The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast

Discover how lean funders can nurture the fundamental conditions for any systems-change effort, no matter the specific issue or goal - by helping to build the civic culture of their community. By civic culture, we mean the ability of people in a community to come together, agree on a goal that is important to them, and get things done together. Our guest is Rich Harwood, founder of the Harwood Institute, a 40-year old organization that equips people, organizations, and communities with the tools to bridge divides, build capacity, and tackle shared challenges. By playing roles of listening, coaching, and teambuilding over time, the Harwood Institute, often in partnership with lean foundations, helps people find new ways to talk with each other, create different relationships, different norms, and new ways of working together.    ----more---- Richard C. Harwood is the President and Founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. His Turning Outward approach to catalzying community-led change has spread to all 50 states and 40 countries worldwide. He is also the bestselling author of nine books, including his latest,The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and Our Nation.   

Systems change requires understanding the entire landscape and ecosystem of an issue - the people and organizations who touch the issue in all sectors; the economic, social, and political dimensions of the issue; and new ideas and emerging solutions that hold potential and promise. Understanding the issue in its complexity is essential to seeing where a foundation can play a catalytic role in making a system more responsive to people's lives, more equitable, more just. Find out how Lauren Blitzer, Executive Director of the Leland Fikes Foundation, approaches learning as an ongoing practice, building learning and experimentation into the foundation's culture. Lauren shares how she engages her board in constant learning and adaptation, as the foundation hones its ability to drive positive, long-term change in the face of complexity and uncertainty.   ----more----   Lauren Blitzer is Executive Director of the Leland Fikes Foundation in Dallas, TX, focused on Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice; Democracy; and Dallas-Area Human Services. She holds a BS in mathematics from Haverford College and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. ----more----

The Steelcase Foundation in Michigan is taking an in-depth look over ten years, at how the social service and business landscape in their community impacts the lived experience of a cohort of working families. In this two-part Podcast, President and CEO Dr. Daniel Williams shares how this immersive, years-long inquiry, complemented by immediate support to reduce harm, is already revealing how nonprofits, government agencies, and business employers create policies, schedules, and other structural elements that create roadblocks for mothers and children. Over time, the experiences of the families in the cohort will illuminate, with clarity and specificity, how the system was designed with little consideration for the families' complex lived reality. The foundation expects the detailed insights that emerge, and the recommendations made by the families themselves, will empower the foundation, its partners, and the families to design a new model for targeted wrap-around support, to stabilize families and allow them to flourish. The work will reveal scalable solutions for policy, advocacy, and philanthropy. The essence, as Daniel shares, is to center families' experience and voices in systems design.    ----more----   Working to advance justice through education, philanthropy, and community engagement, Dr. Daniel Williams believes deeply in the innate brilliance of community and the importance of centering the voices of those so often marginalized or ignored. As President + CEO of the Steelcase Foundation, Daniel leads strategies that elevate community voice and strengthen partnerships to drive broader social change. Previously, he advanced equity and innovation as President + CEO of the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology and as co-founder + principal of Grand Rapids University Prep Academy. His work is grounded in justice, liberation, and equity-centered design, and extends to civic leadership through board service and state appointments focused on education, philanthropy, and opportunity.    

The Steelcase Foundation in Michigan is taking an in-depth look over ten years, at how the social service and business landscape in their community impacts the lived experience of a cohort of working families. In this two-part Podcast, President and CEO Dr. Daniel Williams shares how this immersive, years-long inquiry, complemented by immediate support to reduce harm, is already revealing how nonprofits, government agencies, and business employers create policies, schedules, and other structural elements that create roadblocks for mothers and children. Over time, the experiences of the families in the cohort will illuminate, with clarity and specificity, how the system was designed with little consideration for the families' complex lived reality. The foundation expects the detailed insights that emerge, and the recommendations made by the families themselves, will empower the foundation, its partners, and the families to design a new model for targeted wrap-around support, to stabilize families and allow them to flourish. The work will reveal scalable solutions for policy, advocacy, and philanthropy. The essence, as Daniel shares, is to center families' experience and voices in systems design.  ----more----   Working to advance justice through education, philanthropy, and community engagement, Dr. Daniel Williams believes deeply in the innate brilliance of community and the importance of centering the voices of those so often marginalized or ignored. As President + CEO of the Steelcase Foundation, Daniel leads strategies that elevate community voice and strengthen partnerships to drive broader social change. Previously, he advanced equity and innovation as President + CEO of the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology and as co-founder + principal of Grand Rapids University Prep Academy. His work is grounded in justice, liberation, and equity-centered design, and extends to civic leadership through board service and state appointments focused on education, philanthropy, and opportunity.  

