FRIENDS FUND
Discover how Family & Friends Fund can help YOU rewrite racial power dynamics in philanthropy.
The inaugural fund is currently hosted as a field of interest fund at CFGFW.
Our Services
Place Based Movement Building
We help communities activate latent capital from supporters of racial justice who haven't yet had their dollars -- or their energy -- activated towards the cause. We do this using a proven crowdfunding and movement building playbook. We activate entire communities -- young & old, rich & poor -- to work together towards a common goal of racial and economic justice in their community. You can read about our pilot movement in Fort Wayne, IN here!
Donor Education & Support
We provide training for private family foundations, donor advised fund holders, and high-net worth families to connect you to the resources you need to learn about trust-based philanthropy and power-sharing through grant making. We provide a simple to understand curriculum that works across generations.
While learning together, we provide and facilitate meaningful conversations & connections to the “beyond status quo” BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) leaders in your communities. You have probably noticed that the same few Black and Brown leaders are represented again and again in your philanthropic circles -- we will help you connect to and build trust with "under the radar" leaders who have their community's trust (not just the trust of prominent white leaders).
Audits & Activation
We work with funders of all types to assess your current reputation among BIPOC leaders and community members in your community -- especially those at or below the poverty level. We do this through in-depth stakeholder interviews, anonymous surveys, and focus groups.
While conducting this trust and reputation audit, we will simultaneously conduct racial and economic equity audits of your historic grantmaking. This includes not -often-measured metrics such as average number of applications submitted before funding is received, average grant size compared to budget size, and average number of communications with leadership (assessing if your response time to leaders of different races and socio-economic statuses is disparate).
This process is not meant to be punitive or accusatory, but rather to serve as a place of activation: so that those who participate can know better and do better.
Power Transfer & Transformation
After learning with our team, connecting with your community, and learning to trust your new connections and to gain their trust, we will help you launch into the new era of power sharing in philanthropy.
Our one of kind governance model will help you to transfer the power of some or all of your philanthropic capital to leaders of color in your community who have never had the opportunity to wield decision making authority over funding.
Like family transitions, these transfers of power are an opportunity for growth and celebration, especially if handled correctly and with care and compassion.
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We believe that the literal and symbolic transfer of power is the most transformative element of our work, and our early pilot participants agree.
At Family & Friends Fund we have found that the biggest pipeline problem funders have when looking for equitable deal flow is a proximity problem.
Our goal is to meet you where you are, and to then help you build sturdy relational bridges: permanently increasing your proximity to brilliant and deserving BIPOC founders.
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