BY KATHRYN SNYDER

As part of our strategic plan, and in alignment with my new role as Director of Movement Partnerships, we are doubling down on our commitment to showing up in movement spaces with integrity, humility, and purpose. Our work is anchored in four core pillars: showing up as values-aligned, listening partners in movement spaces; building trust-based, reciprocal relationships with frontline organizations; collaborating with other philanthropic actors to shift power and center the leadership of those most impacted; and recruiting new individual and institutional members who share our values and strengthen our collective capacity for transformative change. These pillars are not just strategic priorities—they are a reflection of our political commitments and a roadmap for how we move resources in service of liberation.

I recently attended a few powerful gatherings that affirmed the growing momentum behind justice-centered philanthropy, and I was proud to represent our network in these spaces—listening, learning, connecting with existing movement partners, and building new relationships. 

Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy

I was invited to an intimate dinner hosted by the Presidents’ Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy, a peer community of foundation presidents seeking to address the inequity and injustice experienced by more than 61 million disabled Americans (25% of U.S. adults) and one billion disabled people worldwide by disrupting ableism in philanthropy and supporting disabled-led movements. I had the profound honor of sitting at a table with disability justice activist and author Alice Wong, the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project. The conversations reminded me that collective liberation must always include disability justice, not as an afterthought, but as a foundation.

Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) Conference

At the Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) Conference, I had the privilege of co-leading a session Solidarity with Palestine: Addressing Militarism, Repression and Philanthropy that invited funders into a space of political education and strategic dialogue to explore how philanthropy can resist, rather than reinforce, U.S. imperialism and global oppression. Participants examined ways their institutions can divest from violence, resource liberation movements, and practice true solidarity with oppressed communities. I was proud to uplift the work of our Mobilize for Palestine and Jews for Justice peer communities, that are working in partnership with members of Resource Generation and Solidaire. 

Hispanics in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy Joint Conference

At the Hispanics in Philanthropy and Native Americans in Philanthropy Joint Conference, I joined a mainstage plenary Reimagining Philanthropy Amid Crisis with powerhouse speakers including former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, President of the Latino Community Foundation. We explored emergent design in philanthropy, and how funders can adapt and evolve in real time with the needs and wisdom of frontline communities. We shared perspectives on reimagining organizational structures, managing risk in advocacy, and the future of philanthropy. 

Across all three convenings, I was reminded that our strength as a community and network lies in showing up with humility, aligning with movement strategies, and continuously (un)learning how to move resources toward liberation. I look forward to building on these connections as we deepen our partnerships across movements.