When board and staff of The Music Man Foundation shifted from funding immediate needs to focusing on long-term systemic change, the foundation went all-in. Engaging partners in open-ended conversations revealed opportunities to integrate music and the arts into the nation's fabric in new and permanent ways. The foundation chose one of these big ideas - the significant opportunity to embed music and the arts into the nation's healthcare practices, and committed itself. Executive Director Sarah Lyding shares how her staff and board pursued a strategy embracing convening, advocacy, and multi-year general operating support to advance the goal and build a new field of practice. Learn how a lean foundation can help drive big change with a razor-sharp focus, and the creative application of its unique powers.  ----more----   Sarah Lyding is the founding Executive Director of The Music Man Foundation. Driven by the arts’ capacity to build empathy and promote understanding of diverse viewpoints, she has spent her entire career working in arts administration. Previously, she was Executive Director for The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation.

The Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund shifted its grant reporting process from written reports to inviting conversations with partners. Executive Director Lauren Scott approached these conversations by asking open-ended questions, and listening. What she and her staff heard offered a window into what nonprofit leaders across the city were struggling with. Hear how Lauren opened up these conversations, and the actions taken to respond. The foundation funded and also created capacity building programs for grantees and the wider community of nonprofits. As Lauren reflects on this work, she asks,  "If our partners are asking for something, why wouldn't we provide it?" ----more---- Lauren Scott is Executive Director of the Harris & Eliza Kempner Fund, a place-based family foundation in Galveston, Texas. A systems thinker and coalition builder, she aligns mission and values with strategy to advance the community’s vision for its future, delivering outsized impact through trust-based philanthropy, innovative investments, and intentional partnerships.

During a year of massive funding cuts to the nation's social service providers, the Weissberg Foundation is challenging traditional assumptions in philanthropy about foundation spending. As Executive Director Ricshawn Adkins Roane puts it, "Five percent is a floor, not a ceiling." Find out why staff and board members decided to spend twice the amount originally budgeted, to support their nonprofit partners and the vulnerable communities they serve. Hear the case Ricshawn and her board make to other foundations.  ----more----   Ricshawn Adkins Roane works at the intersection of philanthropy, public opinion, and policy for economic, racial, and gender justice.  Since late 2021, she has served as Executive Director of the Weissberg Foundation, a family foundation rooted in Virginia that advances organizations and efforts building the power of those most negatively impacted by racism.  

The Weissberg Foundation, a leanly staffed foundation in Virginia, chose to double its spending to support partners and communities in a year of massive funding cuts to nonprofit organizations.  Executive Director Ricshawn Adkins Roane shares the staff and board's decision process for spending considerably more, and their goals for supporting communities facing unprecedented hardship and threats. She also shares how the foundation accelerated funding and streamlined application and reporting.   ----more---- Ricshawn Adkins Roane works at the intersection of philanthropy, public opinion, and policy for economic, racial, and gender justice.  Since late 2021, she has served as Executive Director of the Weissberg Foundation, a family foundation rooted in Virginia that advances organizations and efforts building the power of those most negatively impacted by racism.  

In Oklahoma City, the Expressions of Hope Foundation, the corporate foundation for Express Employment International, leverages its ties to Oklahoma City businesses to build and strengthen nonprofits. Director of Corporate Philanthropy Jessica Gilmore shares how and why she finances memberships for nonprofits to the network of Chambers of Commerce across the city. The idea emerged while Jessica was doing listening interviews as a cohort member in Exponent's Intro to Catalytic Leadership Program. Jessica explores the very tangible and also the more intangible benefits that nonprofits gain from sitting at tables with the city's corporations.  ----more---- Jessica M. Gilmore is Director of Corporate Philanthropy at Express Employment International. Jessica is an Oklahoma native and community advocate, seeking to transform corporate philanthropy as a resource partner and community convener. She manages all the day-to-day aspects of corporate giving, and also oversees the management and administration of Express’ private foundation, Expressions of Hope. Jessica is a graduate of LOKC Signature Class 38. Her areas of service include Central Oklahoma Funders’ Roundtable, Exponent Philanthropy, Leadership Oklahoma City, and the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. 

Lean foundations make bets on new, creative ideas for addressing social and environmental challenges. Learn how a foundation with one staff person helped tackle the childcare scarcity in Connecticut, by helping build a new incubator model to help women start and grow family childcare businesses. In this two-part Podcast, Kimberley Russo of the Fund for Greater Hartford shares, step-by-step, how the foundation uses its powers to convene, advocate, collaborate, and champion, to help catalyze a new vision and model for solving a critical issue, while building economic opportunity for women. ----more---- Kimberley Russo is Executive Director of The Fund for Greater Hartford. She is a founding member of the Connecticut Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, past board chair of the CT Network for Children and Youth, and a current board member of CT Voices for Children and the CT Council for Philanthropy. Prior to joining the Fund, Kim was with the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, serving most recently in the role of Director of Community Investment.