Join us to learn strategies for trust-based and equity-focused evaluation for grantmaking in disaster contexts!

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has learned how evaluation, if done with sensitivity to stakeholders' needs, can guide disaster response towards equitable outcomes and hold grantmakers and responders accountable. We are living in a world where disasters are occurring more than ever. In addition to the obvious example of the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple variants, climate change is wreaking havoc on all parts of the globe in various ways. Greater New Orleans knows this all too well; the city was an early epicenter of the pandemic, and then hit by Category 4 Hurricane Ida in late August 2021, not to mention Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill.

In this webinar, you’ll learn the frameworks GNOF used for making and evaluating trust-based grants responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida. The Greater New Orleans Foundation staff and their evaluation partners will share their experiences in disaster contexts, including what has worked to prioritize grantee partners' well-being and promote equity. Through guided group discussion this webinar with elicit perspectives from others about their approaches, challenges, and lessons learned for adopting trust-based and equity-focused grantmaking and evaluation in diverse disaster contexts.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Learn how your foundation can help be a part of the solution by developing a housing trust fund!

Like many places across the country, the Black Hills in South Dakota are seeing a massive lack of affordable housing. After convening a Housing Summit in 2018, the leaders at the Black Hills Area Community developed a public/private/philanthropic model to address this need.

The Strategic Housing Trust Fund provides low-interest loans to developers building affordable housing and acts at the top of a capital stack. The housing trust fund model is flexible, outside of government. Dollars revolve back to the community foundation for lasting impact because the fund offers the loan. The oversight board includes developers, bankers, city staff, economic development staff, private foundation staff, and community foundation staff.

In this webinar, we’ll learn from the Black Hills Area Community Foundation's experience with this unique and collaborative funding model. Attendees will also explore an interactive tool created by the community foundation to assess your organization’s ability to offer it’s own housing trust fund.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Hear how the Barry Community Foundation created space to explore diversity and equity with their community. We’ll learn from their experience on how you can implement this strategy in your community.

With the goal of bringing forward diversity, equity and inclusion concepts to members of the community, three nonprofits in Barry County, Michigan came together to host Courageous Conversations for More Equitable Communities. Barry Community Foundation and their partners hosted three conversations in the series: what diversity, equity and inclusion is, mental health, and the return on investing in diversity in your community. You’ll hear the BCF organizers on how they created engaging spaces to address diversity in a homogenously white community. This webinar will offer encouragement and guidance on creating these spaces to engage people where they are.

Learn how to put together conversation topics that can be difficult for people in an educational and respectful environment. In this webinar, you’ll learn actionable steps for creating, funding, facilitating, and evaluating this program in your community.

This webinar is a continuation of our Leading Locally Conference programming. Explore and register for each session in the series: Leading Locally All Year Long

Join us for the June meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.

Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group meets monthly via Zoom to discuss SDG hot topics including education, local implementation, community alignment and communication, professional development, data, grantmaking, and more. This community is primarily focused on expanding the SDGs in the United States through community foundation action, but all nationalities are welcome.

By registering for this event, you agree to share some identifying information with the Central Florida Foundation, our partner for this event.

Join us for the May meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.

Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group meets monthly via Zoom to discuss SDG hot topics including education, local implementation, community alignment and communication, professional development, data, grantmaking, and more. This community is primarily focused on expanding the SDGs in the United States through community foundation action, but all nationalities are welcome.

This month’s speaker will be Larry McGill to share highlights from the recent report on accelerating community foundation uptake of the SDGs. We invite you to come prepared to join the discussion on future action steps for our peer group.   

By registering for this event, you agree to share some identifying information with the Central Florida Foundation, our partner for this event.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy recently completed a study on American attitudes and knowledge about philanthropy. The findings, in short: Americans have favorable impressions of charitable giving and nonprofits, but many are unfamiliar with the sector itself, including philanthropic institutions and the policies that govern and affect charitable giving.  

In this overview webinar, we shared:

• Findings related to trust in the nonprofit sector, concerns related to transparency, and the public's confidence about solving societal issues.
• The implications of the public’s unfamiliarity with philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, including how current debates may have broader effects on society.
• What funders should know and what they can do to build greater knowledge of the sector.

Learn more about the public perception of philanthropy and nonprofits and how this may impact the sector.

