Know Your Network: James Hardy on Inclusive Economies, Community Health and Finding Hope in Small Cities
Welcome back to Know Your Network, TFN’s blog series highlighting the people making an impact across our community of funders, partners and allies — and beyond.
For this latest installment of KYN, we sat down with James Hardy — a Senior Program Officer, Strategic Portfolios at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Akron, Ohio. James also serves as co-chair of TFN's Inclusive Economies working group.
Read on to learn more about James's take on the structural forces shaping community health, why small and mid-sized cities are laboratories for innovation, and where he's finding hope in these challenging times.
TFN: Hey James! Your work at RWJF spans housing, community development and economic development. What does your work look like today, and what feels most important about it in this moment?
JH: So RWJF is a national funder but my work is currently regionally focused on a few different but mutually reinforcing areas. I steward RWJF’s work in small and mid-sized cities impacted by significant economic difficulties. I work in the affordable housing space, and I also partner closely with local and regional funders in economic justice in the American South. We consider not just the historic injustices the area faced, but more importantly, how that history continues to show up today in the economic and community development practices in the region. We explore how to back the leaders and nonprofits working to replace extractive economic practices with ones that are more inclusive and healthy for communities.
TFN: You've described economic development as a key driver of health outcomes. What's a lesson you've learned about the relationship between economic opportunity and community health that you wish more people understood?
JH: A good job is preventative medicine for an individual or family. I think that has been proven for decades. And when I say a "good job," I mean a job that offers a family-sustaining wage with benefits that allows the family to thrive.
But what’s less proven, and what we’ve been working to change, is the connection at a community level. All of the conditions that build a community — the built environment, transportation systems and water systems and affordability of housing — contribute to community health and are inherently economic investments.
Same goes for how mayors, city councils and county governments engage in community and economic development. Their priorities ultimately impact the larger regional economy. Elected officials, nonprofits, and community members have some level of control locally, but these issues are all connected to the national and global economy.
And then there’s the structural issues in our economy that reward certain cities at the expense of others. The most recent example is AI data centers being rolled out in communities across the country with little consideration of community health outcomes.
Environmental and systematic choices have a greater impact on family and community health than individual choices. And so in my work, I try to bring that lens to my colleagues — reminding them that economic decisions, at every level, shape what people are able to do for their health. And so we’re working on all of those factors to ultimately support thriving communities from a health perspective.
TFN: A lot of your work focuses on small and mid-sized cities. What are you seeing in those communities right now that larger national conversations might be missing?
JH: In my opinion, small and mid-sized cities have a scale that makes innovation much more possible than you might find in the larger metros. People know one another and see their neighbors at the grocery stores. You can access the decisionmakers quicker, and connect with them more effectively.
These cities are great laboratories of new and innovative economic development and policies, and they’re also dealing with the same challenges that larger metros are. Every city has a housing crisis, there’s no jurisdiction immune from it, and we’re all feeling the acute diminishing of public resources with which to respond to those challenges. The bread and butter resources that small and mid-sized cities relied on in the past are in real jeopardy, and so these smaller cities are responding to the same crises with a lot less support.
The other thing I would say about small and mid-sized cities that I think a lot of folks miss is that about a quarter of the country lives here, and they’re not interested in leaving. The notion of picking up and moving for a good job isn’t working anymore. People are much more fixed to place.
They’re not trying to be the next Silicon Valley, but they would like for their people to live outside of poverty and to be able to raise a family, to have a tax base that can support their schools, transit, and public investments.
The fact that we have a structure and system right now that is making it really difficult to do that is often left out of the larger economic development conversation. People don’t want to move; they want there to be better opportunities in the places they already live.
TFN: From your vantage point, what does it really take to build more inclusive economies, and where do you see the greatest opportunities for funders to support that work?
JH: Well, this is the $64,000 question, right? The real answer is there is no one way to do it. Local and regional context matters, but economies don't stop at the municipal boundary line. An essential piece of building an inclusive economy is collaboration, coordination, and alignment of local assets across a whole suite of actors.
And broadly, we are in dire need of new economic policy. New ideas for how to address inequality at the household wealth level and also between communities. What might have made a lot of sense in the 1960s doesn’t necessarily work in a 21st century context, so we need new tools and policies to address the challenges of our current system. Things like universal basic income, which is something RWJF and other funders at every level have been funding and evaluating for many years now.
We’ve seen lots of ideas being pitched in the most recent election cycles and from think tanks around new tax credit programs and incentives. I think it’s still too soon to tell what lessons we’ll gain from those, but that’s the exact kind of experimentation that funders need to be looking at.
Whether you're a community foundation or a national funder, we all have a role to play in incubating these new ideas that tax dollars are too risky for. Innovation needs space and freedom to think, and funders can create that space.
