Timi Gerson, strategic advocacy and communications consultant at Gerson Strategies, is the new vice president and chief content officer at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. She will oversee the committee’s philanthropy research, assessment efforts, and public-policy campaigns.
Read the entire article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy (paywall).
In January 2018, I had the opportunity to visit the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego with the grantees of The J.M. Kaplan Fund’s Innovation Prize. Among the vibrant paintings on the border fence near Tijuana, there is a mural of an upside-down U.S. flag created by a group of deported veterans to symbolize the distress of their plight.
These immigrant veterans, many of whom were honorably discharged, were deported based on convictions for crimes that occurred after their service. Like many soldiers, these deported veterans deal with post-war trauma, unemployment and other economic stressors, which often lead to their encounter with the criminal justice system.
However, unlike U.S. citizen soldiers, their convictions lead to their deportations, a result of the harsh 1996 immigration laws that expanded mandatory detention and deportation for a vast list of crimes deemed “aggravated felonies.” These laws overhauled immigration enforcement and laid the foundation for the enormous deportation machine that now exists in this country.
The system of mass deportation depends on the punitive and racial discrimination at the heart of the criminal justice system, the foundations of which were laid during the 1980s war on drugs. The policies passed during this time perpetuated racial discrimination against African-Americans leading to the mass incarceration we know today.
This steep rise in mass incarceration during the last 40 years has greatly affected the lives of racially marginalized communities, especially Black and Latinx Americans who together constitute 59 percent of the prison population. This punitive transformation of the domestic policy has permeated the immigration enforcement system, which criminalizes the immigrant population by making their mere existence in the country “illegal.” This has gone hand-in-hand with a proliferating narrative that sees all immigrants as “others” — “criminals,” “gang-members” or “terrorists” who need to be penalized and discarded.
The immigration policies introduced by the Bush administration after 9/11 were dominated by a national security lens. This gave rise to new border security and law enforcement initiatives that increased the use of state and local law enforcement for immigration. With increased enforcement, the budget and staff of the enforcement agencies also rose dramatically, almost doubling within the next decade.
Obama’s “felons, not families” policy prioritized the deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal histories. These policies have not only criminalized whole communities of people but have pitted them against each other. Immigrant communities have defensively tried to separate themselves from the so-called “criminal” population by exceptionalizing themselves as hard working and entrepreneurial.
Of course, an entire population of millions cannot be all “exceptional” or all “criminal.” The punitive policies and rhetoric also ignore the fact that those charged with crimes may also have families and that they are most often incarcerated because of the disproportionate racial targeting by law enforcement. Black immigrant communities, for example, make up only 7 percent of the immigrant population in the U.S., but represent 20 percent of immigrants facing deportation on criminal grounds.
Since January 2017, the Trump administration has brought an unrelenting series of policy changes, which have tremendously affected the lives of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The new policies have greatly affected the foreign-born residents of the country, with the banning of majority-Muslim country nationals; with biased and escalated immigration enforcement; and the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and many Temporary Protected Status programs.
The relentless anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the Trump administration has also created a climate of xenophobia, Islamophobia and fear. More than ever, immigrants and their families across the country live in fear of being detained, deported or subject to hate crimes.
In the last decade, we have seen growing pushback against mass incarceration as well as bipartisan support for criminal justice reform. Nonetheless, we have also seen the same carceral practices reflected and replicated in the immigration space. Immigrants face growing incarceration through escalating detentions and are overrepresented in prisons and profiled by law enforcement.
The private companies profiting from mass incarceration within the criminal justice system are also profiting from detention of immigrants, and have received the boon of a congressionally mandated bed quota of 34,000 immigration detention beds on a daily basis.
In these historic and challenging times, there is a tremendous need to center our analysis of these issues within the lens of “mass criminalization” of communities of color. We have a unique opportunity to connect immigrants to growing activism around decarceration, divestment and restorative justice that challenges discriminatory policing, racial profiling and prison privatization.
Immigrant justice advocates and those leading the struggles against mass incarceration are already leading collaborations. We, as funders, also need to challenge ourselves to come out of our siloed areas and enhance our understanding of how these systems connect and affect all impacted communities.
J.M. Kaplan Fund’s Social Justice program focuses on supporting immigrant-serving organizations and those working to transform the criminal justice system. The fund also supports organizations that serve individuals impacted by both criminal justice and the immigration enforcement systems.
