Power With: Building A Shared Future
Philanthropy New York’s 45th Annual Meeting
GIA Vice President and Director of Programs, Nadia Elokdah, attended Philanthropy New York’s 45th Annual Meeting - Power With: Building a Shared Future on Thursday, May 9, 2024 for a day of learning, reflection, dialogue and discovery. Nadia is devoted to civic engagement through culturally responsible, inclusive, and equitable design practice and plays an imperative role in the participation and sharing of experiences in collaboration with organizations, like Philanthropy New York, to advance the mission and purpose of Grantmakers in the Arts.
Power in Philanthropy
Power - the capacity to produce change - exists in many forms within our ecosystem. It characterizes all aspects of the philanthropic sector. We exercise power every day in our individual and collective roles within philanthropy. Every decision - from how we manage assets to how we engage with communities to what value we place on different forms of knowledge and expertise - presents an opportunity to either perpetuate old patterns or to courageously forge new and more equitable ones.
Phil Talk - Power Within Ourselves
Philanthropy NY attendees participating in the Phil Talk - Power Within Ourselves workshop led by Camila Diaz.
The day began with Phil Talk - Power Within Ourselves which allowed members to connect to their minds, bodies, and spirits. Camila Diaz, a teacher at Lineage Project, shared guided prompts encouraging attendees to tap into their inner creativity while slowing down the mental chatter ahead of a full day of discussion. As a philanthropic community, it is necessary that we acknowledge our past and present complicity in structures that have historically hoarded power. True transformation can only be achieved in partnership and in relationship with communities. Envision the breakthroughs possible when we redistribute or willingly relinquish control.
Panel Discussion - Power at the Core
Food for Thought and Lasting Takeaways from the Speakers
-
"Shared precarity does not equal shared politics."
-
"Layering on projects on top of general operation support grants for sustainability and infrastructure support so the grantees can focus on both operational and mission-driven work.”
-
“The way we build power on the ground, outside these institutions we are now in is still a powerful skill. Relationship, relationship, relationship.”
If we don’t fund the infrastructure — strengthen the ship we’re on with folks who are thinking 10, 20, 30 years ahead — none of the fights on the ground for justice are going to survive.
"Boards want leaders who are infallible, perfect. and ...we need to interrupt those cultures, that is white supremacy. ...the forces that are willing us to fail are doing a good job. They are trying to close our imaginations. ... Cultures that embody resistance, creatively, abolition...we need to go run to them and feel what else is possible. What does it mean to build a culture that makes transformation conducive, viable? And fun?!"
-
"If you're hearing "cultural power" today for the first time, that means you have some work to do. You need to do some self-learning or professional development. ...we are working intersectionally, we must."
"I think this is an important space for intermediares. Larger funders don't often have the kind of close relationships with on-the-ground organizations and communities."
Power With Communities
Speakers:
Kellie Terry, (Moderator), Philanthropy Programs Director, North Star Fund
Hanh Le, Co-CEO, iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility
Lisa Owens, Executive Director, Hyams Foundation
Philanthropy NY attendees gathered at roundtables during the Power With Communities Panel.
Philanthropic institutions that are committed to a strategy that elevates power, voice, and agency at the community level are learning to navigate new ways of working. What does shifting power require of foundation boards and staff? What fundamental analysis must be shared? What are the conditions necessary to authentically engage in a different power posture with community leaders? From internal organizational culture to external community work, this session explored mindsets, practices, and leadership postures that are needed to embody a "power with" approach.
“My predecessor Yanique Redwood wrote about the transformation of iF in her book White Women Cry & Call Me Angry.”
Another change proposed by the staff was participatory grantmaking - we did a lot of learning, popular and political education series with board and staff members to test out what this would look like to bring together a participatory grantmaking community. Now 60% of our grants operate in this way.
Visualizing Power - Activating Transition
Liz Morgan leading a discussion on Visualizing Power.
In the afternoon, the Theatre of the Oppressed NYC led a warm-up using movement and personal narrative to explore the deconstructing notions of power. Liz Morgan, Director of Training & Pedagogy and Sulu LeoNimm, Executive Director challenged the audience on how philanthropy functions, who benefits and where we can start to intervene and create change. Nadia Elokdah, observed questions around the necessity of this discussion:
What concrete actions can [one] take based on the perspectives shared in the workshop to create a more equitable future?
How can [one] use the concepts explored in this session to advance conversations about power within your organization?
