NFG Newsletter
NFG’s March Newsletter: it’s all about connection!
“It’s all about connection!” That’s what I thought to myself as I left my 80 degree home to get on a 6:30am flight to unseasonably chilly Los Angeles, just in time for Southern California’s latest atmospheric river (eeep!), to gather with my NFG colleagues and Board. The NFG team last gathered in person in September 2022,…
Read MoreNFG’s February Newsletter: join us for our latest political education series!
Dear friend, I’m immensely proud of the ways that Neighborhood Funders Group pairs principle with practice in a myriad of ways — in our programmatic priorities, relationships with movement, collaboration as colleagues, and even internal operations. As a community organizer, I know that fighting the violent systems that structure our society is grueling work. I’ve also seen us…
Read MoreDDP February 2023 Newsletter
Mural on Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN supported by members of Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia that states “From the grips of landlords to the community” “Land is a basic requirement of life” – Gilda Haas Hi friend, The statement above from Gilda Haas during the Land Stewardship Learning Series launch helped chart the direction and…
Read MoreNFG’s January 2023 Newsletter: what nutrients must philanthropy employ to fuel ourselves, our communities, and our movements?
Dear friend, I’ve been thinking about nutrition lately — not nutrition in the toxic diet culture way — but nutrition as in the necessary ingredients that fuel our bodies and also our spirits, our communities, and our movements. This thinking was in part prompted by Alice Sparkly Kat’s 2023 horoscopes. I’m an Aquarius sun (happy Aquarius…
Read MoreNFG’s wishes for joy, rest, resilience, and building with us in 2023: NFG’s December 2022 Newsletter
Dear NFG Community, I hope that you’re finding an abundance of joy and reflection as we move towards the end of this year, and that you can radically rest and connect with your loved ones before the beginning of 2023. I last wrote to you in June, right as Neighborhood Funders Group embarked on a…
Read MoreBuilding power in place: NFG’s November 2022 newsletter
The integrated voter engagement efforts leading up to the recent elections underscore how local grassroots organizers are leading the way to seed transformative change and ensure that our communities thrive in the face of extreme challenges. At Neighborhood Funders Group, we are encouraged by philanthropy’s moves to uplift (and fund!) community organizing in bolder and more impactful ways. We also know that…
Read MoreDDP November 2022 Newsletter
Hi friend, This newsletter contains updates from our partners at HouseUS, a national housing justice fund supporting organizing and tenant-led change at the local, state, and federal levels, and the Homes Guarantee campaign: In November, the Homes Guarantee campaign will host a convening of its tenant leadership team, the Tenant Reckoning: The Rent is Too Damn High, in Washington DC.…
Read MoreNFG’s October 2022 Newsletter: imagining how philanthropy can move toward a non-racialized economy
Neighborhood Funders Group first introduced you to our Racial Capitalism Community of Practice, which is hosted by NFG’s Funders for a Just Economy, in our August newsletter. Now we’re sharing key takeaways on what a non-racialized economy means from this six month-long cohort in which 20 people representing seven foundations and NFG participated. Our first Racial Capitalism Community of…
Read MoreMidwest Fall 2022 Newsletter: Holding Change with Care 🍂
I hope you are finding rest and warmth as we traverse this season of transitions. In our home, the little ones and I have been tracking the colors of the leaves and we’ve been celebrating with loved ones the Mid-Autumn Festival and the upcoming DĂa de Muertos. Fall has already been filled with reminders that change is…
Read More2022 October Amplify Newsletter
Dear friends, Our commitment to deep, relational grantmaking means that, in addition to our long-term commitment to racial justice powerbuilding, we respond during crises of all kinds. Crises that affect 1) all our grantees partners, like COVID; 2) individual grantee partners; and 3) grantee partners in just one of our eight places as was the case…
Read MoreEvent Recap: 9/15 Indiana Co-Governance Funder Briefing
In Indianapolis, gun violence is down 20% so far this year for the first time in a decade; a new crisis response system supports people in crisis to get the care they deserve rather than ending up behind bars; and the nation’s strongest civilian oversight body over law enforcement, created just nine month ago, has…
Read MoreSave the date for NFG’s 2023 National Convening! & more great info in our September 2022 Newsletter
Earlier this year, Neighborhood Funders Group announced that we were postponing what would have been our 2022 National Convening in Wilmington, North Carolina to next year. The decision to shift our convening to 2023 was informed by ongoing, thoughtful conversations about Covid considerations and how & when we want to intentionally regather in-person with NFG’s…
Read MoreLearn about NFG’s racial capitalism community of practice in our August 2022 Newsletter
As summertime winds down, the team at Neighborhood Funders Group is gearing up for a robust slate of events and programming to bring us through the end of the year and into 2023 where we’ll be regathering for our National Convening in Wilmington, NC (save the date coming soon!). Building our analysis of racial capitalism and power…
Read MoreMidwest 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…
Read MoreDDP 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…
Read MoreMoving 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…
Read MoreA message from NFG’s Interim President, Amy Morris, and more: NFG’s June 2022 Newsletter
By now you all have heard the news of Adriana’s departure from the organization. It is with real sadness that I said goodbye to her as my day-to-day colleague. Adriana is one of the strongest, most skilled (not to mention fun!) leaders and mentors I have ever worked with. I know you all join me in wishing her…
Read MoreFarewell 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…
Read MoreMidwest 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…
Read MoreHow 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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