Philanthropic Practice Archives - Neighborhood Funders Group

Journey Toward Intersectional Grantmaking

We at Funders for a New Economy (FJE) and the Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) believe we have a critical mass of people of color and white allies within philanthropy who are interested in a new path— who are ready to talk about race, who are ready to acknowledge that this country’s economic policies were not…

Midwest 2022 Year-End Newsletter: Rest, Adaptation, + Fireside in January!

These shorter, colder days have required me to rest more, slow down, and re-arrange my work days to catch the daylight for myself and little ones. And it always feels so hard because it disrupts and challenges how I have been taught to survive racial capitalism: to use urgency as a default reaction and accept extraction. 🌱 Forming the program’s…

4-Year Reflection

The Amplify Fund started in 2017 with the intention of existing for four years. It became clear in 2021 that in order to be values-aligned, we needed to extend beyond the initial time horizon, so we decided to embark on a year of looking back and learning. Our reflections are organized in alignment with our…

Amplify Fund’s Updated Vision

Amplify Fund’s original vision focused on “a reality where Black, indigenous, people of color, and low-income people benefit from the changes caused by development, including wealth creation, land control, and quality of life outcomes.” While this original vision served us well, it was written in 2018 by funders and staff. In 2021, adhering to our…

Amplify Fund’s Updated Goals

In 2021, Amplify grantees wrote a new vision for the Fund, and updated our twin goals to fit that vision. However, the core of Amplify’s goals (to help build power in places, and to shift the field of philanthropy) remain the same. Below, you can find the latest articulation of our goals including the conditions…

Amplify Fund’s Updated Values

Amplify Fund has always been values-driven, having articulated a set of values alongside our first theory of change in 2018. In 2021, when we enlisted a committee of grantees to update our vision and goals, we also asked them to revisit and sharpen our values. Below is the latest list of values that guide Amplify…

Reflections from Our First Racial Capitalism Community of Practice

Considering that philanthropy historically and currently is a contributor to the deeply embedded and extractive tenets of racial capitalism, over the last few years NFG’s Funders for a Just Economy has been building its analysis of racial capitalism and power by learning about Black radical tradition and feminist theory. This includes the Journey Towards Intersectional…

IRSG Rural Organizing Dialogue Series

Over the course of the summer, IRSG held a Rural Organizing Dialogue Series. This series was educational and genuine! It was a space for funders in IRSG’s network to get to know this work and the rural leaders that are holding and leading it. The dialogue featured many of IRSG’s Movement Advisors and created opportunity to…

Event 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…

Introducing Philanthropy Forward: Cohort 4

We are excited to announce the launch of Philanthropy Forward’s Cohort 4 in partnership with The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions! Philanthropy Forward is a CEO fellowship community for visionary leaders who center racial and gender justice and community power building to disrupt and transform the future of philanthropy. This fellowship brings together CEOs of foundations who are supporting…

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…

Actualizing our values: A gathering in rural Oregon grounds IRSG’s work in community and place

by Lindsay Ryder, Director, Integrated Rural Strategies Group The week before last was a gift. The Integrated Rural Strategies Group (IRSG) gathered its Rural Movement Advisors in Woodburn, Oregon* for a week of rest, reflection, joy, tequio, and breaking bread together. The impetus for this gathering was to renew our partnership with this group of…

The Future of Amplify

In 2021 Amplify staff and Steering Committee got clear the Fund would extend beyond it’s original 4-year planned lifespan; in 2022 we are designing the “Future of Amplify,” guided by a sharpened set of values*. While the first version of our theory of change, created by our early funders and staff, served us well, so…

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…

Amplify Members as Funder Organizers

Unlike many other pooled funds, the Amplify Fund Steering Committee is committed to doing the work of funder organizing. Now representing twenty one funder members, the Steering Committee re-asserted their central role as funder organizers in 2021, but this responsibility is at the roots of the fund. In 2017, a rare opportunity to influence significant…

Amplify Fund Collaboration Grants

Aligned with our initial theory of change that stated a commitment to “fund an ecosystem of groups and prioritize deep collaboration,” in 2021 we introduced collaboration grants. These grants support work that Amplify grantees are taking on with other trusted allies. In 2021, Amplify granted $634,000 to 16 collaborations. in two rounds of funding. In…