Community Foundations: Equity and Impact

Hello, everyone. This is George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute. And I'm Amanda Novello, Senior Policy and Research Analyst at Commonfund Institute. And this is Espresso Chats, a podcast by Commonfund Institute where we deliver short, strong shots of governance and leadership insight. Since we at Commonfund Institute work directly with community foundations, and because community foundations play such an important role in communities, especially now it's a lot of communities in there but that's the focus it is a perfect time for us to be joined by Shannon Polk, President and CEO, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and Doctor. Jocelynne Rainey, President and CEO of Brooklyn Org. Thanks so much Shannon and Jocelynne for joining us. Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us. Absolutely, and thank you for being here. Let's jump right in. Can you tell us a little bit about your organizations, maybe provide a high level view of size, scale, mission, strategy, etc, etc? And Shannon, I'll start with you. Sure. So at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, we have been around for the past sixty one years, really focusing on how we improve economic mobility and the quality of life for the residents of Washtenaw County. Now, a lot of community foundations, our structure is such where we only have about twenty percent of our assets in donor advised funds, which means we have more unrestricted capital that allows us to be really responsive and flexible to community needs. So right now we're in the fourth year of a four year strategic plan, which is prioritized impact investing, community scholarship program, really how do we help students get their college degree, that four year degree. We're focusing on healthy and fulfilling aging because in Washtenaw County, we are expecting one third of the population to be fifty five plus in the next three years. And then we are focused on economic empowerment. I heard it said this way by one of our amazing philanthropic leaders that we live in a capitalist society, whether you like that or not. And if we're not helping people make money, we're not really helping them. So economic mobility, economic empowerment is very important for us. And then finally, racial equity. In part because when we look across the demographics and the statistics for this community, wherever we look, whether it's education, healthcare, quality of life, and all the factors, we still see where people of African and Latinx descent are faring less than their peers. And so we work to help close those gaps. Thanks so much Shannon. Jocelynne, I'll hand it over to you. Please tell us about the good work at Brooklyn Org. It's so interesting. So Brooklyn Org is, was formerly Brooklyn Community Foundation, a foundation that is focused on Brooklyn and racial justice. We went through a rebranding two years ago where we really want to deepen our impact and our work around being a community led community foundation. So we do all of our grant making and most of our work with community involvement. Our grant making is a participatory process which includes advisors from the community that have been impacted by the issues so that they can tell us where we, where our, where our grants would be best used in community. We're really proud of that approach because we believe that you know those who are closest to the problem are the ones who can find the solutions. We are not the ones who know what's happening on the ground, they do. It is a paid process which I'm also proud of but as we transition to Brooklyn org, one of the things that we thought about as we thought about this deepening connection is how do we bring everyone to the table. Unlike Shannon, our foundation has been around for twenty years which is significant but it's not the same but like Shannon's foundation we are also half, we're not twenty percent but we're half DAS, half our strategic, our assets which allow us to do more strategic grant making than many, community foundations and I'm really proud of that because that means that we have the opportunity through the work that we do by listening and being in community to be able to make that funding goes to where it's the most needed. So can I just jump in? I want to highlight something that Jocelynne raised. So one of the things about our economic empowerment work is around how we fund participation. Right? Because oftentimes the people who've been sitting around the table to make the decisions are there because they have the financial capital to be able to take that time off work. Maybe they're not required to work as a part of their well-being. So they're able to spend time making decisions. And so just like at the Brooklyn Org, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, we make sure we've got those community voices at the table, even if that means that we are subsidizing their transportation needs, if we are subsidizing and paying them for their time because maybe they're missing work in order to participate, because we know how valuable those voices are. And that's part of the community leadership framework that many community foundations are using, that was really promoted by CF LEADS, by looking at how we amplify community voices. We can't do this work to people and do it without them at the table. And so we're always looking at how we amplify their needs, their concerns, their hopes, their dreams, by making sure that they are a part of that process all the way through. And it's really interesting, I want to highlight something else, and that is the impact investing work. Because with our impact investing work, oftentimes, you know, community foundations were required to put out that four point five, zero point seven percent of our assets. But with the impact investing work, that allows us to look at our corpus and say, what can we do with the other ninety five percent? How do we activate that? And through that, we've been able to create housing in communities that had not had new housing development in fifty years. Yeah. We have been able to invest where capital was not automatically flowing. And it's really important because we're talking about undoing years, decades, centuries of injustice, which requires us to use different financial tools in order to be able to do that. Because there are areas where capital doesn't flow, even with philanthropic institutions. And so we did a study, we're very data driven, and what it showed was that the places where capital wasn't flowing were places like housing, childcare, which we know is absolutely critical, and then small business development. Because oftentimes black and brown people weren't able to receive loans at the same rate as their peers. And we know how business