In Our Own Words

From Elyse Gordon, EPIP’s Director of Programs

Here in Seattle, where I’m lucky to call home, spring is in full gear. Our daffodils have come, the Skagit Valley is awash in tulips, and the lilacs are right around the corner. Spring always feeds my spirit, as I’m sure it does for many of you. It’s a time of renewal, yes, but also awakening. We're beginning to see the perks of what has been dormant through the winter.

At EPIP, this awakening to spring coincided with completing our first sold-out cohort for Philanthropology. In partnership with our Chicago EPIP chapter, we spent six virtual weeks with 40 emerging practitioners, digging deep into why and how to bring social justice and liberatory values into philanthropy through any role we hold. We dove into the history and implications of philanthropy’s wealth accumulation; we grappled with our institutions’ ability (or lack thereof) to meaningfully operationalize racial justice principles; and we started to chart our individual spheres of influence and growth areas.

More than anything, I was struck by how naturally our attendees built rapport, and how refreshing it was to have a ‘training’ be a space where folks could show up as their full selves, without the pressure of performing professionalism. We rocked out to Alanis Morisette and Jazmin Sullivan during our breaks, we built personal mission statements that felt identity and values aligned, we stretched, took deep breaths, and gave ourselves permission to look silly with our cameras off.

As one participant reflected on the impact of the program, they shared their amazement at, “how quickly community is built amongst like-minded people in a safe environment.” This is the power of EPIP - to find your people, build community, and continue to grow your own analyses and power.

With our next cohort launching in just a few days, I’m struck by how incredible our broader community is: eager to learn, connect and dig deep, as we commit to building a more just, equitable and sustainable world. Thank you for being along for the journey.

EPIP News

Register Today for our Upcoming Philanthropology™ Cohort!

Looking for a deeper grounding in the history and practice of philanthropy from a social justice lens? Join EPIP, in partnership with our Bay Area Chapter, for Philanthropology™, a 3-module curriculum offering an in-depth critical study of philanthropy, created for and informed by the next generation of inclusive grantmakers.

This 6-week virtual course runs once a week, every other week, for three sessions, leaving plenty of time for asynchronous work and testing out new ideas.

• Module 1: Philanthropy History, Ecosystem, and Evolution - May 5, 9:30 - 12:30 PST
• Module 2: Racial Equity, Advocacy and Policy in Grantmaking - May 12, 9:30 - 12:30 PST
• Module 3: Self-Advocacy and Personal Leadership - May 26, 9:30 - 12:30 PST

Click here to learn more and register today! Space is limited for this cohort.

Not a member yet? Click here to join the EPIP community and contact [email protected] with questions about accessing this program.

Join EPIP's People of Color Network (PCN) - May 4

Join our PCN spring gathering on May 4 at 3:00 pm ET. This session will revisit the peer coaching framework adapted from CompassPoint. Peer coaching is a confidential, peer-driven process to work through dilemmas that don't have easy solutions. Come to the session with a dilemma to share, and receive coaching from fellow members of the PCN. Click here to learn more and register today!

EPIP Communities of Practice are designed for EPIP members. Not a member yet? Visit our membership page to learn more.

Chapter News & Events

Keep an eye on our events page for opportunities to connect with your local and national philanthropic community!

EPIP Bay Area | Article Club: Philanthropy and the Solidarity Economy - May 3

Join EPIP Bay Area’s Article Club on May 3 at 4:30 p.m. PT. This virtual event will be focused on learning about the report, “Solidarity Not Charity: A Rapid Report” by Grantmakers in the Arts, and how the philanthropic sector can participate in a shift from market-based economics to the Solidarity Economy in grantmaking and internal practices. Click here to learn more and register.

EPIP LA | Lunch With a Leader: Cathy Cha - May 6

Join EPIP LA May 6 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. PT for our second Lunch with a Leader of 2022! Cathy Cha, President & CEO of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, will join us for an intimate and informal conversation to discuss leadership, her career path, and the philanthropic sector. Click here to register.

EPIP CO | Spotlight on Community Giving - May 18

Join your colleagues on May 18 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. MT to learn about hyper-local methods of collective giving and grantmaking including affinity groups, giving circles, and giving book clubs. Hear from representatives from LatinasGive!, Left Behind Workers Fund, and The Denver Foundation's Strengthening Neighborhoods. Click here to learn more and register!

