The Funders Network

The Funders Network believes that in order for communities to be truly just, sustainable and economically prosperous, we must challenge and confront the power dynamics and structural racism that have historically fostered inequities and informed policies and practices.

Racial and economic equity are fundamental to just and inclusive communities, cities and regions. Both urgent and sustained action are needed to change systems that prevent historically marginalized people from prospering, and address deep and widening disparities in income, wealth, and social outcomes.

About Inclusive Economies

TFN’s Inclusive Economies working group brings place-based funders and related partners from across the sector together to build working relationships, advancing understanding of practices and policies that lead to inclusive prosperity and taking joint action that drives the field forward. We apply a three-part focus — race, place and prosperity — to economic growth and development. A particular goal is connecting people and neighborhoods of color to employment and wealth-building opportunities through investment, systems change, and policy reform.

Inclusive Economies launched in 2019, replacing TFN’s Restoring Prosperity in Older Industrial Cities working group. This new group represents a vision of shared, restorative and equitable prosperity in places of all types (urban, suburban, and rural), sizes (neighborhoods, cities, towns, and regions), and market conditions (weak, moderate, and strong).

Our Goals & Strategies

Inclusive Economies’ work reflects a number of related premises:
- We prioritize racial equity in recognition of the far-reaching role of race in determining economic and social outcomes, and the inequitable advantages conferred by privilege and power.
- Inclusive Economies’ strategies integrate the economic, physical, cultural and social dimensions of place.
- Our work advances systemic change as a matter of racial and economic justice, and affirms intersectional approaches to supporting economic growth and resilience.
- We seek geographically targeted and locally determined strategies that build power, wealth and justice by connecting historically marginalized people and places to investment that generates income and wealth.
- We strive to challenge and confront the power dynamics and structural racism that have historically fostered inequities and informed policies and practices, and create communities and regions that are sustainable, prosperous and just.

Initiatives & Partnerships

Anchor Institutions Initiative
Drawing on longstanding interest by TFN members in the role of anchor institutions in driving local economic inclusion, this initiative systematically integrates anchor strategies into the work of Inclusive Economies, and seeks opportunities to collaborate with other working groups to highlight the relevance of anchor-based economic development across a range of issue areas. This initiative produced the report, Anchored in Place: How Funders are Helping Anchor Institutions Strengthen Local Economies.

TFN’s Federal Reserve-Philanthropy Initiative
The Federal Reserve-Philanthropy Initiative (FPI), a collaborative framework that brings funders, regional Federal Reserve Banks, and other partners together to pursue research and joint projects that advance the fields of community and economic development. FPI has supported a number of projects, some of which are highlighted below, and convenes periodically to share learning and develop new lines of inquiry. The Initiative is housed under the Inclusive Economies program umbrella. It collaborated with the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and several Federal Reserve district banks to produce Turning the Corner: Monitoring Neighborhood Change to Prevent Displacement.

The Federal Reserve-Philanthropy Initiative (FPI), along with several Federal Reserve district banks, also produced the study Looking for Progress in America’s Smaller Legacy Cities: A report for funders.

Connect & Engage

Inclusive Economies engages funders and working partners through a variety of activities and communications that are designed to advance discourse, provoke new insights, and provide funders with actionable information and resources that enhance their philanthropic practice.

Funders and partners that participate in TFN’s Inclusive Economies have the opportunity to:
- Deepen their knowledge about topics about policies, best practices and innovative approaches impacting the field of inclusive economic development through regular learning calls and webinars.
- Learn and share with fellow funders and partners through peer-learning calls and via our Inclusive Economies listserv.
- Attend the Inclusive Economies Annual Meeting and other networking opportunities offered by The Funders Network, including TFN’s Annual Conference.
- Participate in collaborative research opportunities via The Funders Network-Federal Reserve Initiative, as well as the facilitation and management of collaborative projects.
- Expand their professional network and hone leadership skills by volunteering on planning committees and designing or participating in webinars, panel discussions and other TFN networking and learning events.

Transportation is the circulatory system of a community. Shifting from our car-dominant systems to more sustainable and equitable options will improve climate, opportunity, health, safety and quality of life. While the words “mobility and access” rarely show up in a foundation’s mission statements, many funders are increasingly attuned to connections between their goals and the shortcomings of our current transportation system.

