Western MA Funders Network Meeting
We were delighted with the turnout
and engagement at our summer in-person meeting in Lenox at The Norman Rockwell
Museum. Coming out of that meeting in July, there was an overwhelming interest
in learning more about what Western Mass funders are doing on democracy and
civic engagement. This is a big topic that can go in many directions, so for
our upcoming meeting we decided to begin with a funder-only conversation
and learn from our local funder colleagues currently funding and
exploring this space. We hope this meeting will set us up for future meetings
on this topic.
We hope to engage and hear from all
of you in the discussion. To kick us off, you’ll hear from four funders. They will share the basics of why and how they began grantmaking in this area,
their approach, what's worked well and what the challenges or learning curves
have been. We are also planning for small group conversations and general
information sharing and updates.
We hope you can join us!
Here’s a sneak peek:
- Ruth Goldman, Executive Director, Merck Family Fund,
will serve as moderator and also describe her process as a funder who has been funding civic engagement in other states but is now exploring doing so in MA.
- David Halbert, Executive Director, Bay State Progress (formerly the Progressive Mass Funders Collaborative), will address the history
of why the Bay State Progress was started, its work to develop what is now
the Voter Table, and how they are looking at funding voter engagement
statewide.
- Megan Burke, President CEO, Community Foundation of Western Mass, and new board member at Philanthropy MA, will share with us the efforts she
led just over the border at the Hartford Foundation to develop a civic and
resident engagement portfolio, starting with get out the vote in 2017 and
growing to include movement building/community organizing. We will also
hear how the Community Foundation of Western MA is thinking about the
topic.
- Rachel
Melendez Mabee, Vice President/DEI Officer, Culture & Brand, Greylock Federal Credit Union will share her experience with leading organizational
change toward equity and current democracy focused initiatives.
About the Network:
The Western MA Funders Network is an inclusive network for grantmakers funding in, or based in, the four counties of Western Massachusetts: Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin. The network exists as a peer community to support grantmakers in the region and ultimately, to create a positive impact throughout Western Massachusetts.
A Network priority is advancing racial equity through grantmaking in Western MA. The intent is to do this for, and with, the most marginalized in the communities of the region. Network members desire to keep learning, dialoging on a regular basis, and collaborating in its effort to advance racial equity through grantmaking.