I'm preparing for a small convening of grantmakers called "Moving Your Philanthropy Closer to Social Justice and Racial Equity" that will be taking place in Minneapolis this week. The meeting is being hosted by Community Philanthropy for Racial Equity. I'm excited because the topic is close to my heart and also because I think a lot of action will come out of the convening.
Colleagues have been asking me how things are different running a foundation, compared to being a program officer for one. I think the largest difference has been that a lot of my time is spent learning and spending time representing Headwaters at conferences. That visibility piece is key for us because we have the luxury of being the public face for the issues that our grantees are so hard at work at changing. Things like economic justice, human & civil rights, environmental justice, political power, and racial justice do not get the attention that they need in the foundation world. It is my job to make sure that those issues are at the table. Needless to say, I am loving it.