Midwest Summer 2022 Newsletter: Collective Courage ✨

With all we are holding, I hope you are also finding sweetness in this final stretch of our Midwest summer. Each day, I have the honor of working with movement workers and funders who teach me what it means to be courageous enough to build the world we want. Individual brave acts are powerful. So…

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DDP August 2022 Newsletter

Hi friend, The Democratizing Development Program hired its next full-time director in June. And it’s me, Chimene Okere (follow this link for pronunciation). There’s so much work I’m excited to partner with you on. But before the emails proliferate, webinars start, and scheduling requests begin, I want to begin with gratitude for the folks who…

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Moving through transitions + more updates: NFG’s July 2022 Newsletter

I’m writing this newsletter message on the 40th day since my beloved 91-year-old Lola passed away, a significant time marker for my family as we remember and honor her. Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with Neighborhood Funders Group, and the answer is that I don’t know how to (and won’t) compartmentalize, and…

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Farewell from Adriana Rocha, NFG’s President

My relationship with NFG started in the mid 2000s, first as a member while at the New York Foundation, then as NFG’s Vice President of Programs, as Interim Co-Director, and now President. My energies have focused both internally on the strategy, structure, and culture of NFG, as well as on the programming and relationships with…

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Midwest Spring 2022 Newsletter: Seeding Change 🌱

I am so honored to say hello to you as the Program Manager of the Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funders (Midwest Program) at Neighborhood Funders Group. I shifted into this role from Sr. Program Coordinator last month, a transition that has paralleled the Midwest’s journey into spring. In recent years, I have begun gardening vegetables, which has been…

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How NFG Celebrates Worker Justice Movements: NFG’s May 2022 Newsletter

At the beginning of May — on International Workers’ Day — Neighborhood Funders Group was excited to announce the winners of our 2022 Discount Foundation Legacy Award! We’re resharing this announcement and sending our sincerest congratulations to this year’s awardee, Wendy Melendez Garcia of Local 32BJ SEIU District 615, as well as the runner-up and equally-inspiring Nap Pempena, Secretary…

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Sharing NFG’s refreshed theory of change: NFG’s March 2022 Newsletter

Neighborhood Funders Group has shared snippets of our new theory of change in each of our newsletters so far this year. In January, we unveiled our long-term outcome: Philanthropic assets are liberated so that BIPOC communities and low-income communities have power to self-determine. In February, we applied this outcome to NFG’s Funders for a Just Economy program…

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How will you commit to building worker power? NFG’s February 2022 Newsletter

Neighborhood Funders Group’s new theory of change has our organization working toward a world where philanthropic assets are liberated so that BIPOC and low-income communities have power to self-determine (read more about why this long-term outcome from our President, Adriana Rocha, in our January newsletter). NFG’s Funders for a Just Economy (FJE) program brings funders together that are committed to advancing the…

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2022 February Amplify Newsletter

Dear friends, This is a significant year for Amplify Fund! As we continue to do our everyday work – funding our grantees and their collaborative endeavors, bringing people together in learning spaces, and organizing with our Steering Committee for change in philanthropy – we are also in the midst of planning for Amplify 2.0. Since…

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Getting grounded for 2022: NFG’s January 2022 Newsletter

I began 2022 taking comfort in the seemingly little — but deeply meaningful things — a hug from my son, a good laugh with friends, a walk after school drop-off. These comforts help me ground myself, as I set my intentions for the year and for our collective work at NFG. When I became NFG’s…

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Looking back & what’s ahead: NFG’s November 2021 Newsletter

As we’re approaching the end of the year, our team at Neighborhood Funders Group has begun reflecting on the many ways we’ve been organizing with funders to move more money to racial, gender, economic, and climate justice. In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find our highlights from 2021 and a glimpse of what to expect from…

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2021 November Amplify Newsletter

AMPLIFY FUND Neighborhood Funders Group Dear friends, Here at Amplify Fund, we believe that taking action together yields the most fruitful results. As a collaborative of 17 funders we are focused on: Nurturing and strengthening the conditions necessary for BIPOC communities to build power; and Organizing funders so we shift what and how we fund.…

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Connect & co-conspire with us: NFG’s 2021 September Newsletter

As a proud partner of CHANGE Philanthropy, NFG is excited to come together for the 2021 Unity Summit — the largest convening of progressive philanthropy! Join us for the virtual & live Unity Summit experience from October 25-28. The Unity Summit will continue November 1-5 with a week of interactive experiences. This year’s format will offer live…

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What Philanthropy can Learn from Labor Organizing: NFG’s August 2021 Newsletter

I am so excited to join NFG’s Amplify Fund team. Amplify, a funder collaborative, has organized local, regional, and national funders to distribute over $8 million in power building grants to Black, Indigenous, people of color and low-income organizations. As the Fund’s inaugural Director of Learning and Communications, my skills with research, evaluation, and messaging…

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Transformative change, rooted in place: NFG’s July 2021 Newsletter

Can you imagine what New York would look like if private equity funds weren’t evicting low-income renters? What about, if in the Washington, DC area, historically Black neighborhoods were not being gentrified by wealthy white people and behemoth-tech corporations like Amazon? What if, in Southern California, essential workers had the power to set policies that…

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