EPIP MN | Coffee - May 19

Join your fellow EPIPers May 19 from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. CT to discuss hot topics in philanthropy. This is a casual virtual event. You can prepare by simply reflecting on what you are observing in your organization, in philanthropy generally, or questions you want to discuss with colleagues. Click here to register.

The Latest in Philanthropy

Movement to End Philanthropy’s Complicity in Anti-Blackness

Three organizations, Chicago Beyond, Grand Victoria Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, recently announced the launch of Abundance, a movement dedicated to shifting how philanthropic dollars are allocated to Black-led and Black-centered organizations. Philanthropic organizations that join the Abundance movement will commit to significantly raising their annual payout to Black-led work by the start of 2025, with growth year after year. Click here to learn more and explore how you can get involved!

Grants Against Anti-democratic Attacks on Public Education

The Schott Foundation for Public Education and its partners, Race Forward and NYU’s Metro Center, recently announced the first 5 grants of a united organizing effort to defend against anti-democratic attacks on public education and invest in a proactive, offensive strategy for racial justice reform in our public education system. 

The Invest Together Fund is the grantmaking vehicle and a sister initiative to Race Forward’s H.E.A.L. Together initiative. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Schusterman Foundation are all key investors in the fund. Learn about the first round of grantees here.

We Give Summit hosted by Philanthropy Together

Join Philanthropy Together May 11 to 14 for the We Give Summit — a celebration of collective giving! During this virtual event, giving circle members from around the world will gather virtually to reimagine the future of collective giving as we celebrate innovation and explore ways to charge forward together. You’ll hear from dozens of speakers including Vu Le of Nonprofit AF, Cheryl Dorsey of Echoing Green, and Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink.

Virtual Registration Still Open for GEO's 2022 Conference

Click here to join colleagues across the country from May 16 to 18. Attendees will explore challenges and uncover solutions with fellow grantmakers who are continuing to lean into transformational change in order to create a just, connected and inclusive society where we can all thrive.

What We're Reading, Watching & Listening to

• “Your “Autism Awareness Day” Might Be Excluding Autistic People,” shares feedback on how to replace performative awareness efforts with more meaningful ways to celebrate and include the autistic community.
• Research in this article, “The financial services industry is overwhelmingly white. It’s time to change that,” states, “You cannot raise money from—or grow business relationships with—people you do not see.”
• This Inside Philanthropy article highlights ways Yvonne Moore Maximizes Philanthropy’s Potential to Do Good - pulling from wisdom gained watching how Black women in her family showed up in their communities and grounded their everyday philanthropy in an ethic of care and shared responsibility.
• Meet The Black Queer And Trans Women Making History With Radical Approaches Toward Nonprofit Work. Shout out to former EPIP Board Chair, Nakisha M. Lewis!
• This article from The Center for Effective Philanthropy says, “Leadership Development Programs Need an Upgrade,” and shares Five Ways to Advance Racial Equity.
• NPQ's new release, “When Blackness Is Centered, Everybody Wins: A Conversation with Cyndi Suarez and Dax-Devlon Ross,” explores what it means to bring pro-Black values into the philanthropic sector.

Have something new on your reading list? Is there a resource you'd like the EPIP community to know about? Let us know at [email protected] and we may include it in a future newsletter.

Job Board

Looking for a new opportunity?

The positions below are just the beginning. Check our Job Board for more opportunities from around the country!

• Grants Manager, Howard Gilman Foundation - New York, NY
• Executive Coordinator and Secretary to the Board, Philanthropy New York - New York, NY
• Development Coordinator, Hispanics in Philanthropy - Remote (Denver, New York, Miami)
• Program Officer, The Coleman Foundation - Chicago, IL
• Program Administrative Assistant, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Princeton, NJ
• Senior Philanthropic Advisor, The Philanthropic Initiative, The Boston Foundation - Boston, MA
• Program Associate, Wellspring Philanthropic Fund - Washington, D.C.
• Grants Assistant, California Community Foundation - Los Angeles
• Accountant, The California Wellness Foundation - Los Angeles

Want to explore the Job Board's filters and special features? Log in to your member account or join EPIP today!

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