As a co-chair of TFN's Inclusive Economies working group, what feels most urgent for funders working to advance inclusive economies right now?
JH: Like I said experimentation is definitely something we’re working on, but we can’t forget that basic needs are strategic too. I worry about this greatly in the philanthropic sector, especially for those of us that see ourselves as strategic funders. We overthink it and forget that people need help now.
It doesn’t matter what program or policy you put out; it’s going to be difficult for households to take advantage of it unless a basic level of human service is met. So even if we’re place-based or don’t have a basic needs line item in the budget, we have to ensure we’re not forgetting the basics.
Because there’s also a trust component to basic needs. If you don’t respond to the wildfire fallout, how can a community trust that you have their best interests at heart when you come in with a new strategic program around inclusive economic development?
And while we can’t replace government, philanthropy needs to continue to advocate on behalf of our communities and our constituencies. I personally reject the notion that there's nothing we can do, and I see my colleagues all across TFN and the country in philanthropy responding in inspirational and innovative ways to try and stem the impact of this decline in basic needs in our communities.
TFN: Looking ahead to TFN's 2026 Fall Convening, what are you most excited to learn from or explore with fellow members?
JH: TFN gatherings are the best professional development opportunities I get in philanthropy. The peer-to-peer learning, the insights from the sessions, but especially the informal connections that occur with peers working in similar spaces or on similar topics.
And oftentimes, these conversations are ad hoc, even though they end up being some of the most generative conversations I get to have around my work.
Getting together at a TFN event is also a great way to get out of my bubble and hear what my colleagues at the state and local level are facing. I have yet to leave a TFN event without a new idea or additional clarity!
TFN: Zooming out a bit, what's shaping your perspective these days? What's giving you energy and hope right now?
JH: In addition to my work, I’m currently in a master’s program at Starr King School for Ministry, focused on faith-based organizing and theories of praxis around social change from a faith-based lens. It’s given me so much hope and connected me to millennia of examples of eras and seasons where humanity has faced significant challenges, and how we have emerged from those challenges with all kinds of art, music, philosophy, and ideas that have propelled humanity forward a little further down the arc of justice.
So it’s really dark right now, but I continue to be buoyed by the energy, innovation, and commitment of not only our grantees but my classmates and professors. It can be really hard to watch the news, but it can be so inspiring to volunteer. There’s such a response happening all across the country to meet this moment, and it really does lift my spirits.
James, his wife Chrissy, and their kids Will and Sophia helping to move Sophia into her college dorm room.
New OMB Rule Could Reshape How Federal Grants Reach Communities — Here's How To Act
Philanthropy’s dollars matter, but they can’t match the scale of federal grants. That’s why public dollars are integral to our work.
Whether you’re helping communities across the Midwest prepare for emergencies, supporting clean water access in Arizona's rural and Tribal communities, investing in climate resilience in New Orleans, or backing efforts in Detroit to remove polluting trucks from neighborhood streets, chances are, your grantees rely on federal funding.
The Office of Management and Budget is proposing a new rule that would give senior federal appointees oversight of discretionary grants for research, infrastructure, health, climate resilience, place-based work and more, allowing broad concepts such as the “national interest” to shape whether funding moves forward. The proposed rule’s politically charged language on DEI-related policies raises serious questions about whether funding that addresses disparities or reaches underserved communities could be singled out for greater scrutiny.
ACT NOW: How Funders Can Weigh In Before July 13
Submitting a public comment is within a foundation’s advocacy rights and is not considered lobbying. With comments due July 13, funders have only a short window to sign on to a comment letter, or comment directly. We urge our members, partners and broader network to add their voices, because this rule reaches far beyond any one issue area.
Funders can find comment letters to sign onto from United Philanthropy Forum, Grantmakers In Health, the National Council of Nonprofits, Independent Sector, Philanthropy California, and The California Endowment. For more background, this New York Times story provides helpful context on the proposed rule and the concerns it is raising.
This may be a technical rule, but its consequences will be felt by communities. Funders should use this comment period to speak up for the organizations and communities that depend on federal funding to do their work.
So Your Democracy Is on Fire: A Climate Philanthropist's Roadmap
BY Sacha-Rose Phillips, Program Officer of Midwest Climate & Energy at McKnight Foundation
A note from the author: This article was written during the height of the ICE surge in Minneapolis in February 2026. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, it is another moment to take stock of climate philanthropy’s role in protecting democracy. Many of the lessons discussed below were first modeled for me by my colleagues at the McKnight Foundation and our community partners across Minnesota. Their leadership, courage, and willingness to fully live into our values of equity and justice for all are what prompted me to write this piece. I offer it with deep gratitude for their example.
When my friends and colleagues from the country ask me how I am doing and whether things have “calmed down” in Minneapolis, the following images typically rush to mind:
The passport that I now have permanently tucked in the front pocket of my purse to prove that I belong here, “just in case.”
