Welcome to the Kleinert Foundation Weekly Reader! Each Monday, we deliver a variety of resources to help keep our community informed and engaged.
Articles, Blogs, & Reports
Learning from Two Decades of Grantee Relationships By: Center for Effective Philanthropy, Emily Young
“The importance of strong funder-grantee relationships isn’t a new concept, of course. For two decades, the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) has worked with funders to assess and improve the strength of their relationships — and most recently advocated for funders to “listen well and listen differently to their grantees” in order to rise to the needs of the current moment. Members of the peer-to-peer initiative Trust-Based Philanthropy encourage funders to proactively work toward “a more equitable nonprofit-funder ecosystem.”
Over the last two decades, the Legler Benbough Foundation, a spend-down funder based in San Diego that will close its doors in 2021, developed “trust-based grantee relationships” as the cornerstone of its work. Their experience suggests that the more funders can learn directly from the people they are trying to help, the more access they will have to community-identified needs and solutions — resulting, ultimately, in greater impact and a deeper bond.
This work is not always easy, but perseverance makes a difference, as a new series of case studies on the Foundation’s practices — along with an upcoming book — based on accounts from Foundation staff, grantees, and fellow funders, reveals.
Here’s what the Foundation learned from two decades of relationship-building with grantees and stakeholders in the communities they sought to strengthen.” Read more here.
A Funder’s Learnings on Nonprofit Founder Transitions By: SSIR, Anne Marie Burgoyne
“The unknowns that come with having someone new at the helm of an organization can generate anxiety and complexity during any leadership transition. Staff members wonder whether the new leader will change strategy, tactics, or the organizational chart. Board members ask themselves and one another what stewardship and governance might feel like with a new leader. Funders re-examine their commitment, and how much the organization’s mission and model—versus the founder’s thought leadership, social network, and/or social capital—drives their investment energy.
Founder transitions can seem particularly risky. Founders typically bring a high level of raw energy to their work, as well as distinct, personal resources like people, money, and community access. All of this draws in supporters and energizes the organization. And because founders helped place every brick in the building, they know its weak and strong spots, and often have an intuition about the organization or its work that helps guide effective decision making.” Read more here.
Home Goods that Do Good By: Cause Consumer, Mai Zahrat
“It’s not every walk home from school that carries the potential to completely re-fashion a life — much less sixteen lives and counting. But for Jenny Nuccio, those after-school walks in Kenya were the genesis of a holistic lifestyle brand designed to lift up women in every area of their lives.
Back in 2013, at a local church service in Texas, Jenny had learned about an NGO that was starting a school near the port city of Mombasa. Jumping at the chance to help develop a child sponsorship program, she arrived in Kenya and got to know each student while fulfilling her daily responsibility of walking them to their homes.
As she tried to best determine each child’s individual needs, Jenny frequently struck up conversations with their moms at the door. It wasn’t difficult to trace a generational connection: The same kids she saw floundering at school belonged to women who struggled to provide for their families at home.
In the Mombasa region, about 84% of girls enroll in primary school, but nearly one-third drop out before completing the 8th grade. With 46% of Kenyans living on less than $1.90 per day, many families struggle to finance schoolbooks and uniforms, leaving their children with little opportunity for learning a trade that could provide income above hawking fruit for pennies a day” Read more here.
How to Assemble an Inclusive Grant Committee By: PEAK Grantmaking, Marc Schultz
“To Drive Equity in grantmaking, those we serve – and those we aspire to serve – need a seat at the table where decisions are made. An external review committee that’s diverse, inclusive, and influential drives grantmaking decisions that are both more equitable and better informed as to the issues, and the solutions, under consideration.
As a grantmaking professional, committee-building may not yet be in your (ever-expanding) repertoire. That’s why PEAK put together the member-exclusive guide How to Recruit and Onboard Diverse and Inclusive Grant Committees, along with How to Facilitate Inclusive Meetings for hands-on meeting management guidance.
Here are a few tips for getting your committee started, taken from How to Recruit and Onboard Diverse and Inclusive Grant Committees.” Read more here.