ownership, home ownership are critical to achieving the American dream of financial stability and success. Yeah. I mean, are the engines towards real wealth, right? Like making sure that, you know, folks have what they need. And I, and I want to, you know, just go back to when you said Shannon about economic development. One of the things that was really important to me when I came on board is that we start talking about economic development and we make that part of our giving strategy because, you know, not attaching people to the labor market is really going to do a disservice to the long term, to the long term outcomes for those communities. So I'm so glad that you said that because I think you can't do one with the other, the other. I tell folks, you know, Brooklyn is Brooklyn. So, it's a, it's a community thing. But I want folks to be able not to only stay in their houses, right. Or in their apartments. I want them to be able to move or buy a house as well. So I think that that focus on economic development is so crucial when you're doing racial justice and social justice work is that you're not just doing the advocacy, work and the, and the, and all of the other work around, like making sure that folks are, they have what they need. It's like, how do we go beyond that? And it's really important. And one of the things that we've done in, again, you know, George was part of this before I came on board is that we moved to a values aligned investment, strategy. We're really getting close. We're not as far along as you are, but we're really getting close to that. Being able to do real impact investment in our community. So right now we're doing only impact investing. So that's all we do. But now for me, it's like in the next few years, how do we start to support small businesses, small businesses owned by marginalized communities? How do we start to do that? Because that is really what's going to be the generator of opportunity for our communities. Brooklyn is a borough of small businesses and small businesses are where the job creation is in Brooklyn. And so we need to figure out how do we support those small businesses so that they can support employees so they can make opportunities for future generations. So this impact investment model is truly, it's so important, but it's also beyond that because it's like how you live your mission. If you're not doing impact investing, then are you truly living your mission? And I think the answer would be no, right? If you're not keeping a close eye on where the money is going and how it is supporting communities, then the answer would be no. So I'm really proud of the fact that we have also in the last couple years, moved to that model as well. I think that's Sorry, can I jump in? I just want to I want to focus on the financial aspect of this story and that and what you were just saying is a perfect segue to this question because I know that community foundations are doing all this amazing work and pulling all the levers they can, but they're also feeling the increasing cost of operations, the federal budget cuts, the increasing demand for services across the board, across all these issue areas. And I think it leads to an uncertainty and a broad concern about nonprofits ability to meet their missions. So I just wanted to ask you if you could share some practical strategies either within your own organizations or those you partner with that have been successful in mitigating this kind of mission risk, this ability to meet your mission? Yeah, I will say we just did a survey and nonprofits have said just that. They've said that they are really struggling with affordability within their own organizations and being able to get the goods and service, the goods that they need in order to do the services. They're also saying that there's a ninety percent increase of the number of people who are actually coming for services now and they're suffering and they've sixty percent of the nonprofits have lost funding. So there is this, like this real crunch around how do we do the work that we need to do. And we also, and we're also losing funding at the same time. I think that as, as our, this is like, it's been ten years of this and I know Shannon has felt the same way. I mean, you know, had the Muslim ban, we had COVID and then we had, we had George Floyd, like so much has happened that the nonprofits have been impacted with. So we're kind of still like, I think that we're flying the train, the plane as we're building it because we're still thinking like right now we're thinking about snap benefits. Like how do we support in this time when you know the federal government has made such a, has created such a huge gap. What I will say is that some of the work that we've been doing back to like just building capacity is that we've been kind of acting as advocates to the city and the state for funding for nonprofits and really bringing them in into the conversation with the nonprofits in order to figure out like how they can support them more. We've seen some movement in that way as well. We've also have done things like really build and strengthen our relationships with other foundations across the city, that are, that are supporting, nonprofits to think about like, we pool our funding in order to do more? Like I said, we created this micro grant program, in order to support the longer non, the smaller non profits that are, that are working with, working with communities. And we've also taken a bigger drawdown, like we just had to take a bigger drawdown in order to do some of this work and we're doing a campaign, so that we could do twenty five percent more, funding as well. But, really supporting our nonprofits in like introductions and, and helping them to like be helping them to build their networks has been something that we've been doing across the whole four years that I've been here because we realize that we're not going to be able to fill every single gap. Certainly. And picking up on that same theme, so we started doing webinars for our DAF holders to explain to them where the need was to begin to activate them because community foundations oftentimes have some dormant DAF funds. And so we were looking at how we activate them and get them excited and make sure they're not waiting to the end of the year to give that gift. But here's where you need to make impact now. We introduced non endowed funds as a new product for many of those nonprofits that said, boy, we feel a little nervous about putting our money into the endowment. But if you can give us a product that's going to give us a higher rate of return, then we definitely want to make sure that we're investing with you. And then the other thing that we've done is we have worked to help those nonprofits think through their business model by providing