Neighbors seated around my dining table, playing with their young kids on my living room floor, or perched on the edge of the picnic table we brought inside for extra seating in the middle of winter. Some had never met before January, when federal agents flooded the Twin Cities, intimidating through raids, arrests, violence, and family separation. We all now eagerly talk and strategize about ways to continue to support our community given “the surge.”
The restaurant with a large “NO ICE” sign on the door where I patiently stand as tense servers pensively peek through windows to make sure I pose no threat to their staff and other patrons. And then, inevitably, the smiles of relief when their eyes see my familiar face.
The STOP signs I still pass on my way to work with their simple yet striking stickers spelling - “ICE.” These demands to “STOP ICE” reflect the subtle, and not so subtle, shifts to daily life in the city I have called home for three years.
It would be remiss of you to think that what has unfolded in Minnesota could not soon reflect your own daily experience. The United States is fast heading down the road to authoritarianism at a frightening speed. The erosion of critical democratic institutions, the steady decline of public trust in all levels of government and the rollback of basic civil protections all signal its advent.
And as the events of early 2026 taught us, these developments are not only costing us our voice and right to due process, they are costing us fundamental freedoms, our lives and the lives of those we embrace as neighbors.
Our experience here first in Minnesota and, now as ICE agents now take up residence in airports, across the country, has made it clear that the ICE insurgency is not only a test but potentially a pretext to organized election interference and limiting the rights of people to exercise their voices at the voting booth in November.
In philanthropy, particularly in institutions that have narrow mandates or risk-averse boards, we may feel limited in our ability to act by seemingly inflexible institutional parameters. The volume and pace of change to our social fabric and political landscape seems overwhelming that we feel paralyzed by the weight of the work that is ahead of us.
But my experience this past winter has made clear that swift and clear action is possible if we lead with a people-first approach.
Much of what I will share and its efficacy was validated by what I witnessed during my year in the TFN’s PLACES Fellowship. From our visits to Syracuse, New York and stops in Nashville, Tennessee to Tucson, Arizona it was readily apparent that: we can resist the slide to authoritarianism if institutions partner with communities proactively to invest in organizing and mutual aid networks, not as charity but first as members of that community.
What I want to offer you, fellow program officer, is a roadmap on how to position yourself and your institution to do exactly this and to meet the moment:
Get Clear on the “Who” and Have Your Analysis Ready Before It Is Asked of You
Regardless of your programmatic focus, now is the time to identify which organizations are best positioned to protect communities and which will be needed to help build a more just future in the aftermath of this crisis. This moment does not call for fuzzy strategies or flowery language. It calls for clear, strategic identification of organizations and advocates by their priorities, values, and capacities. In this sense, clarity is not only kindness. It is the difference between being an effective or an impotent organizer of capital.
In many instances, you may not need to build an entirely new network of actors. But you do need to be honest about what you do not know. You cannot close a knowledge gap you refuse to admit exists. Deeply interrogate the relationships you have built and ask yourself whether they are a function of convenience and proximity or a function of truly understanding an organization’s work and how it applies to the needs you have identified in your community.
Build toward a “ride or die” cohort: people and organizations that are trusted by the community, and whose expertise is grounded in lived experience, deep practice, and hard-won knowledge.
Once you have that honest accounting, be prepared to fill the gaps. Help organizers create new structures and entities to build resources and train everyday people. We have never done this work under these conditions before, and new organizational forms will need to emerge to meet it. Mapping this landscape now (what exists, what is missing, and what needs to be built) will give your leadership the clarity and confidence to act. Have your analysis ready before it is asked of you.
Build Your Internal Authorization to Pivot (Organize, Organize, Organize) or Find the Courage to Ask for Forgiveness, Not Permission
This moment demands adaptability and nimbleness. It is not the time to remain trapped in the same permission structures that have prevented philanthropy from robustly funding organizing and community work for decades.
To avoid getting mired in bureaucracy, start socializing a “if ___, then we will ___” framework now. Start priming your colleagues to make decisions without hesitation that will meet the needs of the community in moments of deep challenge.
Doing so will help you identify two critical types of allies: your “yes people” and your “doers.” Your yes people share your analysis of what is possible and what is on the horizon. They will validate your thinking and help build internal consensus toward concrete action. Your doers will roll up their sleeves, pick up the phone, and pound the pavement. They are most adept at helping to make the internal case by mobilizing other funders, and moving resources when crisis and political instability demand it.
Mutual Aid Networks and Community Groups Are the Backbone of Crisis Infrastructure, Invest in Them Now
Now that you have built the map and have the support of your team, you need to seed the ground and one of the best ways to do that is to support locally rooted mutual aid networks. The time to do so is not when you see the first signs of crisis, but now, during periods of relative stability. This should be a foundational element of any philanthropic strategy, not an afterthought.