TFN’s Mobility and Access Collaborative is an action-oriented effort that recognizes the urgency for ambitious — and quickly implemented — solutions to limit the devastating impacts of climate change. The collaborative brings together place-based, regional and national funders to share stories, examine best practices and explore critical issues.

In 2020, the collaborative launched the Mobility Fund, a new matching fund in support of local advocacy.

The collaborative is led by a core group of regional, place-based and national volunteers who are shaping and guiding work on transportation, including funders from the Barr Foundation, The Bullitt Foundation, Houston Endowment, TransitCenter, The George Gund Foundation, The Energy Foundation, The Joyce Foundation and The Summit Foundation.

Connect & Engage

TFN’s Mobility and Access Collaborative embraces an agenda that includes learning, outreach and action. We work to provide funders with opportunities to share and learn from fellow leaders in philanthropy as well as key thought partners across a variety of sectors. Participants engaged in this funder collaborative have the opportunity to:
- Deepen their knowledge about critical issues and opportunities related to transportation, mobility and access through funder-only webinars and other learning opportunities.
- Expand their professional network and explore opportunities for collaboration at in-person meetings of the funder collaborative and other TFN events.
- Share ideas, insights and resources directly with members of the funder collaborative through a dedicated listserv.
- Explore opportunities to co-invest or pool funds on high priority projects
- Amplify their learning and best strategies across TFN communications channels, including blogs, social media and newsletters.

Communities are increasingly challenged by natural disasters including floods, tornadoes and earthquakes. Every time a disaster strikes, community members are forced to figure out how to respond, often with little preparation. With support from individuals, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, funders and government agencies at the local, state and federal levels, incredible work gets done — but perhaps not as effectively or as efficiently as it could. PPREP, which stands for Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Partnership, was created to provide resources for community foundations to build their skills and leadership capacity in order to be better informed and prepared should a natural disaster strike their community.

About PPREP

At its core, PPREP is about strengthening the relationships between community members and organizations to maximize their impact in preparing for and recovering from disasters. Given the disproportionate health, economic and social impacts of disasters on low-income communities and other vulnerable populations, PPREP works to embed an equity lens into the cohort’s learning about preparedness, response and recovery practices and policies.

Working with and through community foundations in a community leadership model, these place-based grantmakers are developing relationships across the disaster preparedness and response spectrum in their communities and helping to weave together networks that are positioned to act along the disaster continuum. This work is fundamentally about strengthening social and human capital through coordination and collaboration —and ultimately strengthening community resilience.

Now entering its third phase, PPREP is focused on these objectives:
- To support a Midwest community foundation cohort model that features information, tools, and resources to help participants better understand, prepare for, and recover from disasters in their communities, enhance resilience, and play a community leadership role.
- To provide resources for participating community foundations to address critical disaster preparedness, response, and recovery needs (internal or community).
- To apply an equitable preparedness and recovery lens, given the disparate impacts of natural disasters on vulnerable populations.
- To strengthen a philanthropic network across a ten-state Midwest region, using a network health and stewardship frame and tools.
- To help formalize the ad hoc peer support provided by cohort members to provide support should a natural disaster strike a PPREP community.

Connect & Engage

The community-based funders that take part in the PPREP cohort have the opportunity to:
- Deepen their learning about critical issues related to disaster preparedness and equitable recovery through two in-person and two virtual convenings each year.
- Expand and improve their abilities to prepare and respond to disasters with relevant tools and technical assistance (including a Community Foundation Disaster Preparedness Workbook).
- Access to grant resources to invest in community and organizational preparedness and recovery needs.
- Participate in regular training and an annual survey designed to increase network health and stewardship.

TFN works with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) to provide curriculum, facilitation and technical assistance, as well as with Network Impact as a partner on network health, stewardship and assessment.

