"We have learned that it is not just about having progressive personnel policies; an organization should have a work environment that is also supportive of feeding people's passions and their purposes in life."
When layered with other community-driven efforts, public art is a powerful vehicle to deepen our connections with one another and to our shared past, present and future. The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music.
Did you know that students who read at their grade level entering fourth grade are four times more likely to graduate from high school. BUT, only one out of five of our nation’s fourth grade students from low-income families is reading at that grade level.
Across the field, philanthropy and other potential change-making institutions have grappled with implementing place-based initiatives and funding community-transformative systems.
NCFP’s 2015 Trends study found that more than 90% of respondents cited the “impact of their giving” as a top motivation for participation in family philanthropy. Clearly, funders want to know that the resources they provide are addressing the issues they support. However, accurately assessing the impact of your philanthropic capital can be difficult.
In this piece, Lenore Hanisch explores how the assumptions we make about wealth, race, gender, and family can inhibit our ability to do the work we set out to do, including connecting with others who share our vision of resourcing positive change.
2017 was a challenging and frustrating year for many of us who work in family philanthropy. The nation’s political climate—characterized by intense partisan polarization and accompanied by a parade of troublesome public policy changes—has undone years of hard work and placed new burdens on the nonprofits we support and the communities we serve.
The Surdna Foundation recently published, “Social Justice at the Surdna Foundation,” which outlines their commitment to social justice. This has required difficult and ongoing conversations, a broad understanding of long-term systemic change, and acknowledgement that the work will never be "done."
Placemaking places people at the heart of its process—empowering individuals by giving them an active voice in shaping the spaces around them, mapping and designing their own communities. The Levitt Foundation highlights a few fascinating placemaking projects from around the globe that illustrate the beauty of people coming together and creating a shared vision for their community.