Mutual aid networks have long been been part of the fabric of American communities, particularly Indigenous communities. Supporting mutual aid networks is not charity and should not be treated as such. Rather, it is an opportunity for your institution to see itself as a community member and to participate in a voluntary, peer-to-peer like exchange of resources, information and capital.
To this end, mutual aid networks should not be treated as typical non-profit organizations — but as a strategic infrastructure that helps reduce institutional and community’s exposure to instability in times of crisis. Because this relationship is fundamentally distinct, you should consider moving these resources as donations rather than grants, thereby removing burdensome or unnecessary reporting requirements.
A Word of Advice for Principals
Perhaps you are no longer in the day-to-day management of programs at your institution. Perhaps you have risen to executive leadership within philanthropy. I have some earnest advice for you, too:
Create the Authorizing Environment
A beloved colleague of mine — someone who has managed political campaigns, run a state office, and even led a domestic violence shelter — put it best: the best bosses get out of the way, then block and tackle on behalf of their staff.
Give your team explicit permission to pivot as your context changes, and let your internal systems reflect this new authorizing and distributed leadership environment.
If you trust your team, demonstrate it. Give them permission to respond to the community needs they are seeing, in the manner that best meets the moment and in ways that may bend program priorities and parameters. And as you do, remember: this is not a time to punish the inevitable misstep. It is a time to reward courage and the willingness to try. Reward your staff for choosing community and listening to it and if you cannot reward them, at minimum, look away.
Move People Before You Move Capital
One of the most significant leadership lessons that I learned from my time in PLACES has been to move people before you move capital. We live in a capital-centric society, one that orients work and priorities around money rather than around the people the money will impact or the people making the micro-decisions about how it is spent.
Do not move a single dollar, or go to your board about doing more, without first talking to your team and having a clear understanding about how changes in capital flows will impact them. Once you have given them permission to act, ask about their capacity, not just their bandwidth, but their ability to be fully present. We are quick to refresh strategies and adjust budgets without first giving people permission to reflect on their own talents, competencies, and how they can best show up. Skipping that step can destabilize your organization and quietly erode trust in your leadership and your institution. Nobody has time for that.
Don’t Just Assess Capacity, Have a Plan to Sustain It
Think strategically about the cycles of work, rest, and stress (physical, psychological, and otherwise) that will inevitably meet your team in a moment of crisis. Plan for those cycles so your staff can stay focused on the work that matters.
Create moments of genuine team connection: more shared meals, joint reflection spaces that are optional, unscripted, and not over-programmed. Then show up to them yourself, alongside other senior leaders. Model what you want to see.
For staff who come from impacted communities, or whose families may be targeted, ensure that your remote work and paid time off policies are equitable and account for the reality of their situation. Make sure your wellness benefits and additional support resources are robust enough for people to get the care they need for themselves and for their families.
Validate and Verify with Community
Within philanthropy, it is easy to become our own worst enemy when we are not intentional about seeking out grounded knowledge. Move beyond the echo chambers of philanthropy convenings, boardrooms, and ivory towers. Hold yourself accountable to real people — not titles, not boards.
Gut-check your assumptions about what is happening in the world against your book club, the cashier at the grocery store, the receptionist at your doctor’s office. The people closest to the ground are often the first to feel the shifts that institutions are the last to see.
A Final Note for All Philanthropy Professionals
A common refrain in the TFN PLACES program: we must move beyond the grant. What does that look like in practice?
It looks like my fellow PLACES alum Amanda Quam from the West Central Initiative Foundation, who has not only mobilized resources for rural communities but given moving testimony before our state legislature about the devastating impact of the ICE surge on rural farming communities.
It looks like my colleagues at McKnight publicly supporting our community’s right to protest by handing out hot chocolate, hugs, and hand warmers in sub-zero temperatures, and cheering people on.
It looks like funder partners using their public voices and social media platforms to denounce hate, demand justice for immigrant neighbors and the marginalized even at the risk of increased scrutiny and unfair attacks.
Showing up in these ways matters just as much, as and in many instances more, than the dollars we deploy. It signals that we are willing to put all on the line for the protection of communities and not hide behind the comfort that institutional power and access to capital often provides.
The community has proven it will move with or without our resources. The question is: when you look back, what will you say you did with your time, talent, and resources to prepare your community?
May the lessons we’ve learned in Minnesota and across the country provide a roadmap to defy the playbook of tyranny and the erosion of our democracies.
Sacha-Rose Phillips joined the McKnight Foundation as a program officer with the Midwest Climate & Energy program in November 2022. In this role, she oversees and develops significant grant portfolios that support efforts to build power through partnerships, aligning McKnight’s climate and equity goals to advance solutions to the climate crisis.
