2024 Winter Briefing Reflections

What’s next? Building Momentum for Climate and Community 

Dear EGAers,

As you likely know, we had the pleasure of gathering in Charm City in March! And more specifically in Baltimore and Dundalk, Maryland for our 2024 Winter Briefing. Like you, we were shocked, by the incidents leading to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge between Baltimore and Dundalk on Tuesday, March 26. The cause has been attributed to technical failure resulting in a ship crash, and it will now take an estimated ten years to rebuild. This represents a significant harm to the ongoing efforts of economic recovery of the city and state. We have heard from our partners at Turner Station in Dundalk, who are at least safe. They are, however, processing this loss in their community and the long-term consequences of being cut out as a major transportation route to Baltimore.

The Key Bridge collapse has brought attention to the long-term challenges of disinvestment of community resources and infrastructure. Today the reality of aging, failing, or outdated infrastructure, underscores the vitality of our collective efforts to support equitable federal funding distribution as a lifeline to ailing communities. Add to this, today’s public announcement by the EPA of $20 billion in grant awards from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Congratulations to the awardees! This type of effort is a huge step towards improving our collective odds in the shadow of an even bigger need for enduring resources to build responses to climate catastrophe and human error. In this moment of global war, regional disenfranchisement and displacement, and species loss, do not underestimate your ability to offer relief, resources, and care as a strategic intervention. Moments of triumph take many hands.

There are still trillions of dollars to potentially be accessed by communities through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. There are more bridges, public transportation, and roads that need to be fixed. Efforts to be made in tandem with an equitable energy transition supporting sustainable economies by communities most affected by the climate crisis. Philanthropy’s continued partnership with communities, municipalities, and states is essential for building what the future will need.

Our community conversations at the 2024 Winter Briefing are a part of the work to build muscle for concrete action in philanthropy. Together we can go further to support the conditions for a healthy planet with a healthy democracy. I invite you to read on for the full recap, next steps, and reflections from the Winter Briefing.

Warmly,

Tamara

Tamara Toles O’Laughlin
President and CEO
Environmental Grantmakers Association 

“People and planet are not separate” -Chung-Wha Hong, Co-Executive Director, Grassroots International

President and Trustee Briefing

A Leaderful and Equitable Vision for Philanthropy

We kicked off our Winter Briefing with a cohort-focused EGA Presidents & Trustee convening on March 12th, before the full event. Foundation presidents and trustees deepened relationships with each other and learned about opportunities to support systemic solutions for a healthy democracy for a healthy planet, with real world applications of our Racial Equity POV.

Brooke Lierman (on right) spoke to our members about state strategies that are advancing climate investments.

Brooke Lierman, Maryland's first woman comptroller, shared insights from her work integrating climate justice as a key part of her role. In her position, Brooke has directed pension investments to climate, passed the largest transit act in Maryland's history, the Transit Safety and Investment Act and supported the state's historic Climate Solutions Now Act.

She emphasized the importance of collaboration, and that capacity-building support is a broad spectrum—from funding community development corporations and c3 organizations that can receive resources for communities, to funding CPA, accountant, and legal advisors for administrative work, and more. Funders can also use their convening power to bring together key partners and create systems of support for nonprofits in the long-term.

Leaders’ Lessons on Impactful Environmental Grantmaking

Left to right: Moderator, Jumana Vasi, Rebecca Golden, Director of Programs at Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, and Chung-Wha Hong, Co-Executive Director of Grassroots International.

EGA members, Rebecca “Becca” Golden, Director of Programs at Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, and Chung-Wha Hong, Co-Executive Director of Grassroots International shared leaders’ lessons on maximizing a foundation’s impact.

Key Takeaways

• Develop relationships beyond the dollar: Support sustainability at grassroots organizations through leadership development and partnerships for the long haul, such as emergency support and learning exchanges.
• Organize where you are: Share knowledge in your funder network and other groups you’re a part of as a starting point. Foundations can also proactively build relationships with local social justice organizations to affect change in their communities. And, take action for accountability at all levels to repair harm, from acknowledging and changing processes within your own organizations to holding our governments accountable.
• Listen and learn: Solutions are not one size fits all. Listen to communities and leaders on the frontline with lived experience. Be in alignment and practice trust-based philanthropy to further build on long-term relationships with grantees.

