Need some inspiration as we head into the busiest time of the year for donors, nonprofits and advisors? Don’t miss a brand-new season of the ‘Be Giving’ Podcast where we dive deep into discussions on important issues impacting the philanthropic sector. New episodes drop on Tuesdays – happy listening!
Redefining the Term ‘Philanthropist’
Episode 1, Season 2 | Featuring Judy Belk
In our first episode of Season 2, we’re joined by Judy Belk, a Philanthropic Advisor at JVB Consulting and a leading voice on philanthropic change.
Judy has held senior executive leadership positions in the government, corporate and philanthropic sectors. Most recently, Judy served for nine years as the President and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic institutions in California with assets over $1 billion and an annual grantmaking budget of more than $65 million. Before Cal Wellness, she served as Senior Vice President for Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Vice President of global public affairs for Levi Strauss & Co. Her insights have been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR. Judy is currently working on a book. “Ten Miles from the White House, a collection of personal essays focused on race, justice and love.”
In this episode we discuss:
- Why anyone—no matter the background—can be a ‘philanthropist,’ and how Judy’s personal experience with philanthropic support drives her work today
- The importance of wielding influence and resources to ensure a positive impact
- How listening to and learning from communities to understand their needs allows donors to partner with these communities in a thoughtful way
Investing in our Future: Empowering Women and Girls of Color
Episode 2, Season 2 | Featuring Ada Williams Prince
In this episode, we are joined by Ada Williams Prince, an established thought leader at the intersection of philanthropy, equity and global economic development. A creative leader at the cutting edge of global and domestic philanthropy, Ada has worked for two decades to advance the power and influence of women and girls of color around the world. She has conceived groundbreaking disruptions to philanthropic norms and scalable models to transform the field along the way. She was the Director of Program Strategy at Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda French Gates. Prior to that, she held roles at many organizations for change, such as the Marguerite Casey Foundation, OneAmerica, the Women’s Refugee Commission, the International Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, and the US Aid Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, to name a few.
By championing the formation of the first ‘Women and Girls of Color Design Council’ within a premium philanthropic and venture organization, she has envisioned a future in philanthropy and investment built around silo-busting investment strategies and fundamental trust in women and girls at the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity and economics. Ada is leading a growing community of funders committed to transforming capital and decision making.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why an investment in women and girls of color is an investment in everyone
- The value of funders respecting and trusting the expertise of community members to design solutions for their own lives
- How longer-term grants allow nonprofits to ensure continuity in their impact and build trust in philanthropy
Social Change Ecosystem: Looking at Giving through a Multidimensional Lens
Episode 3, Season 2 | Featuring Deepa Iyer
In this episode, we are joined by Deepa Iyer who played many roles over two decades supporting social movements: weaver, frontline responder, storyteller, and guide. Her political and community homes include Asian American, South Asian, Muslim, and Arab ecosystems, where she spent many years in policy advocacy and coalition building in the wake of the September 11th attacks and the ensuing backlash.
Today, Deepa is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project, a national non-profit organization that catalyzes social change through research, relationships and resources. Deepa is also a writer of three books including We Too Sing America and Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.
Most recently, she is bringing her social change ecosystem map to young children and their caregivers in a new children’s book, We Are the Builders!, with learnings about social change.
In this episode, we discuss:
- The components of the social change ecosystem map – core sacred values, showing up in the ten roles of the ecosystem, and understanding connections between the roles
- The importance of funders being open to exploring new directions with their nonprofit partners and approaching funding through a multidimensional framework
- How funders and nonprofit partners can both be storytellers who talk about the work they’re doing
Catch Up on Season One
Check out all our episodes.
Questions In the Meantime?
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