Site Search
- resource provided by the Forum Network Knowledgebase.
Search Tip: Search with " " to find exact matches.
United Philanthropy Forum is committed to advancing racial equity in philanthropy. We provide space for our members to connect, learn and share together on how to effectively address racial equity in their work as philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), and works to share our members’ learnings with the broader philanthropy field. As part of these efforts, we are pleased to share case stories from our members about their racial equity work.
Case Story
Funders Together to End Homelessness: A Racial Equity Learning Journey
Funders Together to End Homelessness began its racial equity journey in 2016. Its case story explains how the PSO named racial equity in its strategic plan and embarked on a learning journey together with its board, staff, and members to normalize the conversation about structural and historic racism and how it contributes to disparities in the homelessness system. The story also describes how Funders Together created a two-year community of practice, called Foundations for Racial Equity (FRE), that has been a critical part of its journey, and how its codified its racial equity work through the creation of its Commitment to Racial Equity.
Read Funders Together’s Case Story
Listen to Funders Together’s CEO Amanda Misiko Andere talk about her organization’s racial equity journey on an episode of the ForumNation podcast.
Case Story
Southeastern Council of Foundations: An Experiential Racial Equity Journey
In early 2018, the Southeastern Council of Foundations (SECF) along with its board undertook a racial equity learning journey in order to develop an Equity Framework that would describe and define SECF’s character, what it stood for, and what its leaders were willing to fight for. The decision to develop the Equity Framework was the culmination of years of work. SECF’s case story explains how the organization used data to inform the development of its Equity Framework, created an Equity Task Force to lead the effort of developing a Framework, and engaged board, staff and Task Force members in a racial equity learning journey.
Listen to SECF’s President & CEO Janine talk about her organization’s racial equity journey on an episode of the ForumNation podcast.
This report from the TCC Group finds that the flexibility, nimbleness, and willingness to collaborate demonstrated by the philanthropic sector over the past year in response to a rapidly changing policy environment could serve as a model for the sector going forward.
Based on interviews with nearly thirty leaders of philanthropy-serving organizations (PSOs), this report found that in the first year of the Trump administration, PSOs and funder collaboratives were called on to keep funders well informed of policy changes. To that end, PSOs have played a critical role in enabling funder learning, dialogue, and action, and have helped accelerate important funder conversations in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion; the need to think beyond issue silos; and the foundational benefits of creating space for dialogue across political and ideological divides through nonpartisan civic engagement.
The report also notes that while some funders have remained cautious, taking a "wait and see" approach to how national political changes might affect their grantmaking priorities, a greater number have been moved by rapidly changing policies to consider aligning their "institutional voice" with other grantmakers to maximize their impact.
The Silicon Valley Out-of-School-Time Collaborative invested in a cohort of regional nonprofit organizations to sustain and strengthen their ability to serve more students with stronger academic and social-emotional programming. Partners in the collaborative included three family foundations that together made an initial $1.6 million pooled investment over three years, and eight nonprofits that collectively served more than 7,000 low-income middle and high school students outside normal school hours. From the start of the partnership, funders and grantees held regular meetings focused on shared learning, trust building and dialogue. A midcourse evaluation of the collaborative showed that grantees were stronger, programs were better and are reaching more students, and funders had adopted new, collaborative grantmaking practices. The funders invested another $900,000 into a second phase of the work and committed to more flexibility –– letting grantees drive the group’s planning and learning efforts, and manage consultants, budgeting and group communications. Grantees also opted to redirect the focus of the collaborative from capacity building to program development and evaluation, with the added goal of sharing effective afterschool and summer program models with others, both inside and outside the region.
A collection of the President's letters to CNJG Members from the monthly newsletter.