It is now time to unite the goals, the learnings and the struggles that are led by and focused on those who are directly affected by the deep tentacles of systems addicted to criminalization and incarceration.
Prachi Patankar joined the J.M.Kaplan Fund in 2017 as the program director for social justice. She plays an instrumental role in shaping the foundation’s grant making strategies for criminal justice reform and immigrant rights work, locally and nationally. Follow @PatankarPrachi and @TheJMKaplanFund on Twitter.
Photo by Jobs For Felons Hub. Used under Creative Commons license.
“They were on the leading edge of really centering the effects of climate change on marginalized communities in cities, and being out front and center in addressing that,” says Lisa Ranghelli of philanthropy watchdog NCRP, which put out a 2015 Philamplify report on the foundation’s evolution. “That was something that put them in a leadership position in terms of environmental philanthropy.”
Read the entire article on Inside Philanthropy
An expert in Latino politics and policy issues, Angelo was featured in various media outlets such as The Nation, CNN and CNN en Español, National Public Radio and many others.
He was the founder of the National Institute for Latino Policy.
Angelo Falcón during the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s 3rd Annual New York Impact Awards. Photo courtesy of NHMC.
Angelo served on numerous boards, including the National Hispanic Media Coalition and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. He served on NCRP’s board of directors from 1996 to 2006.
We will remember Angelo for his steadfast leadership, passion and drive for equity and justice. In a 2001 profile in The New York Times, Angelo described himself as a “guerilla researcher.” “I’m always busting chops,” he said.
We invite those of you who were touched by Angelo’s to share your memories of him below.
The National Committee of Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) is urging the New York attorney general to ensure board diversity in a new mega-foundation, according to a press release. The new Mother Cabrini Health Foundation will be the nation’s second largest health conversion foundation, with an anticipated $150 million in annual grants.
The clout that goes along with that money means the new foundation’s board of directors needs representatives from the communities it will serve, according to a formal comment submitted online on May 22.
“The Foundation will be more effective at advancing strategies that lead to better outcomes for marginalized communities if the board of directors includes leadership from community-based organizations with experience and relationships in those communities,” Aaron Dorfman, NCRP chief executive, said in the press release.
Read the entire article on New York Nonprofit Media
The philanthropic sector is hungry. Equity has taken its rightful place as a central discussion in how funders do their work and seek to benefit their communities – a review of any prominent sector blog, publication or conference bears the evidence – and practitioners are hungry for resources on how to operationalize equity commitments internally and in their grantmaking, to support marginalized communities and change systems.
That’s why those of us at NCRP were so excited to publish Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice earlier this month.
This toolkit is for grantmakers that are serious about advancing equity, and comes at a critical time in the Trump era and NCRP’s history. Its compelling framework on building, sharing and wielding power to advance equity and justice builds on previous work by NCRP and our fellow CHANGE partners, and offers important ingredients for funder success.
Upon the buzz-worthy release of the guide, NCRP announced that it had convened two pilot advisory and peer learning groups – one for a cohort of expert consultants and one for an intimate group of grantmakers. Last week, we shared the participants in the former, and are now eager to share participants in the latter!
The primary purpose of the exciting new program for funders is to provide structured support for implementation of the toolkit’s self-assessment processes; facilitate learning and knowledge sharing among peer funders, both in the group and more broadly in the sector; and invite user insights to help NCRP improve and iterate Philamplify tools, resources and engagement strategies.
This is NCRP’s first effort in bringing together champions in this way, and we’ve appreciated learning from fellow philanthropy-serving organizations that have deep experience in facilitating fellowships and communities of practice, such as ABFE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Justice Funders and InDEEP.
The 11 participating institutions from across the country and the staff members representing them in the 12-month pilot program are:
1. Appalachian Community Fund based in Knoxville, TN, represented by executive director Margo Miller.
2. Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina based in Charleston, SC, represented by vice president of grantmaking and public leadership Edie Blakeslee.
3. Deaconess Foundation based in St. Louis, MO, represented by vice president of strategic alignment Matt Oldani. (Note: Rev. Starksy Wilson, Deaconess’s president and CEO, chairs NCRP’s board.)
4. Embrey Family Foundation based in Dallas, TX, represented by Diane Hosey, who oversees philanthropic outreach.
5. The Cleveland Foundation based in Cleveland, OH, represented by program officer Kristi Andrasik. (Note: Kristi served on the Power Moves advisory committee.)