She is a member of the 2025 TFN PLACES Fellowship cohort.
About TFN’s PLACES Fellowship
For more than 15 years, PLACES — which stands for Professionals Learning About Community, Equity and Sustainability — has welcomed +200 fellows to participate in an 8-month long learning opportunity to help grantmakers embed the values of racial, social and economic equity into their work.
Our alums hail from all corners of the United States and Canada, representing national, regional, local foundations and grantmaking intermediaries.
To learn more about TFN’s PLACES Fellowship and our alums, click here.
In the Footsteps of Courage: What the Montgomery Legacy Sites Teach Us
BY Martha Roskowski, Program Coordinator, TFN’s Mobility and Access Collaborative
I made a new sign for the last No Kings march. I thought about a lot of possibilities including anti-ICE, anti-fascism, anti-racism, pro-democracy, pro-science and pro-trans rights. Instead, I opted for a message to my fellow protestors. I chopped up a cardboard box, borrowed paints from my kid's desk before they headed off to college, and got out the duct tape.
My sign said, “Stay Strong, my friends.”
I tucked it into my bike pannier, met up with a neighbor and rode into downtown Boulder to join thousands from my community.
Several people commented on my sign. One man said it was one of the most important messages of the day. A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty told me, “Every time I put on this costume and drive down here, it makes me angry that I have to spend my time this way.”
I agree.
I am angry at what the current administration is doing to our world, my country, my state and my community. I am tired of going to protests, door-knocking, writing letters and calling my members of Congress.
I am also scared.
Scared of what’s happening in our country, but also on a more personal level — scared of going to protests for fear of ICE or police violence. Scared of speaking up online for fear of retribution, of being identified via cameras and other surveillance, of being arrested because we have jobs and families. Scared of our non-profits and foundations being targeted.
At The Funders Network's 25th Anniversary Conference in Baltimore last year, Maya Wiley of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights reminded us that the heroes of the civil rights movement were ordinary people. They didn’t wait for leaders to organize them. They stood up and did it themselves. They were tired and scared, yet they acted anyway.
That idea stays with me in my work with The Funders Network, where we think about how philanthropy can support the conditions for that kind of collective action.
I recently traveled to Alabama to visit Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma — three of the most consequential cities in the Civil Rights movement. I thought I knew something about this era and Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders and the church bombing that killed four little girls in Birmingham.
But I was humbled by my visit, especially to the Legacy Sites in Montgomery, established by Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative.
Every American should visit, especially white women like me whose lineage is complicit in this history. The trio of sites – a museum, sculpture garden, and memorial - do a exceptional job of connecting the arc of history: from kidnappings in Africa and slave ships crossing the Atlantic to the domestic slave trade, where where one of the greatest fears was family separation.
They trace the story through the brief, fragile years of emancipation, followed by the terror of lynching, when any Black person who spoke up, organized or was thought to break racial rules risked being killed by a white mob. The story continues through the grinding weight of segregation, the courage of civil rights heroes, and into the present day, with police violence and a prison-industrial system that incarcerates Black Americans at more than five times the rate as white Americans.
As I reflect on both this civil rights history and the horror of today’s governmental targeting, cutbacks and cruelty, I realize that this is just the latest chapter in an ongoing story. A colleague of color recently said that for many Black people, the current administration feels less like a shocking new reality and more like a continuation of what they have endured for generations.
So: welcome to the club.
The Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham tell the stories of people who were taunted, bloodied, attacked by dogs and arrested for standing up for their rights. They were afraid, and still they got back up and marched, organized and protested again and again.
I hope we can be as brave today.
About the Author
Martha Roskowski is the founder of Further Strategies, a consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado, and serves as the program coordinator for TFN's Mobility and Access Collaborative, where she helps organize foundations around equitable transportation.
She brings deep experience across the mobility and transportation policy world, with a career spanning local, state, and national efforts to make streets safer and more accessible.
Know Your Network: Treye Johnson on Economic Justice, Community Power and the Courage to Act
Welcome back to Know Your Network, TFN’s blog series highlighting the people making an impact across our community of funders, partners and allies — and beyond.
For this latest installment of KYN, we sat down with Treye Johnson, a program director at the George Gund Foundation based in Cleveland, Ohio. Treye leads the foundation’s grantmaking focused on economic justice and community power. He also serves on TFN’s Board of Directors and as co-chair of TFN’s Inclusive Economies working group.
Q: Hi Treye! What does your economic justice and community power work look like right now, and what’s energizing or most challenging?
A: We’re prioritizing the most marginalized — Black and Brown communities, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ folks, immigrants. And in this anti‑DEI moment, every day feels like a battle.
