For years movement leaders have explained the complexity and uniqueness of movement ecosystems and strategies, which often run counter to the culture and practice of institutional philanthropy. The habits and tactics in philanthropy, coupled with the power of funding, can hinder movements. Philanthropic funding can create demand that overemphasizes certain strategies, make movements less radical, or create unnecessary competition. 

This plenary will explore the unique and effective qualities of social justice movements, the challenges, and opportunities of philanthropic involvement in movements, and how actors in institutional philanthropy can emulate movements’ habits to shift our sector.

Women of color are building mass power for large-scale social change. They are leading the way for all of us in ending gender-based violence, establishing a more representative democracy, fighting for native rights and the lives of Black trans women.  Hear from some of the most visionary leaders of today’s movements for justice. 

Migrant justice is impacted by a history of systemic oppression of people of color, women, LGBTQI and indigenous folks. The basic presence of brown and black folks in the US has been both delegitimized and made illegal for centuries. Pro-migrant, pro-refugee, pro-asylum movements offer a foundational lens for all of our work. And while anti-immigrant, white supremacist and Islamophobic hatred dominates the headlines today, this work far pre-dates 2016 and must continue no matter who occupies the House, Senate or Oval Office in 2020.  

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In this plenary, grassroots organizers will graciously offer their expertise, and we will explore what it means for anyone in philanthropy to strengthen their respective place in this movement ecosystem, from grants and assets to funders’ public voice and power. 

An alarming surge in organized bigotry has posed major impediments to those working at in progressive racial and social justice movements and has been effective in terrorizing our communities and furthering anti-democratic practices that threaten us all.  Hateful rhetoric has been weaponized and deployed by Far Right groups and their media outlets, as well as those at the highest levels of our government, to delegitimize, disenfranchise, and discriminate against our communities in tragic and deadly ways. 

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Activists working to advance racial justice, LGBTQ justice, Indigenous rights, immigrant and refugee rights, or to counter Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, or anti-Semitism will share what they are seeing as most critical for resistance, coalition-building, cultural/narrative/political shifts, and importantly, longer term structural transformation that supports a truly inclusive and pluralistic democracy. We will lift up ways funders can most effectively support the efforts to combat rising hate, White Nationalism, White Supremacy and authoritarianism as defined by and led-by those most impacted. 
 

Whether in philanthropy or in the corporate sector, multiple studies have found that strategic plans, benchmarks, and logic models all fail to yield results if organizational culture is not addressed. Yet recent research from CHANGE partners shows that philanthropic institutions are still struggling to build organizational cultures that advance equity and social justice. 

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Our closing plenary will equip you with concrete data, tools, and real-life case studies for catalyzing change at your institution to advance diversity, equity, and social justice. CHANGE partners will share recent research on trends in diversity and analysis of organizational culture challenges in the sector. A panel of philanthropic leaders--from program officers to chief executives--will share stories of the obstacles, opportunities, and successes they encountered in catalyzing change at their institutions. From fellowships and trainings to establishing equity-focused funding initiatives, we will explore with nuance which strategies work in which unique contexts for making institutional change a reality.