6. Colorado Health Foundation based in Denver, CO, represented by portfolio director Jehan Benton-Clark.
7. Healthy Communities Foundation based in Riverside, IL, represented by program officer Nora Garcia.
8. Seattle Foundation based in Seattle, WA, represented by community learning officer Diana Paredes.
9. Weissberg Foundation based in Arlington, VA, represented by executive director Hanh Le.
10. Women’s Foundation of California based in Oakland, CA, represented by program officer Rhiannon Rossi.
11. Woods Fund Chicago based in Chicago, IL, represented by lead program officer Alejandra L. Ibanez.
To learn more about these foundations, visit the full listing on our website!
Activities will include one-on-one calls with fellow participants, full group virtual meetings and in-person gatherings at sector conferences. The program will also offer deeper engagement and sector leadership with NCRP and our network, so keep an eye out for more from these exemplary grantmakers! First up is Hanh of the Weissberg Foundation as a featured speaker on this week’s webinar on May 30th – RSVP to join the discussion and/or to receive the recap blog post and recording.
While we aren’t accepting additional participants for the groups, NCRP may expand and offer the program again in 2019 and beyond based on interest from the field. We’re looking forward to improving the program’s structure and activities in response to feedback, and sharing updates with the field.
In the meantime, NCRP is eager to provide soft coaching and thought partnership to other toolkit users. Are you interested in using Power Moves with your organization or clients? Download the guide and feel free to contact us to explore use and potential partnership, and/or to connect with any of the participating foundations!
Caitlin Duffy is senior associate for learning and engagement at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). She is one of two lead staff members for the Philamplify project, along with Lisa Ranghelli, senior director for assessment and special projects and primary author of the toolkit. Follow @NCRP, @DuffyInDC and @lisa_rang on Twitter, and join the conversation using #PowerMovesEquity!
This post was updated on 5/30/18.
In philanthropy, everyone knows that foundation leaders and staff have power. But consultants are another group that can have an outsized impact – often unseen, behind closed doors. In advising grantmaker clients, the best and most influential consultants bring to bear deep expertise and rich experience as community change agents, nonprofit leaders or foundation staff to help funders hone organizational strategies, culture, practices and more.
So when NCRP’s Philamplify team began to develop Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice in late 2016, we intentionally crafted the guide alongside both funders and other thought leaders through the Power Moves advisory committee. We’re very excited by an element of the project that will continue this deep engagement and which has attracted particular attention: two pilot advisory and peer learning groups – one for an intimate group of grantmakers and one for a cohort of expert consultants.
The primary purpose of the exciting new program for consultants is to inform individual consulting practices with a new set of tools for grantmaker self-assessment; facilitate learning and knowledge sharing among peer consultants in philanthropy; and invite user insights to help NCRP improve and iterate Philamplify tools, resources and engagement strategies.
The 14 incredible participants of this new 12-month pilot program are:
1. Alfonso Wenker, co-founder and principal, Team Dynamics LLC (Minneapolis, MN)
2. Bina M. Patel, CEO and founder, Saathi Impact Consulting (Chicago, IL)
3. Bomani Johnson, founder and principal, Emergent Pathways LLC (Atlanta, GA)
4. Crystal Echo Hawk, president and CEO, Echo Hawk Consulting (Denver, CO)
5. Cynthia Renfro, principal and CEO, Civis Consulting LLC (Seattle, WA; Cynthia is an NCRP board member.)
6. Elizabeth Myrick, principal, Elizabeth Myrick and Associates Consulting (Washington, D.C.; Elizabeth served on the Power Moves advisory committee)
7. Elizabeth Tan, founder and principal, E-Tan Consulting (San Francisco, CA)
8. Gita Gulati-Partee, founder and president, OpenSource Leadership Strategies (Durham, NC; Gita served on the Power Moves advisory committee)
9. Jara Dean-Coffey, founder and president, Luminare Group (San Francisco, CA; Jara served on the Power Moves advisory committee)
10. Jessica Bearman, principal, Bearman Consulting (Moscow, ID; Jessica served on the Power Moves advisory committee)
11. Marcelo Bonta, principal, The Raben Group (Portland, OR; Marcelo served as a reviewer of the Power Moves)
12. Molly Schultz Hafid, associate director, TCC Group (New York, NY; Molly is a current board member of NCRP)
13. Sindhu Knotz, partner, The Giving Practice at Philanthropy Northwest (Seattle, WA)
14. Takema Robinson, principal, Converge (New Orleans, LA)
To learn more about these consultants, visit the full listing on our website!
