This post was authored by Chaletta Huertas, Program Officer at GMA Foundations, and appeared originally in the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s column, Voices from the Field.

Historically, only a small percentage of philanthropic dollars goes to communities of color, goes to organizations led by people of color, or comes from people of color.  For many people, the word ‘philanthropist’ itself conjures up images of elderly white gentlemen in business suits. Has this changed much in today’s society which some would call ‘post-racial’? 

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Leadership Lessons from Madiba, Newtown & Beyond: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest

Last weekend’s events were significant to many of us, myself included. The anti-apartheid and human rights leader, Nelson Mandela – known affectionately as Madiba – was laid to rest by the nation of South Africa. Closer to home, the small Connecticut town of Newtown grieved quietly and privately as our nation recognized the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.Globally, we’ve made progress toward improving the lives of the oppressed. I was fortunate to witness some of these gains firsthand during my travels to South Africa on the 10th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s election victory in 2004 and at soccer’s World Cup in 2010. The sense of accomplishment and unity across races was undeniable at both events. 

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This post was authored by Lydia Nylander, of the U.S. Department of Justice, who attended EPIP’s People of Color Network Gathering last month.

For me, November in Boston usually generates thoughts of unconscionable temperatures and an abrupt introduction to hypothermia. However, I can only feel that the unseasonable warm weather that greeted me at the EPIP People of Color Network (PCN) Gathering was a sign of how unorthodox my time at this session would turn out to be.

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This post was authored by Alison Hastings.  Alison is an urban planner, a food system thinker and a people person.  She's also an EPIP member in Philadelphia.

There’s no denying that we’re in the midst of the holiday season and earnest end-of-year donor appeals from many nonprofit organizations.  Of all of the holidays, Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. 

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This post was authored by Trish Tchume, Director of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN), and originally appeared on the YNPN Blog.

So it’s been about 9 months since you looked in your inbox and checked your Twitter feed, saw the words “Beans and Cornbread” for the first time, and thought:

“What the…?”

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Dear EPIP Friends, At this time of year, we all feel an overwhelming urge to show appreciation and give thanks to those in our families and communities who have given of themselves to make our lives a bit easier, a bit better, a bit nicer. We at EPIP give thanks to YOU for engaging with EPIP, taking ownership of your personal development, and making a difference in your communities. EPIP is a talent pipeline for social change efforts, but we’re only as successful as our members. And we are grateful for your efforts and successes in making the world a better place. If you haven’t already, we want you to make a commitment to #DoGood this holiday season. Read more

This post appears here as part of the EPIP-JAG blogging partnership, “Wit and Wisdom”. This year’s Hispanic Heritage Month prompted those of us at Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy to dig a little deeper into our history and acknowledge EPIP’s Latino roots and the contributions made by the Latino community to the field of philanthropy...

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On November 5th and 6th, EPIP held its People of Color Network Gathering (formerly, the Professional Development Fund or PDF) at Harvard University. For those of you who don't already know, PCN offers participants access to professional development training and intergenerational learning opportunities, with the intent of diversifying and retaining people of color within the sector. The content of the PCN gathering itself is three-fold: 1) personal connections to social justice work; 2) understanding structural racism; and 3) bringing this work back home. EPIP’s Executive Director, Rahsaan Harris, acted as lead facilitator, with additional support from Hehershe Busuego of The Boston Foundation.

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Sophia Guevara is an EPIP member in Michigan, a long time contributor to RE: Philanthropy, and the former chair of the Consortium of Foundation Libraries affinity group.  Here she shares four tips to help engender creative thought. Some of the best value that an early career professional can provide to an organization is their creativity and courage to try new things.  For those interested in improving their creativity, here are a few ideas to consider: 1. Regrets have no space in the mind of a creative Regret causes fear, and limits your ability to see opportunities.  With this mindset, you’re limited in identifying the connections that can be the key to an innovative solution.  Instead of working with regret, work with a mindset that focuses on lessons learned from each opportunity, whether a success or failure.  Also, be intentional about putting into practice the lessons you have learned.  Read more

Meet our newest coach to join our extraordinary roster of accomplished career and executive coaches: Edward González-Novoa. Eddie has spent the last 20 years developing leaders in education, youth development and community service. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and Masters degrees in Divinity and Education from Harvard. Read more