additional funding, whether that's funding for, you know, thinking through their capacity. But there are some other funders in town that are doing the same thing. We are convening funders to think about who can play what role to support this because we know we can't do it ourselves. We are looking at how we help some of those nonprofits, work with some donors who care deeply about them to include them in their plan giving for their agency endowment, as well as how we begin to help them get activated around what other development strategies they can employ. In addition to that, we've worked very closely with our regional association, the Council of Michigan Foundations, to see how we throughout Michigan begin to advocate differently, both on the state level as well as on the federal level, to make sure that people are understanding the role that philanthropy plays in these communities. That we are helping to create jobs ourselves and when we're funding the nonprofits, one of the most challenging things for me was to sit with nonprofit leaders and hear them say, because of the cuts, we are doing we are slashing salaries across the board so that we don't have to lay anybody off. To hear them talking about how I've had to lay off x number of people since the beginning of the year, and I expect because of these cuts, we're gonna lay off even more. We are rallying nonprofits to talk about how the SNAP benefit cuts are going to impact those that are most that are suffering the most, both in the rural and in the urban communities, to see how we can help spread information more broadly, our communication tools to amplify that, as well as thinking about just how we're going to have to grow. Because in our community, aren't a lot of institutional philanthropic organizations that are prepared to meet the need for these nonprofits. So we are looking at how we stand. I've been talking about it with my team, with other peers, is that there was an article written by Andy Crouch, former editor of Christianity Day, where you said asked the question during COVID, is this an ice storm or is this an ice age? Because if this is an ice storm, then we just have to just weather out a little bit in a few months, it'll be fine. But if it's an ice age, it means that there is a fundamental shift in the way that the sector is going to have to operate. And for me, there's been a fundamental shift in the social contract between public and private, between philanthropy and other institutions. And so we have to shift how we're showing up in a new way. I am feeling ice age ice I'm feeling ice age or an ice storm. That is a perfect analogy and I just want to just say that, some of the work you're doing around, donor advised funds, and I want to say this for the audience so they know that that's a lot of what we're doing now is engaging our donor advised holders in a more meaningful way and bringing them information about nonprofits and when someone is struggling putting that out to the nonprofits and it's newer to us to start to have become more of a counsel to our our Deaf holders. Matchmaker right, in a different way. Yeah, exactly. I wanna so love every gem that was dropped by both of you. And we're gonna have to figure out how to make this like a series. You both need your own, or maybe you all should like spin off and do your own podcast. I mean, I'm just already thinking. I mean, you guys are already thinking that I I wanna do a webinar with me and Shannon. Yes. Yes. We are here for we we are we we are thought leadership matchmakers if anything. I do wanna hold space for hope, joy, aspiration, so I want to give you both maybe thirty seconds each just to talk about, you know, challenges abound, but there also are exciting opportunities to organize, galvanize, and and mobilize people. So talk to us about what's exciting you in your role right now or just in the field more broadly. Give us a little bit of hope, little bit of aspiration. So there are a couple of things that are bringing me joy. You know, as saddened as I am about the federal cuts, what this means is that there are some really smart people that are about to come into our sector in new ways and I am excited about the energy they bring, the hope they bring, the different perspective. We were able to hire one of these amazing people and the way that she's making connections in the rural communities, I mean, I am jazzed about that. I'm also hopeful because I had a gathering of all of my former board chairs, and as I listened to them talk about the incremental growth and the legacy that we're building on and how hopeful they were and how they were bared to be ambassadors about our work, as well as they were saying to us, and hold the line. When we started this, sixty years ago, and they each talked about when they came in, they said, we wanted to be that permanent home for community capital. We want you to be the philanthropic hub of Washtenaw County. And so know that we're here to support that and to hear those major donors and key influence and stakeholders say, we love the work and we want to see more of it. That gives me hope because there are people out there who have the means to give, want to give, and they want to make a difference. They want to see change. And so that puts wind in my sails. Awesome. Jocelynne, what about you? I think all the things around, you know, this moment and is that Shannon spoke about, I also think I feel extremely privileged that this is the work I'm doing right now. You know that there is people who are working in jobs where they are not aligned with their personal passions and I am doing something where it is aligned with my personal passions and I feel like that is a blessing that I think I took for granted, before this very moment. I feel as though I am just overwhelmed by the support of our community and I mean our donor community and just how much people really care about people. I think in the sector, I've just been, you know, I'm newer to the sector, I've been overwhelmed by the support of my peers in every meeting I have like this one with Shannon and with other leaders in the sector has been one of learning and sharing and that is something again that I don't take for granted and I'm very grateful for. Amazing. Unfortunately, we are at time, which makes me really sad because I always love being in community with both of you and I know I can speak for Amanda as well. Shannon, Jocelynne, thanks so much for coming on the show, really appreciate it. I'm personally grateful for your friendship and your leadership. If you like this conversation and you want to hear more from leaders in the field, visit w w w dot commonfund dot org slash espressochats to view the full playlist and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. See you next episode. Bye, everyone.