Podcasts
Philanthropy 360 Episode 15: Building New Tables, Part 1
“Errika Flood-Moultrie and Froswa Booker-Drew, Black female leaders in the local nonprofit sector, share a candid conversation about the need to make space for, amplify the voices of, and value Black women in philanthropic and nonprofit work. ” Listen here.
“This year has brought many societal issues to light, and many brands have responded by showing their support on social media and other marketing channels. But how do brands show that their support isn’t simply virtue signaling or performative, but the real deal?
Tribe Alive is an ethical fashion brand that rapidly grew - from supporting 4 female makers in Honduras to sustainably employing 350 artists and partners in 5 different countries. With 85% of the world’s garment workers being women, typically in unsafe conditions and poverty, Tribe Alive is dedicated to sustainability and social consciousness throughout their entire supply chain. Their employees work in safe and meaningful work environments, are given opportunities to grow, and are treated with dignity and respect.
Founder and CEO Carly Burson is driven by activism, social enterprise and impact consumerism as a medium to empower women. Today she shares how her company achieves this, plus her top 3 tips on authentically showing up for social justice issues as a brand leader or business owner.” Listen here.
Upcoming Events
Texas Women's Foundation 35th Annual Luncheon
September 29, 2020 | 12:00 pm CST
“We invite you for a seat at our table for this virtual experience on September 29th at 12 PM CST where we will enjoy thoughtful dialogue and how to take action we need to Build a Better Texas for All! Your participation is an investment in the economic security and leadership potential of women and girls, and an investment in the economic stability and future of Texas.” Learn more here.
Wed, Oct 28, 2020, 11:00 AM -Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 12:00 PM
“Building systems that are equitable for women and people of color expands prosperity for everyone. The opportunities for human-centered design, innovation and impact that will take us there are unprecedented. But even as there are growing reasons to hope, we must commit to reform through principles, policies, and practices that level the playing field and create opportunity. bigBANG! 2020 will lift up rightful disruption and its methods to dismantle injustice and intentionally rework and rebuild systems that provide equal opportunity for all people to participate with dignity in the economic life of our society.” Learn more here.
From Dallas Doing good
A New Home for Austin Street Center and the Community It Serves By: Mary Martin
“If you stand at the entrance of the Austin Street chapel, with its bell house and Spanish tile roof, and look out across the street, you will see the future home of the Austin Street Center for Community Engagement. This brand new, 60,000 square foot campus will not only provide the much needed space for Dallasites who are making the transition from homelessness to permanent housing, but will also create space for expanded holistic programs like medical respite care, mental health care, and personalized case management for job and housing assistance. With just $3 million left to raise in order to meet their $15 million capital campaign goal, the Austin Street team is planning a groundbreaking at the end of 2020, and to open brand new doors at the end of 2021.” Read more here.
From The Liberty Line Newsletter
Concerns over apps leading to human trafficking By: News 4 Nashville, Rebecca Cardenas
“By now, you're familiar with Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok. Every social media app comes with its own risks, but many of the ones that pose the greatest danger to your children, you've likely never heard of.
"Probably just lesser known to older folks," Margie Quin explained. She's the CEO of End Slavery Tennessee, a 26-year law enforcement veteran, and the mother to a 14-year-old. "If you won’t let your kids go out and play on Interstate-40 or Interstate-65 in rush hour, you shouldn’t let them play on the internet either," she said.” Read more here.
September Book of the Month
Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison SystemBy: Cyntoia Brown-Long
“In her own words, Cyntoia Brown shares the riveting and redemptive story of how she changed her life for the better while in prison, finding hope through faith after a traumatic adolescence of drug addiction, rape, and sex trafficking led to a murder conviction.
Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she committed at the age of sixteen. Her case became national news when celebrities and activists made the hashtag #FreeCyntoia go viral in 2017. She was granted full clemency after having served fifteen years, walking out a free woman on August 7, 2019. This is her story, in her own words.” Purchase a book here.
September Product of the Month
The Worthy Co. - Londyn Earring
These earrings were handmade by women survivors of trafficking in Fort Worth, TX and 100% of every purchase employs and empowers them. To purchase a pair, visit The Worthy Co.
By: Hannah Rabalais, Program Officer