I would say philanthropy can be lower stress than our partners’ on‑the‑ground work. But in this time and with this administration, now we’re under real pressure. I especially feel it as a Black male with friends and family in these communities.
This isn’t a job where 5 o’clock hits and I can leave things behind. I’m never not thinking about the work because it’s impacting the real people I know and care about. It’s exhausting by design — there’s a group of folks out there who are actively trying to seed chaos to wear us down. So there’s certainly a challenge in that.
I also work at a private family foundation that has a board and leadership that give me leeway others don’t have — particularly my colleagues in community foundations or corporate philanthropy. I recognize that privilege, but it creates pressure to carry extra weight because I’m able to push more boldly, to lean in and call a thing a thing.
What energizes me most is time with partners: dreaming, ideating, and imagining what’s possible. Letting your imagination remind you why you’re in the work is what recharges me.
Q: How do economic justice and community power show up together in your grantmaking and strategy?
A: We used to be “Vibrant Neighborhoods and Inclusive Economies”, but we kept getting outreach from places that didn’t actually need our help. Renaming the program to Economic Justice and Community Power was a way to stand 10 toes down for who we’re trying to benefit — communities of color, LGBTQ+ folks, women, people with disabilities, immigrants.
That means prioritizing leadership from people who come from the communities they serve. Too often Black- and Brown-led organizations or women‑owned groups are funded “just enough to fail.” And so we’re trying to flip that on its head.
There’s also the power dynamic. Philanthropy often acts as kingmaker, deciding which representatives and strategies get resources.
Real community power looks like accountability without fear of retribution or funding being pulled. Our role is to elevate the community and help people see that the real power is with them.
Q: You also serve on TFN’s Board of Directors — how has being part of The Funders Network shaped your approach to collaboration and field-building?
A: TFN has just been so instrumental to me in my philanthropic journey as a place where I could learn and grow, and where I could find my people.
I’m an introvert, I like the quiet. And when I was first starting out, I didn’t know a thing about philanthropy. But John Mitterholzer, my dear friend and colleague at George Gund Foundation, came into the office one day and he said: I’m chair of the board of an organization called The Funders Network. There’s a cool conference in March that I think you should go to.
I was like, okay sure — I’m the new guy, I’ll go to Boston. I figured I’d spend the whole time standing silent in the corner. But my goodness, everyone was so welcoming and warm. I left that conference knowing TFN is my place.
And when I interviewed for the Gund Foundation Fellowship, I was drawn to the wide breadth of issue areas. I cared about education because I was previously a high school administrator. My son was born 13 weeks early, so health and human services were important to me. The arts, small businesses, community development — all of these issues were at my core.
But the one area I wasn’t sure about was the environment. At the time, I felt like all the conversations were centered on animals in some far-flung part of the world.
TFN was the first place I heard climate talked about as a people issue — jobs, cities, transportation — and saw how these pieces intersect.
My work is shaped in large part by TFN’s tremendous community of leaders, experts, and just good people who stand for their values.
From place-based funders around the country to big national funders, we’re dealing with issues that really aren’t all that different. And so TFN is this incredible intersection of funders from different spaces and with different priorities, who figure out how to weave these things together.
Q: As a co-chair of TFN’s Inclusive Economies working group, what’s most urgent for Inclusive Economies, and where should philanthropy act first?
A: I actually left philanthropy for a while because I hated the lack of urgency — we keep circling the same problems 15 years later. We know what the issues are and what it takes to fix them, so the question is: why aren’t we doing it?
When I returned as co‑chair of TFN’s Inclusive Economies, I knew I wanted to focus on action.
One example is capital access. We’re doing more work in the entrepreneurship and economic development space. If you’re committed, at some point, you just have to start the work. We know capital access is an issue, so let’s start moving capital toward the people who need it.
It can be tiring trying to change hearts and minds, and I don’t know if that’s always the best use of our time. We forget sometimes that data points are people; real lives are affected while we run strategic planning.
We need to be courageous funders and stand up for the things we believe in. There’s so many moments in meetings where I’ll hear I’m so glad you said that, and now I’m at a point where I’m asking: Well, why didn’t you say it too?
It’s time for philanthropy to say the big things out loud. Even with all the attacks on the sector, philanthropy has a tremendous amount of cover and privilege to elevate issues, to talk about what’s important, and stand true to our values.
And if we’re not going to be loud in this moment where we need it most, well then what are we waiting for?
Q: What conversations do you hope to see at TFN’s 2026 Fall Convening in Cleveland?
A: I’m looking forward to what TFN, at least in my opinion, is known for: inspiration and learning how to execute it.
Too often we attend these conferences and then leave full of ideas, but no clear path to execute. Nothing changes once we get to our offices.
But I know in Cleveland we’re going to be talking about complex issues. I’m looking forward to learning about the different ways people are tackling these challenges, and hearing the successes they’ve found in operating differently.
