If you’re looking for an Annual Report, you’ve come to the wrong place.
A Year of Planning and Doing
Like many organizations, in addition to doing our day-to-day work, we spent 2021 planning for a much different future. This included conducting our own internal racial equity trainings and paying particular attention to making sure that our staff had what they needed to stay healthy and feel connected during this very challenging time.
Our work also included creating a comprehensive strategy for advancing equity across our region. Highlights included our Racial Equity Action Plan, as well as a detailed work plan for over three dozen projects or initiatives. We invite our colleagues and members to join us in this effort to help build a community of funders by advocating for equity with your peers and letting us know what you’re learning.
Learning from each other and with each other to advance racial equity.
Many in the NCG community have told us that participating in a training cohort or peer learning series has helped them not only gain valuable skills, but has enabled them to feel part of a community of funders and donors that is truly committed to change. This is why we are building on last year’s successes with the Racial Equity Action Institute, Whiteness for Donors and Trustees Cohort, Communications Institute, and the Foundations of Racial Equity Series.
New frameworks for a more equitable future.
COVID and its effects will be with us regardless of what the year ahead looks like. It’s essential that we not just recover from the past two years, but that we move beyond recovery in new and bold ways. Last year, we called on philanthropy to address the underlying factors that led to the economic recession, over 60K COVID-related deaths, and a deep racial divide in our country. We also partnered with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Greater Impact to create a new framework for philanthropy based on 5 Shifts that could transform giving in ways that benefit from the wisdom, voice, and experience of local communities.
Giving Voice
It is a truism in philanthropy that no one person or institution has all the answers. Indeed, to be successful in our work we must listen deeply and carefully to others for fresh insights, new perspectives, and a reminder of what matters. In 2021 we hosted two powerful listening series – Meet the Moment and Shift Happens. Both of these gave us a chance to be inspired by a wide range of visionary philanthropy leaders and to learn how they are building a field that is committed to a more equitable future.
Keeping connections strong.
The NCG community is a family of grantmakers who come together to learn from each other, teach each other, and find new ways to make our collective philanthropy stronger. At the heart of that are our gatherings – some of the best ways to build lasting ties with our peers. We made the best of a challenging year by gathering virtually – at our Annual Conference, our New Grantmakers Institute, and our Corporate Philanthropy Institute.
Supporting young people during challenging times
The pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn was particularly hard on young people, whose educations were severely disrupted, and who lost precious time to learn and engage with their peers. We supported two new pooled funds, the Generational Recovery Fund, and the Youth Power Fund, which provided vital resources to organizations to help young people of color respond to the effects of the pandemic. Thanks to the work of our members and their grantees, we will emerge from this challenging moment stronger and better connected Both are currently inviting new partners. Learn more about both below.