Activities will include one-on-one calls with fellow participants, full group virtual meetings and in-person gatherings at sector conferences. The program will also offer deeper engagement and sector leadership with NCRP and our network, so keep an eye out for more from these expert philanthropic consultants! First up are Gita and Marcelo as featured speakers on next week’s Power Moves webinar on May 30th – RSVP to join the discussion and/or to receive the recap blog post and recording.
While we aren’t accepting additional participants for the groups, NCRP may expand and offer the program again in 2019 and beyond based on interest. We’re looking forward to iterating its structure and activities in response to feedback, and sharing updates with the field.
In the meantime, NCRP is eager to provide soft coaching and thought partnership to other toolkit users. Are you interested in using Power Moves with your organization or clients? Download the guide and feel free to contact us to explore use and potential partnership, and/or to connect with any of the consultants!
Stay tuned for the next announcement about the participants in the Power Moves for Funders group!
Caitlin Duffy is senior associate for learning and engagement at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). She is one of two lead staff members for the Philamplify project, along with Lisa Ranghelli, senior director for assessment and special projects and primary author of the toolkit. Follow @NCRP, @DuffyInDC and @lisa_rang on Twitter, and join the conversation using #PowerMovesEquity!
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2018
Philanthropy Watchdog: NY Attorney General Must Require New Board to Represent the Communities It Will Serve
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy cites lack of diversity in proposed Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Board as “concerning”
Washington, D.C. (5/23/2018) – New York will soon have the nation’s second largest health conversion foundation. With an anticipated $150 million in annual grants for the health and well-being of underserved New Yorkers, there is much at stake to ensure that the new Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (MCHF) fulfills its mission.
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) urges the New York Attorney General to mandate that the new foundation’s founding board of directors include representatives from communities it will serve.
In a formal comment submitted online to Attorney General Barbara Underwood yesterday, NCRP shared its concerns over the lack of diversity in the current board that will be tasked to oversee the assets and operation of what will become the largest foundation to serve New York state exclusively.
“Nothing for us without us”
In his comments, NCRP chief executive Aaron Dorfman notes that the MCHF board is mostly made up of white, wealthy powerful individuals from large hospital systems and corporations. He observes that there is little representation from community-based organizations and advocacy groups focused on improving health care coverage, access and affordability.
“The Foundation will be more effective at advancing strategies that lead to better outcomes for marginalized communities if the board of directors includes leadership from community-based organizations with experience and relationships in those communities,” writes Dorfman.
NCRP believes that it is important for organizations that seek to address the needs and improve outcomes for communities that are poor and underserved to be led by racially, ethnically and economically diverse boards. In its landmark “Criteria for Philanthropy At Its Best,” the D.C.-based philanthropy watchdog group recommends that foundation boards have at least five members with diverse perspectives and experiences, including representatives from communities they serve, to be truly effective.
Ensuring public benefit
Health conversion foundations are created to ensure that the public continues to benefit when nonprofit health providers are bought by for-profit companies. MCHF was created when Centene Corporation purchased Fidelis Care.
“The public has an interest in the over $3 billion in assets accumulated by Fidelis Care that are destined for the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation,” says Dorfman in the submitted comments. “And the board of directors who oversee those assets should better reflect the public.”
The full text of the letter to Attorney General Underwood is available on NCRP.org.
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About NCRP
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy amplifies the voice of nonprofits and the communities they serve in the philanthropic sector. Through research and advocacy, it works to ensure that grantmakers and donors contribute to the creation of a fair, just and equitable world. Learn more at www.ncrp.org.
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Media Contacts:
Yna Moore: (202) 557-1381 or ymoore@ncrp.org
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2018
Grantmakers can leverage increased civic activism to advance democracy, equity and justice
NCRP journal provides tips and actionable insights for funders and donors
Washington, D.C. (5/23/2018) – While the events of the past year-and-a-half have left many frustrated, angry and disappointed, they’ve also moved many people to take action with their dollars and voices.
“From #BlackLivesMatter to #MeToo and #NeverAgain, we’re seeing a spike in civic engagement that makes me hopeful for the future of our country,” wrote Aaron Dorfman, chief executive of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). “We must capitalize on this moment and turn increased activism into lasting change.”
Foundations and other donors will find actionable insights on how funders can take advantage of this moment in the May 2018 edition of “Responsive Philanthropy” published by NCRP.
