Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia

Covid-19 prevention & response fund- launched in april, the covid-19 prevention & response fund is a community-led effort to invest in neighborhood-based solutions to urgent needs related to covid-19. With support from more than a dozen funders, the Network led this collective action fund through three rounds of grants, totaling $1,204,535 in general operating support grants to 133 nonprofits, small businesses and individuals providing neighborhood-based solutions to urgent needs related to the pandemic, and helping to increase vaccine education, awareness and access in their communities.

Communication and member services- Philanthropy Network served members, nonprofit organizations, civic leaders, policymakers and the media with an array of communications services, supplying information about ideas, trends and developments in local and national Philanthropy. Communications vehicles included: 1) a website with regular updates of news, events, resources and member directory listings, as well as a blog highlighting key trends and new thinking; 2) a weekly members' update featuring news and events, emailed to over 800 individual staff and trustees at member organizations; and 3) social media posts on twitter and linkedin to share ideas and resources with members and community partners in the region. Network staff also continued to support members with customized research and other services in response to their information requests.

Educational programs- in the wake of the derek chauvin guilty verdict for the murder of george floyd in april, we hosted an open forum for members to share reactions and reflections on the significance of the verdict, what it means in the context of continued use of deadly force against black and brown bodies, and how we might seize the moment to propel the work of ending systemic racism and oppression. To set the stage for the conversation, we created of a slideshow of powerful quotes and images that captured the zeitgeist leading up to and following the chauvin verdict being announced.

Mission-aligned investing cohort- developed in partnership with common future and andorra, nine foundations participated in a learning cohort that went on a 12-month journey to explore how to use mission-aligned investing as strategy to amplify their impact and further efforts to advance equity and economic justice. Philanthropy Network staff wrote a blog post to share some background on the evolution of Philanthropy Network's mission-aligned investing work, and the impetus and objectives for establishing the cohort as a means to leverage peer exchange, collaborative leadership, coaching and systems thinking - all grounded in a racial equity lens.33rd annual members' meeting- for our virtual gathering in late march, members were invited to reflect and share alongside their peers on the challenges and successes over the past year as we have adapted to the covid-19 pandemic and calls for social justice, and explore what is required of Philanthropy to sustain and advance meaningful, long-term change. The event featured two pairs of funders in conversations reflecting on what their organizations have done to respond, and their outlook on change moving forward.setting the table webinar series-inspired by a july 2020 conversation between Philanthropy Network's sidney hargro and grantmakers for effective organizations' marcus walton on white supremacy, we partnered with geo in late 2020 to launch setting the table, a series of dialogues exploring the intersection of Philanthropy, racial equity and social justice. These deep dive conversations continued with two additional installments in 2021, the first in the spring with dana kawaoka-chen, justice funders & erik stegman, native americans in Philanthropy, and the second in the fall addressing internal equity work with special co-host omar woodard and guests tequion m. brookins, mcgregor fund and jason murray, bipoc executive search inc.regional roundtables-launched in september, the regional roundtable series was designed to provide nonprofit leaders, community pioneers and people with lived experience with a platform to educate members and other funders on pressing issues in our region. These meetings provide timely information so that regional partners can coordinate efforts and explore new initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.2021 sparx conference: moving in solidarity: blazing a path for progress-nearly 400 of our regional partners convened virtually for sparx 2021, where we explored how we can seize the momentum for change forged over the past year and move forward in solidarity to build a more equitable future for all. Over the course of the three-day event, attendees heard powerful keynote remarks from latosha brown, jennifer ching, vanessa daniel and vilas dhar, and choose from a menu of small group discussions and concurrent sessions that examined lessons from the path we've traveled; how we move together in solidarity; and setting aim for a transformative future.community outreach and recruitment- Philanthropy Network staff and leadership worked to raise the organization's profile and enhance awareness about the philanthropic sector through speaking engagements, volunteer service and other outreach and interaction with regional nonprofit and community organizations and civic leaders and by representing Philanthropy in the media. The Philanthropy Network team spoke or served as a panelist representing the Network at a number of programs and conferences throughout the year. Philanthropy Network staff devoted time and resources towards member recruitment in order to increase the number and diversity of our members and in turn enhance the organization's role as a philanthropic leader.