Shifting Power to Community Leaders
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"Funders can be more responsive to our needs and listen to us, and trust that we best understand our needs and best know how to address them. We only lack funding to implement the work. We've been able to do so much with so little."
—Katherine Egland, NAACP
The message was clear: Social change leaders who are doing the work on the ground must have possession of the power and agency to do what's necessary for their communities. Whether it's in the realm of climate justice, protection of democracy, or racial justice writ large, the emphasis on building strong relationships and trusting proximate leaders to best serve their communities was the predominant theme at Tides' Get Off Your Assets: Funding the Frontlines event, which took place earlier this month.
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“The reasons why BIPOC women-led climate justice organizations are underfunded, no matter how innovative, no matter how effective, are the usual reasons. The leaders are not where the funders are looking. They may not be vouched for by the 'right people' and their organizations might not have the resources to put together the right grant applications or to pull together the data for compelling applications. That leads directly to the [Donors of Color] Climate Funders Justice Pledge. Our goal is to shift the center of gravity in climate funding toward equity.”
—Elizabeth Wang, technology attorney and member of the Donors of Color Network
The Women’s Environmental Leadership Fund (WE LEAD), a Tides Foundation grantmaking initiative, participated in a dynamic discussion last month at bigBANG! 2021 with women of color climate justice leaders. The distinguished panel included WE LEAD grantees Marsha Jackson, co-chair of Southern Sector Rising, Bridgette Murray, founder of Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), and Elizabeth Wang, a technology attorney and member of the Donors of Color Network. Watch these leaders describe their fight for justice in their communities and how their work is helping address the climate crisis.
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“Corporate Social Impact continues to evolve to meet the increasing demand for resources and innovation that address the world’s concerns and challenges. Consumers have changed their expectations. [They are] demanding corporate action that many CEOs couldn’t have imagined, even a year ago.”
—Erik Wohlgemuth, 2021 Force for Good Forecast, Future 500
Designed for Tides’ corporate partners, the annual Corporate Impact Leaders Forum gathers our network of corporate partners and changemakers to explore timely changes in the corporate and philanthropic landscape. Join us this year for our three-part virtual event series kicking off December 1 to hear practitioners from a cross-section of industries discuss how companies can lead with equity and address entrenched social challenges.
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Tides’ Stronger Together Fund supports more than 150 fiscally-sponsored nonprofits in the Tides Network in their recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. Give today to build resilience for groups providing critical services in underserved BIPOC communities. Double your impact! Tides will match every Giving Tuesday gift up to $500,000. For a Tides Giving Tuesday matching donation, gifts must be received by 11:59pm on Tuesday, November 30.
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