Weekly Reads – November 6, 2019

A roundup of timely insight from the grantmaking community and beyond.

“It makes sense that the successes of organizations in our community often depend on funders who exercise a greater degree of flexibility and trust, allowing grantees to better wield power in decisions that promote sustainability for their mission-driven work.”  [more]
—Gislaine Ngounou, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, in Inside Philanthropy

“Applying principles of equity requires intentionality in aligning the full identities, histories, & lived experiences of diverse players with the equity values, culture, policies, & practices of their institutions.”  [more]
—Hanh Cao Yu, The California Endowment, on Equitable Evaluation Initiative blog

“The New York Community Trust supports nonprofits in their journeys to become accessible; most didn’t know where to start, or what was appropriate to ask, and many had concerns about budget and level of effort. We didn’t expect the groups to have clearly defined accessibility plans at the outset. Instead, we encouraged them to put disability on the agenda, ask questions, and identify feasible goals. In fact, many started by speaking with disability experts and making one program or piece of their organization accessible.” [more]
—Rachel Pardoe, The New York Community Trust

“To confront pressing environmental challenges, women must play a role, have a seat at the table and participate in decision-making. Astonishingly, less than 1% of international philanthropy goes to women’s environmental initiatives. That must change.” [more]
—Terry Odendahl and Ursula Miniszewski, Global Greengrants Fund, on NCRP blog