SUMMARY

We develop trusting and generative partnerships with peer funders, subject matter experts, and ventures adjacent to the daily work of our grantees, recognizing that no challenging issue can be solved alone. We co-fund key initiatives, develop joint or templated processes, and share learnings and assets—all with particular attention to empowering those who have less access to the influence and authority that normally accompany wealth.

 

REDEMPTIVE OPPORTUNITIES

1. We invite nonprofit leaders and stakeholders from the community we serve to share their vision for the issue at hand and influence portfolio decisions, ensuring that our missional goals are aligned with the hopes and aspirations of those most affected by our allocation of capital. We recognize that those most proximate to the issue have the most to gain from our funding decisions—and the most instructive sensitivity to unintended exploitative effects.

2. We seek subject matter expertise beyond our own network to more fully understand the complexities and emerging solutions within each area of our mission. We explore ways to fund thinkers and researchers to broaden the field’s imagination for what’s possible. 

3. We partner with peer funders to develop shared application and reporting processes that encourage nonprofit leaders to apply to multiple gift opportunities in a lighter, less burdensome way.

4. We develop trusting and creative relationships with peer funders to build co-funding initiatives, making larger gifts available to ventures in need of catalytic growth funding. Before launching, we discuss with potential partners our respective mission and thesis statements to identify areas of non-negotiable and incompatible values or approaches. Collaborative funding helps us see the fuller spectrum of ventures, program models, and leaders in the space. 

5. We recruit individuals from outside philanthropy into the work of capital allocation with special attention to those underrepresented in the field. We creatively endeavor to shift greater levels of gift-making responsibilities to those with less historic access to capital—through community funds, apprenticeships, and professional development scholarships.