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Lessons for Advancing Social Justice

PEAK Insight Journal
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Lessons for Advancing Social Justice Giving Compass
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Giving Compass' Take:

• Rev. Cory S. Anderson shares lessons from ten years of advancing social justice with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

• Has your organization engaged enough with social justice? How do social justice issues impede your work?

• Learn more about social justice philanthropy.


Here are some of the lessons we have taken with us from the past decade:

  • Believe in people and communities. We had to push Arkansas toward a vision of justice, and we along with our partners had to be specific and compelling enough to drive toward the transformation of our communities and state.
  • Tell stories. We used WRF’s voice effectively to shape attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors to ensure state and local leaders saw, celebrated, and did their part to scale what works.
  • Embrace failure. We pushed ourselves to not just accept failure but celebrate it as well because the “facepalm” moments—times when things “went off the rails” and did not go according to plan—are the greatest opportunities for funders to learn.
  • Support the sector. WRF invested in advocates, activists, and ambassadors for policies that advanced justice for working families and their children. We also had to build relationships with unlikely partners and create new initiatives and organizations to drive change.
  • Measure impact to learn. The foundation learned with partners and acknowledged that voices from partners and the communities they served helped WRF track progress to change lives and the state.
  • Be curious when faced with the unexpected. Change was not a linear path, and some of our greatest lessons arose from unintended outcomes that resulted from investing in transforming systems.
  • Invest in operations and innovation rather than programs. WRF provided organizational and back-office support so partners could sustain impact, develop innovative approaches, and learn because we knew programs would not be enough to transform systems.
  • Be comprehensive and ready to play the long game. We needed to build all-encompassing, long-term campaigns with Arkansans to drive an agenda through public will-building, policy change, and partnership with community; and we had to be prepared to invest over the course of a generation.
  • Attract additional resources. The Foundation leveraged relationships with funders across the U.S. to build a thriving and prosperous state that would benefit all

Read the full article about advancing social justice by Rev. Cory S. Anderson at PEAK Insight Journal.

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If you are looking for more articles and resources for Family Philanthropy, take a look at these Giving Compass selections related to impact giving and Family Philanthropy.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Saying No to a Good Cause

    With professional fundraisers (of which I used to be one, and still am sometimes), they get used to hearing “No”. Of course, they are paid to make the most thoughtful, compelling ask possible, but understand that there are factors out of their control, and sometimes people are going to say no. They will not be offended if you turn them down. When the ask comes from a more personal connection — a friend or family member doing a charity run or walk, or fundraising for a cause close to their heart — it can be more difficult for us to say no. We understand their own passion and support of the cause, and we don’t want to offend them. Here, again, honesty is always best. A simple, “no I’m not going to be able to give at this time” is sufficient. You are welcome to give more details, but are not required to share all the details of your personal giving decisions. There are a million organizations deserving of our funds, but obviously we can’t give to everything, or give all the time. And that’s okay. Fundraising is a business of asking for what is needed. But it is not mandatory for everyone to say yes, or yes to exactly the number that was asked for. The truth is, as any fundraiser will tell you, that the people who avoid calls, stop responding or allowing an ask or follow up to be made are actually putting an unnecessary strain on the organization. Read the source article by Sarah DeLuca (@delucasarahjane) at medium.com


Looking for a way to get involved?

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