place-based partnerships leverage resources that not only understand the context of where people are, but can identify gaps and opportunities that bridge change toward #equity.

#DEIimpact | The shift in thematic focus to emerging areas (such as art and culture) "should also translate to more funding for women overall, similar to the increased funding towards climate action," says Aarti Mohan, on women's increased involvement in these spaces. Read this article, published in Alliance magazine, on the 15th edition of Dasra Philanthropy Week, which focused on impact from the perspective of gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion: https://bit.ly/43tgh5X https://lnkd.in/gRjt-_AS Lekhya Reddy

“Philanthropy must be bolder..... more engaged, more courageous, investing in fields it hasn’t invested in before.” A key takeaway for grant makers from the most recent report by Ariadne Network. Now in its tenth year, Ariadne’s 2024 Forecast for European Social Change and Human Rights Funders provides insights into what challenges and opportunities could be facing grantees including:  🔔 Lack of funding for grassroots organisations to build more people power and solidarity.  🔔 A focus on the younger generations and the need to mobilise them to vote and engage with philanthropic giving.  🔔 A need for increased global connection and the need to collaborate to meet global issues.  An important read for funders looking to provide evidence-based grants in the area of social change and human rights and to explore (and commiserate with!) challenges faced by European and UK funders to this area. The report in full can be found here- https://lnkd.in/d7JRT5c6   #2024AriadneForecast | #SocialChange | #HumanRights | #Philanthropy 

Facing threats to racial equity work, the Borealis REACH Fund remains steadfast in its mission. Discover how this fund continues its consistent, steady approach to advancing racial equity in our latest article on Inside Philanthropy. Dawn Wolfe reports: Borealis REACH Fund’s strategies for sustaining racial equity efforts Key initiatives and their impact on communities Insights from fund leaders and beneficiaries Join the conversation! How can we support sustained efforts in racial equity? Tagging Borealis Philanthropy Ford Foundation The David and Lucile Packard Foundation NoVo Foundation #RacialEquity #SocialJustice #SteadyApproach #BorealisREACHFund #BorealisReachFund #SocialJustice #SystemicRacism #InclusivePolicies #MarginalizedCommunities #EquityWork #ConsistentApproach #Empowerment #LastingChange #Philanthropy

The whole space of trust based philanthropy is always evolving. I think a lot more funders are looking at the longevity of their funding and changing some of the metrics, applying deeper understanding that if you're tackling systems of injustice that have been developed and reinforced over hundreds of years, a three-year or five-year intervention will only make limited progress. To be able to change cultural, social, religious norms will take time and patience. Grassroots groups and movements need to be sustained over periods of time in order for that change to actually happen. https://lnkd.in/ghx39J5e

The key aim of optimising philanthropy is to eradicate any action, which signifies an intent of domination and control including the manner in which it may be executed. The goal is to collaboratively make decisions where people feel included and heard. What this means in reality is that rather than an authority asserting that ‘This is how you need to do this!’, we must ask, ‘How can we do this better, together?’. The end goal is to create a culture where the centres of influence are not concentrated, but intentionally broadened to cater to philanthropic decision making. Having created this environment, we can confidently assume that the philanthropists and funders will work holistically with their grantees in service for the greater good of the communities. For an organisation like UMEED which is at the frontlines of deep-rooted issues, like patriarchy, women’s rights, agency in women etc., it is vital for funders to contextually align as well as empathise on cultural realities, to get to create meaningful sustainable impact. In implementing social impact programs at the grassroot level, UMEED currently faces outdated power dynamics right at the onset, whilst connecting with funders, building proposals, creating budgets, deciding timelines, defining the programs’ participants, and even in the process of aligning on impact indicators. To read the full article click here-> https://lnkd.in/gitnjPsk #philanthropy #philanthropymatters #fundraising #impact #womensempowerment #gender #nonprofit #giveback

Women are critical to the fate and health of democracy globally. By lifting up women-led organizations and initiatives, philanthropy can help them unleash their full potential to create authentic, transformative change. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eaqT5iig #womeninphilanthropy #democracy #philanthropy #womenleaders

In the first 15th anniversary issue of The Foundation Review, (re)discover one of the most read articles entitled, Raising the Bar — Integrating Cultural Competence and Equity: Equitable Evaluation (2014) by Jara Dean-Coffey (she/her/hers), Jill Casey, and Leon D. Caldwell, Ph.D. This article was first published in 2014 — a time when equity was not as frequently evoked as it is now, most notably by the Equitable Evaluation Initiative. (https://lnkd.in/gvu_D4vA) Social justice and human rights are part of the mission of many philanthropies. Evaluation produced, sponsored, or consumed by these philanthropies that does not consider the imperatives of cultural competency may be inconsistent with their missions. The American Evaluation Association’s Statement on Cultural Competence provides those who produce, sponsor, and use evaluation an opportunity to examine and align their practices and policies within a context of racial and cultural equity and inclusion. This article seeks to open a discussion of how philanthropy can use an equitable-evaluation approach to apply the principles of the AEA statement, present the concept of equitable evaluation alongside an approach for building equitable-evaluation capacity, and apply equitable-evaluation capacity building to philanthropy. Read this and the other most widely read articles in the journal's history, made possible by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy: https://lnkd.in/gnuJJTSz #equitableevaluation #learning #equity #philanthropy