Weekly Reads—October 13, 2023

Enjoy PEAK’s weekly roundup of timely insights from the grantmaking community and beyond.

“Philanthropy has the potential to serve a truly catalytic role in supporting social change, but the sector must work with radical self-awareness to change its deeply resilient culture of entitlement, paternalism, wealth accumulation focus, and hoarding of power and control.” [more]
Gabriela Alcade, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, for The Center for Effective Philanthropy

“Pro-Black organizations can serve as powerful guides for businesses that are considering how to enact the surgeon general’s recommendations for workplace mental health. This is especially true with regards to Black-led organizations that utilize a healing-justice framework to promote mental health, for their efforts take the surgeon general’s framework further. Such organizations not only acknowledge the generational harm caused by centuries of systemic oppression but also create avenues for communities to heal from it.” [more]
Nineequa Blanding, Nonprofit Quarterly

“Many newly wealthy individuals and families have become philanthropists without setting up foundations that have large staffs. Philanthropic giving through collaboratives already primed for grantmaking enables this lean approach. Collaboratives also provide donors the same advantages that mutual funds, private equity, and venture capital provide investors—portfolio diversification placed in the hands of specialists. Bridgespan research over the past few years has highlighted the great promise funder collaboratives hold for unlocking more philanthropy and deploying it to advance social change.” [more]
The Bridgespan Group