PPREP Cohort

Community foundations engaged in the PPREP cohort are drawn from a 10-state Midwestern region:
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- Montana

PPREP cohort participants include:
- Central Kansas Community Foundation
- Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque
- Community Foundation of the Ozarks
- Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation
- FM Area Foundation
- Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
- Initiative Foundation
- Lincoln Community Foundation
- The Minneapolis Foundation
- Minot Area Community Foundation
- Montana Community Foundation
- North Dakota Community Foundation
- Northwest Minnesota Foundation
- Oklahoma City Community Foundation
- Quad Cities Community Foundation
- Southwest Initiative Foundation
- Tulsa Community Foundation
- West Central Initiative
- Willmar Area Community Foundation
- Iowa Council of Foundations
- Kansas Association of Community Foundations
- Minnesota Council on Foundations

How California grows is determined in great part by the policies and programs that shape land use, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. This growth, in turn, will profoundly influence how well the state can address climate change, protect open space and arable land, manage water resources, and support health and access to opportunity for all Californians — particularly low-income residents and other vulnerable communities.

About Smart Growth California

Smart Growth California is a network of funders working together to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities throughout California. We are dedicated to advancing reforms that will benefit all Californians and the communities in which they live.

Our funders work to achieve a range of outcomes related to climate, transportation, land use, housing, water and wildfires. We believe that connecting and working across these issue areas is essential to addressing California’s challenges. Throughout all of our work, we seek to ensure that these reforms bring benefits and do not harm low-income communities and communities of color.

Founded in 2009 by The Funders Network and The San Francisco Foundation, our approach is grounded in shared learning and collaboration with a focus on facilitating funder action and leadership.

In the past decade, Smart Growth California has grown into a robust, action-oriented network of over 400 funders dedicated to creating healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities throughout California. Smart Growth California works at the state level and in key regions around the state, and helps to coordinate and connect funders’ efforts at the state, regional, and local levels.

Our Goals

Smart Growth California is dedicated to helping bolster and support foundations in their efforts to advance a smart growth agenda that will benefit all Californians and the communities in which they live, with particular emphasis on advancing racial equity.

Our main goals are to:
- Increase the number of foundations actively engaging in strategies to advance transportation, housing, water and land use reform in California.
- Foster collaboration among foundations in order to increase their effectiveness at promoting transportation, housing, water and land-use reform in the state.
- Increase financial resources devoted to transportation, housing, water and land-use reform in California.
- Increase the knowledge among California foundations about transportation, housing, water and land use reform.

Connect & Engage

Smart Growth California focuses on increasing funder learning and connections, facilitating funder alignment and fostering funder collaboration. Our activities are designed to meet funders specific needs while also helping them move along a continuum of engagement towards greater levels of knowledge, commitment, investment, and leadership. The overall goal is to enhance their effectiveness and impact through timely, strategic collaboration with other funders.

Smart Growth California funders work together to identify specific opportunities for shared learning, alignment, and action and currently supports the following workgroups:
-Smart Growth California is led by an active statewide steering committee, which sets the overall strategic direction in order to facilitate aligned grantmaking and action for the Smart Growth California funder community.
- Our Los Angeles Funders’ Collaborative supports funder learning and collaboration to promote healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities in Los Angeles County.
- Our San Joaquin Valley Funders’ Collaborative supports funder learning and joint action in order to promote healthy, equitable communities and sustainable natural systems throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
- Our Community Foundation Water Initiative supports participants as they work individually and collectively to advance sustainable water management in California regions.

Funders that participate in Smart Growth California have the opportunity to:
- Attend our biennial Smart Growth California Funder Summit and TFN Annual Conference.
- Deepen their knowledge on timely and relevant topics via webinars and other learning opportunities.
- Stay connected with colleagues and partners in the sector through our monthly e-newsletter Smart Growth CA’s Twitter account.

Water shapes the economic growth, environment and social fabric of our communities and is vital to our daily lives. Increasingly communities are facing a variety of water related challenges – aging and inadequate water infrastructure, flooding, drought and extreme weather, and water service affordability.

About Urban Water Funders

Urban Water Funders is a network of place-based and national funders addressing urban water issues in communities across the country. Funders learn together, build relationships, and catalyze action.

Currently, funders are prioritizing a variety of solutions to urban water issues — including One Water approaches, natural and green infrastructure and climate resilient strategies — with a strong focus on water equity and vulnerable communities.