Sometimes we’re bound by the limitations of our imaginations in this work. And so I’m excited for the inspiration, which TFN is never short on. But I’m also looking forward to the tangible lessons that I can take home and apply to my work.
Q: Zooming out a bit, what’s shaping your perspective and where do you find energy or hope?
My 14 year old son is a constant source of energy and hope. He certainly keeps my wife and I busy, but he’s incredible and inspires everything I do.
From a professional perspective: taking stock of who had access to me and who didn’t has been a really eye-opening experience. I’ve changed the balance of who has proximity and access. It’s taught me a lot about what it is that the community actually needs and wants.
So that interaction with people has given me energy. When I get out of the office, out of the ivory tower of philanthropy, and talk to real people — that’s where I remember why I do the work.
We're grateful to Treye for taking the time to share his experiences, lessons learned and hopes for the future.
Inspired by the conversation? Join us at TFN's 2026 Fall Convening Sept. 14-15 in Cleveland, OH to connect with peers, learn from practitioners and explore how philanthropy can meet this moment.
Call for Proposals: TFN's 2027 Conference
Do you have an idea for a TFN conference session or workshop that will deepen learning, foster collaboration and catalyze action?
We invite you to submit a proposal for The Funders Network’s 2027 Conference, taking place March 15-17 in Oakland, California.
TFN27 is an opportunity to come together, reflect on where we are and chart a path forward. We are seeking sessions that inspire, challenge and equip participants with the tools, strategies and insights needed to lead with clarity, courage and purpose in these unprecedented times.
Together, we will explore how philanthropy can help dismantle systems of harm and oppression while advancing climate, economic and racial justice in a multiracial democracy.
We look forward to gathering in Oakland to learn from leaders, practitioners and communities addressing the wellbeing of people and places facing an escalating climate crisis, erosion of civil liberties and deep economic inequities — challenges that disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color.
The deadline to submit a conference proposal is June 4, 2026.
TFN27 registration will launch later in the year.
Stay tuned for more details on lodging, speakers and more!
TFN’s Evolving Approach to Convening
Why has TFN shifted its national conference to every other year?
We’ve heard from our members that smaller, issue-based and geographically focused gatherings create meaningful opportunities for deeper connection and learning.
Whether you joined us in Sacramento or Houston, or plan to gather with us in Cleveland this September, we hope you’ve experienced TFN’s evolving approach to convening — one that balances intimate learning spaces throughout the year with larger moments to come together across the full network at TFN27.
Curious about what we learned and shared at our last conference?
Check out the full agenda and speaker list for TFN’s 25th Anniversary Conference in Baltimore.
Sponsorship Opportunities
TFN27 is made possible through the support of partners who believe in building a stronger philanthropic sector rooted in climate, economic and racial justice.
Sponsorship helps fund accessible programming, leadership development, cross-sector learning opportunities and equitable practices that allow a wide range of voices and perspectives to be part of the conversation.
For sponsorship inquiries or to get started, please contact:
Aileen Rosa Sánchez
Chief Development Officer
aileen@fundersnetwork.org | 305-384-1263
See you in Oakland!
Resources and Responses: Supporting Voting Rights in This Moment
TFN originally shared this statement on May 4, 2026, in response to the Supreme Court’s decision weakening voting rights. Below is a round-up of statements and resources from TFN members and others in the sector. To add your organization’s statement or resources to this list, please reach out to Brooke McPherson at brookem@fundersnetwork.org.
Statements from the Sector
- United Philanthropy Forum
- Inside Philanthropy | David Callahan
- Hispanics in Philanthropy
- San Francisco Foundation | Fred Blackwell
- A Message to Philanthropy: Louisiana v. Callais Is a Warning | A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities
- The California Endowment
- Power Coalition for Equity and Justice
- Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
- Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Resources from the Sector
- After Callais: Resources for the South | Southern Economic Advancement Project
- Social Toolkit Defending the Voting Rights Act: Louisiana v. Callais | Racial Equity Advancement and Defense Initiative
- Predictions on what this ruling could mean | Protect Democracy
Upcoming Events and Learning Opportunities
Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision Weakening Voting Rights
BY Dion Cartwright, The Funders Network, and Nathaniel Smith, Partnership for Southern Equity
The Funders Network stands with communities across the country working to protect and preserve the fundamental right to vote, fair representation, and a functioning democracy.
We are deeply troubled by the Supreme Court’s recent decision, which weakens the Voting Rights Act yet again by making it harder to challenge unfair district maps. For decades, the law has allowed challenges based on whether district lines reduced voters’ voice and voting power.
Last week’s decision raises the bar for such challenges by placing greater emphasis on proving intent to discriminate. We see this as shifting the burden onto the very voters bearing the consequences of exclusion.
