Contributors
Change Isn’t Just for Everyone Else
Even though it’s hot out
and New York City is fairly empty, there’s still a lot going on over here at the Funding Exchange — but the flurry of activity may not be obvious, so I’m writing this blog to keep our allies, friends and supporters in the loop.
There are big talks going on within Funding Exchange right now, as our board discusses what role we should take as an organization in the future. In the late 70’s, the leaders who started Funding Exchange were interested in funding racial justice, feminist organizing as well as funding newly forming LGBTQ communities, and work against war. Back then, this was not what a “nice” foundation did. But we did it, and we did it well, seeding work that has changed the society we live in, and the context for political struggle.
Now, here we are, and it’s nearly 35 years later. Philanthropy has changed. Our band of foundations has grown and grown, and some of the funds in it have grown, well, to be powerhouses, giving away millions of dollars a year and making a significant difference in their local geographies.
And how the network needs to come together has changed. When FEX was started, people who were working to change philanthropy were so hungry – almost desperately hungry – for a place to convene, to meet, and to strategize on how to change a big system that was not going to change itself. And for decades, Funding Exchange has fulfilled that role. But now in 2012, people interested in our brand of justice philanthropy have multiple institutions to choose from to connect with peers. Our board has representatives from foundations that make grants in almost 20 states, and in many cases they have local peers they work with. The field has changed, and our role in it needs to changes as well.
The Funding Exchange board has been in conversation about determining a new role for the Funding Exchange with plans to engage the larger FEX community in dialogue this fall. The Board is in the lead while the staff is providing support and also continuing to carry out our current commitments. But overall Funding Exchange’s role that was called for in our early decades may no longer fit. So what’s next for Funding Exchange? That’s the question we’re working on answering.
At some point I anticipate that there will be a role for you, all the community members who have invested heart, thought, time, money and effort in this organization — all the people who have invested in a movement to turn philanthropy from just charity into a force for change.
If you have thoughts at any point, I welcome your input as an ally in this work. You can either comment on this post, or send me a message.
There’s more to come. And we will work to keep you informed.
I want to thank the Funding Exchange for your continued support. The down-turn in the economy from a few years ago and the very intense political climate we are in has forced non profits to make sure they were transparent,financially stable and had forward thinking polices and procedures to guide our organizations to the future. One of the biggest problems I am seeing is how to properly communicate our messae as a non profit in this political environment. Our County Commision threw out our comprehensive plan last week. I was one of only seven that spoke in favor of the plan and over 30 spoke against the plan using Agenda 21, government conspiracies, Marxism and other foolish remarks to have a plan that was voted one of the best in the Country rescinded by our new (2 years and counting) County Commission. In addition to this this group is in the process of rewriting our County Subdivision regulations and they want to eliminate the Counties Planning and Zoning Board. Baldwin County is the larges County East of the MS River and it is composed of over 300,000 acres of wetlands. The County also has some of the whitest sand beaches in the country and the second largest river delta in the country. The county commission already dissolved the environmental section of the planning and zoning department and merged the planning department with the highway department. My point is that these actions are not going to slow down my work in protecting the natural resources of coastal Alabama and providing assistance and support to the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. If anything we will pick up the pace.
Another hot topic in our service area is climate change. We have to utilize the term coastal resiliency and focus on particular parts of climate change ex sea level rise and the occurence of additional storm events.
We are having to be very careful how we communicate to our audience. I am including our elected officals when I say that.
I feel that non profits are going to have to pay special attention to messaging techniques. This could allow the organizations to be able to communicate their mission in a more effective way. This would not have to be done if we were not in this unusual political environment. It appears that there are many private citizens that are literally upset at society and how our country is being managed. The downside is they are looking at this from a very one sided opinion.
I would not say this if I had not encountered all of the animosity at the Baldwin County Commission meeting last week.
We are working with others to raise awareness of Alabama’s Forever Wild Land Trust Program. This program is up for a renewal vote during the Presidential election in November. The program could have been reauthorized by the legislator but certain groups opposed a program that had protected over 230,000 of ecologically sensitve land and provided public access to families that may have not been able to access these lands when they were privately owned. The program utilizes a percentage of the State of Alabama natural oil and gas royalties to fund the acquisition and stewardshp of the properties.
In closing I think non profit capacity building, the establishment of non profit collaborative efforts and increasing the level of education about effective messaging approaches that can be succesful in the Southeast could be areas to focus on in your work in the Southeast region of the United States. We have had the company water words that work conduct messaging workshops on the topic of climate change.
I apologize for being long winded and wish you a successful transition to your new office location.
Working for conservation,
Walter Ernest
Executive Director
Weeks Bay Foundation
Thanks Walter, for your comments. There are certainly important issues for the progressive public foundations to consider. And in this election year, my fear is that funding for these issues will be diverted to pay for high cost political campaigns rather than for the grassroots change (and even essential direct service work) that we must have. I write about this a bit in my July blog – http://fex.org/blog/november-7 – take a look and let me know what you think. We also agree that working to build capacity in our sector is essential. In fact, this year through our Social Justice Collaboration grants, we funded the work of forming collaborative efforts across sector, issue and geography; not the programmatic outcomes, but the hard work of bringing people to the table and working through the issues to be able to sustain these tables beyond an organizing campaign. I appreciate your input. In community, Barbara
I worked at the Funding Exchange from 1988 – 1991, as Special Projects Director, doing communications, trainings, and special events like the 10th Anniversary Celebration and Report (that long poster of buttons in the hallway is the report cover.)
Because of the network, we received grant proposals from all over the country, and knew about the various issues supported locally by member funds. It gave FEX a unique perspective on the state of local progressive organizing around the country, and often we were able to see trends and issues as they were emerging, before they became visible nationally.
I urged FEX to consider publishing occasional White Papers or similar discussion documents, to share these insights, both to reinforce local activities and to introduce these issues to other funders. No-one else was doing anything like it, and I thought this could offer strategic leadership in progressive philanthropy based on the strong FEX reputation.
It was disappointing that we didn’t do it at the time. Now, with all the digital tools available to publish and distribute commentary, this would be very easy to do. Progressive philanthropy has changed tremendously in two decades, but this type of analysis is still is not being done, and I still believe this could be an important contribution by FEX.
Nan Rubin
Community Media Services
NYC
Nan, thanks for your note. Over the past two years, we’ve tried to pick up the mantle of providing important donor and stakeholder education. I hope you’ve taken time to participate in our public calls — for example on Housing Justice and On Citizens United. Read more about these calls here and here. We agree with you that this is an important role FEX can play. Thanks for your input! In community, Barbara