Dear John,

Headwaters staff have been working hard throughout the summer and fall, dreaming and strategizing about what the future of Headwaters Foundation for Justice will look like. As the three directors at Headwaters, we’ve been collectively managing the organization’s day-to-day operations as our team continues its work of investing in movements in Minnesota. We’ve also been supporting our team as we collectively lean into organizational development work and determine what’s next for Headwaters’ interim approach to leadership. We wanted to give you a quick update on what’s happened internally so far.  

Headwaters started building our team’s skills and resources for organizational change last year. Thanks to the vision of Foundation leadership and support from Dragonfly Partners, our trusted organizational consultants, our team has been well-equipped to shape change.

Over the next few months, current staff, our board of directors, and partners will build on that groundwork to dig into topics like organizational structure and shared decision-making frameworks. We’ll also consider how to continue to strengthen our longstanding commitments to movements for justice while centering Black liberation, Native sovereignty, and gender justice as key lenses in our work. As we reflect on what comes next, our decisions will be guided by our mission and values.  

Since Headwaters was founded nearly four decades ago, we’ve been a leader in philanthropy focused on amplifying the power of community to advance equity and justice. We’ve been dedicated to doing philanthropy differently with our community-led grantmaking, investing in grassroots social justice organizations fighting for justice throughout Minnesota. As we explore opportunities to shift our organizational structure and culture to align more deeply with our values and the movements we support, our mission and vision will remain the same. 

We’re thrilled that today Headwaters is a strong and healthy organization. While we recognize the difficulty in change and transition, we are building on our legacy of innovation by taking this opportunity to be intentional in co-creating Headwaters’ next chapter. We look forward to sharing more updates soon!  

In solidarity,  

Bilal Alkatout 
Director of Program and Grantmaking 

Mary Delorié
Director of Individual Giving 

Melissa Rudnick 
Director of Program and Grantmaking