From whispers to roars: The conversation movement
“People care about issues like gender and racial equity, and they think more needs to be done,” notes Michael Perry, co-founder, and Kathleen Perry, senior analyst, of PerryUndem, in an article that highlights findings from their recent public opinion research. They offer four key takeaways for funders to take advantage of what they call the “conversation movement” to make progress on these and other issues that majority of the public thinks are important.
Funders can help secure the next generation of activists, voters and grassroots movement leaders
For Austin Belali, director of the Youth Engagement Fund, the youth-led #NeverAgain movement is a reminder of the urgent need to build the capacity of youth civic participation especially among youth of color, those from rural areas and other underserved communities. He offers important considerations for financial and non-financial supporters to ensure that they are helping long-term engagement of young people that leads to lasting positive change.
Helping grantmakers navigate civic engagement funding
Eric Marshall, executive director of Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, and Kristen Cambell, executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, are seeing the growing interest in civic engagement among grantmakers firsthand. They share the most common concerns they hear from members and the various ways their respective organizations are helping funders navigate the complexities of funding civic participation.
Strength in numbers: Rethinking the power of funder collaboration
Melinda Fine, Molly Schultz Hafid and Steven Lawrence of TCC Group identifies the six common questions that funders have been asking themselves in response to our current political and social moment. They highlight the three ways that affinity groups, regional associations and other philanthropy serving organizations are helping grantmakers wrestle with these questions.
This edition of the journal highlights NCRP supporter The Colorado Health Foundation in the Member Spotlight. Learn how this largest health foundation in the state has embraced community engagement and input in efforts to advance good health and health equity for all in the state.
Responsive Philanthropy articles are available at no cost on NCRP’s website.
About NCRP
For more than 40 years, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has been amplifying the voice of nonprofits and the communities they serve in the philanthropic sector. Through research and advocacy, it works to ensure that grantmakers and donors contribute to the creation of a fair, just and equitable world. For more information, visit www.ncrp.org.
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Contact:
Yna C. Moore, ymoore[at]ncrp.org or (202) 557-1381
While the events of the past year-and-a-half have left many frustrated, angry and disappointed, they’ve also moved many people to take action with their dollars and voices.
“From #BlackLivesMatter to #MeToo and #NeverAgain, we’re seeing a spike in civic engagement that makes me hopeful for the future of our country,” wrote Aaron Dorfman, chief executive of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). “We must capitalize on this moment and turn increased activism into lasting change.”
Foundations and other donors will find actionable insights on how funders can take advantage of this moment in the May 2018 edition of “Responsive Philanthropy” published by NCRP.
From whispers to roars: The conversation movement
“People care about issues like gender and racial equity, and they think more needs to be done,” notes Michael Perry, co-founder, and Kathleen Perry, senior analyst, of PerryUndem, in an article that highlights findings from their recent public opinion research. They offer four key takeaways for funders to take advantage of what they call the “conversation movement” to make progress on these and other issues that majority of the public thinks are important.
Funders can help secure the next generation of activists, voters and grassroots movement leaders
For Austin Belali, director of the Youth Engagement Fund, the youth-led #NeverAgain movement is a reminder of the urgent need to build the capacity of youth civic participation especially among youth of color, those from rural areas and other underserved communities. He offers important considerations for financial and non-financial supporters to ensure that they are helping long-term engagement of young people that leads to lasting positive change.
Helping grantmakers navigate civic engagement funding
Eric Marshall, executive director of Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, and Kristen Cambell, executive director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, are seeing the growing interest in civic engagement among grantmakers firsthand. They share the most common concerns they hear from members and the various ways their respective organizations are helping funders navigate the complexities of funding civic participation.
Strength in numbers: Rethinking the power of funder collaboration
Melinda Fine, Molly Schultz Hafid and Steven Lawrence of TCC Group identifies the six common questions that funders have been asking themselves in response to our current political and social moment. They highlight the three ways that affinity groups, regional associations and other philanthropy serving organizations are helping grantmakers wrestle with these questions.
This edition of the journal highlights NCRP supporter The Colorado Health Foundation in the Member Spotlight. Learn how this largest health foundation in the state has embraced community engagement and input in efforts to advance good health and health equity for all in the state.
Let us know what you think of these stories in the comments or on Twitter @NCRP. Photo by Flickr.com/Phil Roeder, used under Creative Commons license.