Our goal is to explore the role of water in urban settings to the benefit of the environment, equity and economies of communities, with specific interest in:
- Climate resilience, including an emerging interest in disaster preparedness
- Natural infrastructure and green stormwater infrastructure
- Integrated water management or One Water

Connect & Engage

The Funders Network strives to provide funders with the tools, connections, partnerships and resources they need to inform and strengthen their grantmaking.

Funders that participate in the Urban Water Funders are able to:
- Connect and learn together on a range of relevant topics.
- Align efforts to scale up solutions to urban water challenges.
- Collaborate on joint projects and special initiatives.

By engaging with the Urban Water Funders working group, funders have the opportunity to:
- Attend annual in-person meeting to build relationships and explore collaboration.
- Deepen their knowledge about topics of national interest through regular learning calls and webinars.
- Learn and share with fellow funders through regular peer learning calls and virtual brown-bag conversations.
- Align philanthropic efforts on urban water issues through conference calls, in-person meetings, funder exchanges, and data-sharing to explore specific issues.

Background

Urban Water Funders, originally known as the Stormwater Funders’ Group, was created in 2010 and initially operated as an ad hoc group interested in the intersection of smart growth and sustainable stormwater practices. In 2012, the Stormwater Funders’ Group became a learning network in coordination with leading national and regional funders. In 2015, the Stormwater Funders’ Group developed a formal steering committee structure as it shifted from a learning network to one focused on aligning and action. The group changed its name to Urban Water Funders in November 2017 to better reflect its goals and participating funder interests.

At TFN, we believe that grantmaking institutions hold tremendous potential to make positive change in the communities they serve.

We also recognize the obstacles many funders face — both externally and internally — in turning ideals into impact, especially when their work in vulnerable and distressed communities often falls short of intended goals or fails to make a lasting impact.

TFN’s PLACES Fellowship is a transformational leadership development program for professionals in philanthropy to better understand issues of race, equity and inclusiveness — and to then translate those skills and knowledge in to their grantmaking practices.

By the end of their year-long fellowship, participants are equipped with the tools and resources to understand, challenge and change systemic inequities. Our hope is that by cultivating and connecting a diverse cadre of leaders passionate about racial equity and social justice, PLACES not only benefits those individual grantmakers, but enriches their institutions and the field of philanthropy as a whole.

About PLACES

PLACES — which stands for Professionals Learning About Community, Equity and Sustainability — uses learning, coaching and reflections to explore structural racism, community empowerment and equitable grantmaking practices.

We envision that all graduates will have a deep understanding of the following concepts:
- Personal leadership development
- Equity, inclusiveness and smart growth principles
- Understanding the constructs of race and racialization
- Collaborative grantmaking and community engagement to increase equity in philanthropy
- Influencing the field and encouraging change in culture and equitable practices through leadership and action

In addition to the PLACES curriculum, Fellows learn from the people and places we visit. Our Fellowship Cohort, selected annually from a highly competitive pool of applicants, embarks on year-long journey that includes four site visits to communities across the U.S. and Canada. (The site visit locations vary each year. To read more about our Fellows’ experiences on the road, check out our Going PLACES blog series below.)

The PLACES Fellowship concludes with a capstone presentation and graduation — but that rarely marks the end of the PLACES experience. As any PLACES alum will tell you, the deep bonds and professional connections forged by the Fellows extend well beyond the end of their cohort year.

Our Alumni

For more than 10 years, PLACES has welcomed more than 140 fellows to participate in this unique opportunity intended to help grantmakers embed the values of racial, social and economic equity into their work.

Our alumni hail from all corners of the United States and Canada, representing national, regional and community foundations. Their grantmaking portfolios encompass a wide range of passions: building healthy communities, spurring inclusive economic prosperity, fighting climate change, combatting social injustice, supporting local artists, and rebuilding civic trust — to name just a few of the areas where PLACES fellows are making an impact.

At the end of their cohort year, PLACES Fellows are welcomed into the robust and highly engaged PLACES Alumni Network. The PLACES Alumni Network offers peer learning opportunities, timely webinars, and our annual Alumni Gathering. PLACES Alumni also have the opportunities to further hone their leadership skills by volunteering on the PLACES Advisory Board and other TFN boards and committees.