Centering Community Voice in Grantmaking

Foundations and nonprofits create more resilient and impactful change when their strategies are shaped by the communities most harmed by inequities. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us invaluable lessons about the importance of community listening and nimble response. In the face of the social sector's recent turmoil, re-applying and building upon those lessons is more urgent than ever.

This virtual session will explore how to carry forward best practices from the pandemic to meet today’s challenges. We’ll share strategies–including timely use cases–for responding to shifting community needs. Fellow funders and Listen4Good, a subject matter expert, will share about their successes, challenges, and best practices for centering community voice in grantmaking.

Learning Objectives:

• Promising practices and framework for practicing equity-centered listening on a personal and organizational basis.
• Resources that can support funders to center community in their work and integrate  community needs effectively into grantmaking efforts. 
• Real-life examples and use cases that connect lessons from COVID-era responses to current grantmaking challenges.

Presenters:

• Anne Allen, Program Officer, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
• Christine Marcos, Senior Program Officer, Moses Taylor Foundation
• Valerie Threlfall, Executive Director, Listen4Good

This workshop will empower attendees to bring local stakeholders together to center community perspectives. Join us to reimagine how we can collectively uplift community voices for greater impact!

This program is for Maryland Philanthropy Network members only. 

About Listen4Good: Listen4Good helps nonprofits gather and analyze feedback from their community. Listen4Good also supports funders to convene participating nonprofit leaders and use community trends data to inform grantmaking. Since 2016, Listen4Good has supported 1200 organizations through their coaching and resources.