Session 2 - Coming February 2024
TBA
(90-minute event)
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Session 1
November 16, 2023
8:00am PT | 9:00am MT | 10:00am CT | 11:00am ET
(90-minute event)
Please join us for our first virtual Midwest Funder Connection, Learning, & Strategy (CLS) Session!
Starting in November, CLS Sessions will be bi-monthly 90-minute virtual meetings for funders to strategize, learn, and build community in ways that strengthen their ability to move more resources to Midwest grassroots organizing.
At the first CLS Session, we will:
- Utilize an ecological framework to invite all attendees to describe what organizing groups and funders are grappling with across the Midwest, particularly as we prepare for 2024
- Offer the following breakout rooms:
- Connection & Breath Room: How are we caring for ourselves, peers, and community?
- Nuts & Bolts Room: What institutional barriers are you face to move more resources to organizing?
- Guest Breakout Room hosted by Organize the Midwest
About This Series
As a core component of Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funder programming, CLS Sessions are bi-monthly 90-minute virtual meetings for funders to strategize, learn, and build community in ways that strengthen their ability to move more resources to Midwest grassroots organizing.
These sessions are dynamic, interactive spaces for funders to:
- Explore the organizing landscape across the Midwest, especially what the current challenges, barriers, and opportunities are for building deep community power and durable organizing infrastructure
- Share strategies and tools for navigating institutional barriers to funding organizing within a brave space
- Learn about funder organizing skills for shifting philanthropic culture, grantmaking strategies, and practices and move more resources towards organizing
- Deepen their political analysis of how philanthropy is embedded within racial capitalism and how funders can build community and organize towards liberating philanthropic assets
- Discuss potential shared strategies across geography and institutions to fund organizing
- Connect with and feel supported by other funders that are passionate about liberation and change
As funders, our work to boldly support community power and self-determination must be collective. To this end, we are launching bi-monthly meetings to strengthen the Midwest Organizing Infrastructure Funders as an organizing home for funders to collectively re-imagine what is possible for philanthropy and their work.
We are honored to co-design and co-facilitate these sessions with a Core Design Team comprised of:
- Bahati Aimee, Program Officer, Woods Fund Chicago
- Ian Bautista, Senior Director of Civic Engagement, Greater Milwaukee Foundation
- Caroline McCoy, Vice President of Programs, Woods Fund Chicago
- Rupal Soni, Senior Program Officer, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
- Terri Thao, Program Director, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Event Details
When
Nov 16, 2023
10:00 am - 11:30 am CT
Where
Virtual