Although philanthropic dollars are a drop in the bucket compared to government and public funding for our social fabric, philanthropists play a strong role in influencing government to do the right thing. As a collective giving circle we are a philanthropy - how can we leverage our funds, our connections, our collective action to support and advance the change we want in our region? What have other philanthropic leaders and local foundations done?

We started our journey of discovery about this question at our Discovery Forum on Thursday, June 11, 2020. This forum featured speakers describing how philanthropists and engaged community members like us can have an influence on public policy. Special thanks to Alejandro Queral, Kimberly Howard, and Sonia Worcel for sharing their expertise and experiences.

Here are two articles on this topic:

Article by Kris Putnam about philanthropy and systems change to explore the many roles philanthropists can play to affect systems.
Article by Michele Jolin and David Medina from August 2020 Stanford Social Innovation Review about “How Philanthropy Can Help Governments Accelerate a Real Recovery” giving examples of ways foundations and other philanthropic entities can help advance use of data in government decision-making during the 2020 crises related to the pandemic and the black lives matter movements.

Also in 2020, our Spotlight Study Teams assembled for deep dive discovery into four topics of special interest to ninety-nine girlfriends. These topics surfaced in our 2019 member survey: (1) Safe homes for all, (2) Social-emotional wellness, (3) The natural world, and (4) Racial disparities.

COVID-19 social distancing provided an opportunity for us to showcase member expertise, passion and activism through a series of “Let’s Talk About…” programs featuring girlfriends who have stepped up to make a different on specific issues. Check these programs and links here.