The truth is, discrimination rarely announces itself. That makes intent difficult to prove. It shows up in stark gaps between who lives in a place and who has a real opportunity to be elected to represent them.
To understand what this decision means, it is worth taking stock of what’s already been lost. There used to be a requirement that jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination receive federal approval before changing election laws or maps. That protection was effectively dismantled in 2013. There used to be a path to challenge partisan gerrymandering in federal court. That option was eliminated in 2019.
Taken together, these changes leave fewer and fewer ways to challenge unfair districting at the national level, making it more important than ever that philanthropy fill critical gaps, bridge grassroots power with state and national advocacy, and support coordinated strategies that can move across systems.
In the near term, last week’s ruling will immediately affect Louisiana and other Southern states already moving to redraw district lines. But the implications are national.
In California’s Central Valley, Latino communities remain underrepresented in elected office. In Minnesota, Hmong communities continue working toward leadership that reflects their growing presence. In many places, changing demographics are still not reflected in political structures designed decades ago. These patterns are not new, and they will not change without sustained effort.
Racial equity is central to our work at The Funders Network, and we take seriously how decisions like this affect representation for communities of color. Many of our members are already deeply engaged in this work, but greater coordination, continued action and long-term commitment are still needed.
Protecting the vote has always required persistence and solidarity. That work is far from over.
What Funders Can Do
As it becomes harder to challenge unfair maps in court, philanthropy has an important role to play in sustaining the work that remains possible. We encourage our members to:
- Invest in long-term organizing power by supporting community-based organizations and coalitions working to protect voting access and advance fair representation, including research that documents disparities and strengthens the evidence base for reform
- Support engagement across state and local contexts, where many of the most consequential decisions on maps, elections and voting rules are now made
- Provide flexible, sustained funding to organizations navigating rapidly shifting legal and political conditions, so they can respond quickly while building lasting capacity
These investments help ensure that communities most affected by these decisions have the resources and power to shape outcomes over time.
Resources and Opportunities for Action
We are continuing to compile statements, resources and opportunities for engagement from TFN members, partners and others in the field. These include:
- Statements from civil rights and democracy organizations responding to the decision
- Opportunities to support organizations advancing voting rights and fair representation
- Upcoming briefings and conversations with leaders working on the frontlines of this issue
We will continue to share updates and ways to stay connected as this work evolves. To contribute a statement or resource with our network, please contact TFN’s Senior Associate for Communications and Engagement Brooke McPherson at brookem@fundersnetwork.org.
Dion Cartwright is President and CEO of TFN and Nathaniel Smith, who is Founder and Chief Equity Officer at Partnership for Southern Equity, is a member of TFN’s Board of Directors.
Water Week Spotlight: Learning, Leading and Looking Ahead with Urban Water Funders
BY Brooke McPherson, TFN's Senior Communications and Engagement Associate
Each year, Water Week brings together leaders from across the country to elevate the most pressing water challenges and the community-driven solutions shaping the path forward. Across TFN’s Urban Water Funders working group, that shows up as a focus on leadership, shared learning and creating space for funders to engage more deeply in the work.
One way that comes to life is through the Ladder Up Video Series. Hosted by TFN’s Kerry Hastings, this series features short conversations with leaders working at the intersection of water, equity and community power. It’s designed to be practical and accessible — surfacing real-world insights that funders can learn from and apply. Whether you’ve been engaged in Urban Water Funders for years or are just starting to explore water funding, Ladder Up offers an easy entry point.
That spirit of learning and connection carried through the recent Urban Water Funders 2026 Annual Convening in Houston, where funders came together to exchange ideas, build relationships and reflect on philanthropy’s role in advancing equitable water solutions. As we shared in our LinkedIn recap, one theme stood out: progress depends on staying rooted in community, responsive to place, and committed to long-term partnership.
Those ideas also show up in reflections from the The Kresge Foundation's CREWS Convening in New Orleans, where participants explored what it means to stay grounded in people, place and purpose while navigating complex environmental challenges. Together, these moments reflect a broader shift — one where funders are learning alongside communities, not just supporting them.
Looking ahead, the Urban Water Funders are also creating space for forward-looking conversation. National water leader Radhika Fox will join Yeou-Rong Jih of The Kresge Foundation for a discussion on where water policy and practice are headed.
Drawing on experience across utilities, nonprofits, philanthropy and government — including her leadership at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Fox will share perspectives on what it takes to shape a more resilient and equitable water future. Click here to learn more and register.
TFN's Urban Water Funders will also be at River Rally 2026 (May 11–14 in San Antonio, TX), offering another opportunity to connect with peers and stay engaged in the work.
During Water Week, we’re spotlighting work already helping move the field forward. Ladder Up is one of those efforts — sharing ideas, elevating leaders and connecting funders to what’s next in the field.