Also check out this blog on 3 things foundations might need to know from the report.

Speakers:

• Allison Grayson, Director of Policy Development and Analysis, Independent Sector
• Dr. Una Osili, Associate Dean for Research and International Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University
• John Tyler, General Counsel, Secretary, and Chief Ethics Officer, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• Kristen Scott Kennedy, Vice President, Strategy and Organizational Effectiveness and Chief of Staff, Council on Foundations

In Partnership With:

Join us for the April meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.

Guest Speaker

Caitlin Augustin, Ph.D.
Vice President, Product and Programs
DataKind

This month's guest speaker is Caitlin Augustin. Caitlin is responsible for delivering DataKind's core offerings, ensuring that high quality, impactful data science interventions are created in partnership with social sector leaders.  

Since the SDGs were created in 2015, Caitlin has led DataKind in executing over 400 projects that have centered on each of the 17 Goals.  Her finding is that each Goal is grounded in data and, therefore, AI and data science will vastly accelerate impact.  When we spoke with Caitlin, she said, “It’s crazy to think we can tackle the SDG’s greatest challenges with yesterday’s tools,” so she will be presenting DataKind’s Art-of-the-Possible through the lens of the SDGs.

Under Caitlin’s leadership, DataKind launched its flagship portfolio of work in frontline health systems, which has led to global partnerships and publications, and the release of a digital public good: the Data Observation Toolkit. She is also an advocate for open data and open data systems, and is a thought leader in making data available to government and policy actors working across social sectors in support of local communities across the United States and around the world. Caitlin holds a BSIE and a PhD from the University of Miami. She resides in Orlando with her husband and son.

Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group meets monthly via Zoom to discuss SDG hot topics including education, local implementation, community alignment and communication, professional development, data, grantmaking, and more. This community is primarily focused on expanding the SDGs in the United States through community foundation action, but all nationalities are welcome.

By registering for this event, you agree to share some identifying information with the Central Florida Foundation, our partner for this event.

The Council on Foundations and the Center for Public Interest Communications have recently completed a scan of the dominant narratives around foundations. Our findings, in short: We need better stories and better language if we really want to lift up the positive impact of our work, push back against false narratives, and build trust.

In this overview webinar, we’ll share:

• Insights from social, behavioral and cognitive science that explain why some narratives can be harmful, despite our best intentions
• A set of research-based principles for storytelling that helps others understand the unique role the sector plays in building a better world. 
• A peek at our plans for message testing and other research - and how you can be involved.

Join us to learn more about how nonprofits and foundations can tell stories in authentic and compelling ways that show how change really happens.

Speakers:

• Nicole Bronzan, Vice President, Communications and Content, Council on Foundations
• Ann Searight Christiano, Founder and Director, Center for Public Interest Communications
• Aaron Zeiler, Director of Partner Strategies, Center for Public Interest Communications

In Partnership With:

Join us for the March meeting of our Peer Learning Circle dedicated specifically to foundations working on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or are open to learning more about how the SDGs can fit within their work.

Discussion Topic: This meeting will be an open roundtable discussion for peers to share their projects and work related to the SDGs. Please come prepared to listen, learn, and share your projects in this interactive conversation. 

Connect with foundation peers to learn about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group meets monthly via Zoom to discuss SDG hot topics including education, local implementation, community alignment and communication, professional development, data, grantmaking, and more. This community is primarily focused on expanding the SDGs in the United States through community foundation action, but all nationalities are welcome.

By registering for this event, you agree to share some identifying information with the Central Florida Foundation, our partner for this event. 

Results are in from the 2022 State of Philanthropy Tech survey, conducted every two years by Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG). Join this interactive call to explore key findings and trends.  

This is the only comprehensive survey on the current state of technology in philanthropy including: 

• Prevalence of hybrid work enablement 
• The ongoing impact of social change on grantmaker support for grantees, staff turnover and retention 
• Technology budgeting, reporting structure, and staffing ratios 
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion practices amongst technology teams 
• Security breaches, protections, and practices 
• Trends in tool selection across the broad range of application areas 

Speakers:

Chantal Forester
Executive Director
Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG)

Tess Hanrahan
Senior IT Analyst
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
TAG Survey Committee Member

Wendy Torrance
Director, Strategic Initiatives and Partnership
Council on Foundations