“[Communities are] doing the fighting work, the construction work. They are advancing democracy. We [philanthropy] need to set up the bureaucracy with processes that aren’t burdensome, but beneficial to move this work along.” –Chung-Wha Hong, Co-Executive Director of Grassroots International

Aligning to Advance our Commitment to Racial Equity

Author Cole Arthur Riley

Our President & Trustee Briefing closed out with a timely reflection from renowned thinker, Cole Arthur Riley, Author, and Creator of Black Liturgies. She graced us with a selection of readings and skillfully threaded our learnings with a call to humanity. During an intimate reading, she called the EGA community to truth in our unwavering commitment to racial equity and the work of liberation.

Further reading: Howard Thurman: The sound of the genuine”

EGA BIPOC Reception

Celebrating Community and Navigating our Moment

Cole Arthur Riley joined EGA’s signature BIPOC Reception, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Cole framed up our collective efforts towards racial equity with Black spiritual words of liberation, lament, rage, and rest from her critically acclaimed work, Black Liturgies. Members reflected on navigating power and practice in the philanthropy space.

2024 EGA Winter Briefing

Honoring Indigenous Sovereignty in Maryland

The EGA community convened our 2024 Winter Briefing on the unceded lands of over one dozen sovereign nations, including the Anacostan, the Piscataway, and the Pamunkey peoples, also known as Baltimore, Maryland.

Tiara Thomas in conversation with EGA Board Leader, Louis Gordon of Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples.

Tiara Thomas, a member of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe and Chair of the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs grounded our convening with a land acknowledgement. The Piscataway Indian Nation and Piscataway Conoy Tribe were recognized by Maryland in 2012.

Tiara shared efforts to expand sovereignty through programs that focused specifically on preserving Indigenous history, knowledge, and land. These include the reintroduction of wild rice, a traditional food staple, and stewardship engagement with youth through planting seeds and hikes integrating a curriculum on traditional Piscataway knowledge. The Commission has also worked with the governor’s office to honor the Piscataway Tribe at the University of Maryland, with the Yahentamitsi dining hall.

Restoring Agency with Just Resource Redistribution

Adrienne Hollis, Vice President of Environmental Justice at National Wildlife Federation, Ava Richardson, Director, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Kacey Wetzel, VP of Programs, Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Charmel Gaulden, CEO of Foundation for Louisiana, shared how funders can leverage their power to support equitable access to federal funds, while restoring agency to communities.

Left to Right: Adrienne Hollis of National Wildlife Federation, Kacey Wetzel of Chesapeake Bay Trust, Ava Richardson of Baltimore Office of Sustainability, and Charmel Gaulden of Foundation for Louisiana,

Key Takeaways

• Exercise your power of being advisors and experts to government funders to build effective partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to address roadblocks. Help identify barriers to accessing federal and philanthropy funds that are practices and preferences, versus policies. Many barriers are preferences.
• Advocacy: Support community members in attending legislative meetings to determine how dollars are being allocated to specific projects. When a foundation president shows up at the legislature, their presence can be a rallying call to address an issue.
• Lean in and listen to the specific community’s needs. Participatory grantmaking is one way for communities to lead the decision-making process.
• Support capacity building at two levels: capacity to intervene at a high level, and to sustain and support networks of communities.
• Lean into pool fund work to address these systemic issues. Double down funding on racial equity commitments, and invest in BIPOC-led pro bono legal nonprofits.