- Summer Reading List (8/7/2025)
- Summer Happenings (7/8/2025)
- Spring Conference News (6/4/2025)
- Spring Conference Update (5/8/2025)
- Spring Conference Registration Open (4/2/2025)
- March Updates (3/7/2025)
- Federal Policy Changes (2/7/2025)
- Happy New Year! (1/9/2025)
- Reflect on the Impact We've Made and the Exciting Possibilities Ahead (12/5/2024)
- As We Look to 2025 (11/8/2024)
- CNJG Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering (10/8/2024)
- Programs Update (9/5/2024)
- Summer Reads (8/7/2024)
- Update on CNJG Programs (7/8/2024)
- Upcoming Colloquium (6/5/2024)
- AI is Changing our World (5/10/2024)
- 2024 Spring Colloquium (4/5/2024)
- Foundations on the Hill 2024 (3/8/2024)
- Sad News (2/8/2024)
- Welcome to the New Year! (1/8/2024)
- Mad Dash to the End of the Year (12/8/2023)
- Collaboration (11/6/2023)
- CNJG Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering (10/5/2023)
- Welcome Back From the Summer (9/5/2023)
- 2023 New Jersey Philanthropy Benefits & Salary Summary Report (7/5/2023)
- Great Turnout (6/9/2023)
- Upcoming Conference (5/3/2023)
- Back in Person (4/6/2023)
- Foundations on the Hill Update (3/6/2023)
- Amplify Our Collective Voice (2/6/2023)
- Annual Meeting Recap (1/6/2023)
This one-hour webinar will offer a high-level overview of employment law trends and best practices for foundations. Attorneys from the Labor & Employment and Nonprofit & Tax-Exempt Organizations groups of Dentons, the world’s largest global law firm, will present practical tips for small and mid-size foundations with regard to employment and workplace issues. Drawing from both national trends in the industry and the impact of the pandemic and social change, topics will include:
- social media policies;
- remote and hybrid work considerations;
- job descriptions and changes with hiring practices; and
- independent contractor agreements.
Our speakers will hold time for Q&A at the end of the presentation. As part of the registration process, attendees may also submit questions or topic area suggestions for our speakers to address if time allows.
Speakers
Carsen Ruperto, Counsel, Dentons Cohen & Grigsby
Hayley Haldeman, Counsel, Dentons, Cohen & Grigsby
This program is for members of the following philanthropy-serving organizations: Maryland Philanthropy Network, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, Florida Philanthropic Network, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, Philanthropy Wisconsin, NY Funders Alliance, and North Carolina Grantmakers.
I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing summer. For many, summer offers a time to move at a slower pace, and perhaps take some time for reflection and recharging. I hope you were able to do some of that at least during your official “away-from-the-office” vacation time.
As summer wanes and we come back to our offices, Governance Committee co-chairs, Craig Drinkard and Justin Kiczek, have extended an invitation – if you are interested in serving on the CNJG Board of Trustees, or know someone who would make a good trustee, please complete the application form, and email it to Office Manager Dana Schwartz, along with a brief biography, no later than September 13, 2023. Read Craig and Justin’s full letter.
The Board will present a slate of candidates to CNJG members at the annual meeting of members. Please save the date - the CNJG Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering is on Thursday, December 14 at the Crowne Plaza Edison. Registration will be available soon.
In reviewing the nominations for board service, the Governance Committee considers participation and engagement in at least one CNJG committee, and/or serving as co-chair of a Council affinity group. Standing committees of the board include Audit, Finance, Governance, Member Engagement, Leadership and Policy, Racial Equity, Signature Programs, and Strategic Plan Implementation. Most committees meet at least twice a year. Committees focus on a specific issue or task, and ensures the board’s overall work is divided into manageable tasks. Committee participation is open to all CNJG members. If you are interested in learning more and/or serving on a committee, please let me know. Committee work allows you to expand your personal network and build relationships with colleagues, demonstrate and develop your own leadership, and gain new knowledge and skills that you might not regularly use in your day-to-day role. You’ll also be contributing to the success and future of CNJG, as well as helping to move forward the 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan.
If you are already chairing a committee or affinity group, or serving on a committee – thank you for your leadership! We’re so grateful for your dedication and support. If you are interested in joining a committee, please reach out to me. Thank you!
Welcome back from the summer – I hope to see you at an upcoming CNJG program, and at the CNJG 2023 Annual Meeting & Holiday Gathering on December 14.
Sincerely,
Theresa Jacks, President and CEO
Council of New Jersey Grantmakers