The EPIP Blog

Four Things We Learned From Emerging Post-Pandemic: Being a Future-Focused Leader Now

Recently, philanthropic futurist (and EPIP Minnesota chapter founder/former EPIP Board Chair) Trista Harris joined EPIP to talk about the ways that futurism can help the philanthropic sector imagine (and help create) the post-pandemic world.  The full talk is here but four pieces of wisdom that stuck with us were:

1) Stop loving the problem. Avoid making whatever problem or social issue that you’re trying to solve the sole focus of your work. Your discussions (both internally and with grantees) should be about what is being built in addition to what is being overcome.

2) Look for the future in the present. Make time to look at trends, best practices, and places where the changes you want to implement are already happening. You can always learn from the work of others.

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Coming Soon: EPIP Events in June

The struggle continues. And so does the work of philanthropy. Join EPIP and our chapters across the country for discussions of how to look towards the future, be inclusive in our online workspaces, heal ourselves, and understand our sector better, along with times to come together to share and connect with each other. 

Coming up in June (all times local as noted):

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Black Lives Matter

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Ahmaud Arbery. We speak their names, honoring their humanity and mourning their untimely and unjust deaths.

To those who are hurting, who are raising your voices, and who are actively fighting back against oppression, we see and support you. Black Lives Matter. Today and every day. And Black people deserve more than what this country has historically given them. 

Right now, I am feeling a multitude of emotions. Sadness. Anger. Frustration. Devastation. Exhaustion. These names - these people whose lives were stolen - are but the latest in a long list of Black lives taken unjustly. It is a list going back as long as this country’s history, when Black and Indigenous people were dehumanized, their bodies considered capital as their labor was extracted and their families separated, all to build the country we live in today. 

It is a list lengthened by the insidious systems of oppression, injustice, and racism that manifest time and time again into illness, poverty, lack of opportunity, and violence. It is a list that has seen the country through slavery and segregation, forced migration and redlining, the Trail of Tears, the Tulsa Massacre, and the school-to-prison pipeline. 

This is America. 

And while nothing we do can erase a single name from that list, we can and must honor their lives by working to destroy systematized racism and injustice. Below there are some things that you as philanthropic professionals can do. If ever there has been a time for philanthropy to wake up, it is now.

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What We've Been Reading: May 2020

A Note: After May's What We've Been Reading was compiled, EPIP released a statement - Black Lives Matter - which includes resources, reading, and action steps for those looking to stand up against racial injustice and police brutality.

That message is available here: Black Lives Matter. Please read, reflect, and act.


As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we continue to add to our COVID-19 resources page. This month, our newest resources include looks at ways that philanthropy could potentially evolve to address long-term big-picture issues…

...and a continued focus on the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color

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Upcoming May Chapter Events

As we all learn to connect in new ways, EPIP chapters around the country have been holding virtual programming to help build community, share knowledge, and model self-care. Over the last few months, chapters from LA to Philly have held virtual book club meetings and screenings, hosted coffee chats and happy hours, and created check-ins and webinars. And there's more to come! Click to learn more about each event - we hope to see you there.

Coming up in late May and early June (all times local as noted):

Also, for our members of color, please join EPIP on Thursday, May 21st at 7 PM Eastern for our People of Color Network Happy Hour.

 

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What We've Been Reading: April 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we continue to add to our COVID-19 resources page. Some new highlights include new looks at how COVID-19 (and philanthropy’s response to it) impact communities of color...

...what the philanthropic sector can learn from this crisis for the long-term…

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EPIP DC | Aspire For Better: "Back To Normal" Is A Terrible Goal

We are living in unprecedented times. To claim anything else would be to naively dismiss our new reality; however, to believe that we cannot come out of this pandemic stronger than before would be to allow fear and anxiety to shroud the great opportunity before us.

We are being exposed. The ugly truths that our nation has tried to hide are coming to light and, in the light, we can diagnose problems by name and collectively work towards their cure. We now see that our healthcare system is inadequate, that our country is too slow to respond to disasters, that we undervalue the workers who keep our country running, and that racial minorities have to inequitably deal with the consequences. 

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Announcing our 2020 Board Officers

We often say that EPIP is a leaderful organization, but that would not be possible without the leadership of our Board of Advisors. As we prepare to welcome a new slate of board officers and members, we wish to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the leaders who have served as stewards of our organization, bringing us to where we are today. Thank you to outgoing Board Chair Nakisha M. Lewis, Vice-Chair Janet I. Sandoval, and Secretary Morgan Shannon for your passion, dedication, and extraordinary service and to Caitlin Wagner Fisher and Bianca Alston, whose board terms ended late last year, for your guidance, support, and wisdom.

Under their leadership, the outgoing Board of Advisors was able to shepherd EPIP through organizational transitions and growth, all while maintaining a commitment to our strategic vision and values. And it must be noted that each of these leaders has contributed to our EPIP community well beyond their service as members of the Board of Advisors. Because of them, EPIP is well-positioned to continue its work to center equity and justice in all of our efforts.

As we now build upon the foundation that previous board members and officers have helped us to establish, it is our honor and privilege to announce EPIP’s new board officers for 2020. These changemakers have stepped into their roles without hesitation during a time of great uncertainty for the world as a whole. We are grateful to them and to the entire Board of Advisors for their leadership and support.

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EPIP DC | Incoming: Migration, Perspective, and the Power of Art

Migration, Perspective, and the Power of Art

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What We've Been Reading: March 2020

While much of what we have been reading and gathering this month relates to COVID-19 (and can be found on our special COVID-19 resources page here), including the following highlights...

...other newly-released reports from around the sector offer a picture of the existing philanthropic landscape...

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