Innovating Solutions during Funder-Led Discussions

Funder-led discussions during lunch were an opportunity for members to collaborate on innovative solutions. Peer discussions were hosted by:

• The Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment on Funding Healthy Waterways
• Rockefeller Family Fund on Developing Flexible Strategies as an Environmental Grantmaker and Advocacy Organization
• Ben & Jerry's Foundation on Racial Equity in Grantmaking
• Prince Charitable Trusts and the Indigenous Conservation Council of the Chesapeake Bay on Philanthropic Tools for Supporting and Centering Indigenous Leaders

Integrating Rest and Mindfulness Between Discussions

EGA members take a collective pause and stretch during a mindfulness practice with Aaron Hill.

Between discussions, Aaron Hill, Mindfulness Practitioner and creator of the 5-Minute Soulful Self Care guided our community in a moment of mindfulness. Together, members practiced collective peace with music, movement, meditation, and mantras.

Practicing Grantmaking to Empower Advocacy

Jen Brock, Chief of Staff at the Oceantic Network, Brooke Harper, Program Director of Northeast Campaigns at U.S. Energy Foundation, Beth Harber, Senior Program Officer of Community Development & Environment at Abell Foundation Inc and Gabriel Jones, Program Officer of Climate Equity at Builders Initiative closed out the Winter Briefing by leading a “Grantmaking in Advocacy” workshop.
 

Left to right: Beth Harber of Abell Foundation Inc, Brooke Harper of U.S. Energy Foundation, Gabriel Jones of Climate Equity at Builders Initiative and Jen Brock of Oceantic Network.

During the workshop, each funder shared their own experience with partnering with communities to advance environmental advocacy efforts. As states and municipalities receive federal resources, as well as design and implement climate plans, advocacy is integral for accountability to communities.

Key Takeaways

• Fund organizing and community-led movement work. Partner with communities so they can set the agenda for advancing climate justice and equity initiatives. Make sure voices from frontline communities are at the decision-making tables, and/or support communities in setting up their own tables.
• Support capacity building for advocacy across communications, research, and education. During the pandemic, the Energy Foundation set up a rapid response resource hub for grantees to access zoom, telephone town halls, and shared communication tools to organize and educate their communities.
• Prioritize relationships over outcomes with trust-based philanthropy. Invest in the people doing the work by offering support beyond the check, such as listening to their needs, challenges, and opportunities, connecting them with other funders, or elevating their work in communications. Resourcing benefits to treat a toothache or offer childcare supports organizers to be present at work and advance advocacy efforts.
• Decrease barriers in the grants process by accepting unsolicited proposals, and shorter applications.

Site Visit: A History of Community Climate Resilience in Turner Station

On the final day of the Winter Briefing, members visited Turner Station in Dundalk, Maryland. Our partners at Turner Station Conservation Teams (TSCT) and NeighborSpace of Baltimore County took us on a tour around Dundalk. We learned about the environmental impacts of industrial steel operations on the land, water, air, and local communities in the area.

EGA members at Turner Station with the Turner Station Conservation Teams (TSCT) and NeighborSpace of Baltimore County.

• Learn more about the story of Turner Station, and how it became one of largest African American communities in Baltimore County challenging environmental injustice on the waterfront today.
• Explore Turner Station in photos, and how its residents are pushing for a brighter economic and environmental future
• Chestnut Street Park, a model for park equity: “Turning the Tide in Turner Station” (a collaborative project between TSCT and NeighborSpace)
• How the Turner Station Community Climate Resilience Project aims to mitigate flooding and preserve housing.

Thank you to our partners at Turner Station Conservation Teams (TSCT) and NeighborSpace of Baltimore County for inviting the EGA community to Dundalk!

For more resources from our speakers and partners please see the 2024 Winter Briefing resources guide.

Thank you for attending the 2024 Winter Briefing! We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming 2024 Fall Retreat! Please save the dates below.

Save the Date

Join us for our next in-person gathering of the full membership at the 2024 Fall Retreat in Stevenson, Washington! Save the date for September 22-25, 2024!

EGA is committed to sustaining an impactful community through innovative programming and philanthropic networks acting in partnership with BIack, Indigenous, People of Color, and marginalized communities as a strategic value. As such, EGA’s programming at the 2024 Winter Briefing was guided by our desire for high-level grantmaking and organizational implementation of our Racial Equity POV.