This post originally appeared in Panorama's bi-monthly newsletter. Sign up here to get updates.
Happy new year from Panorama – and happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate.
While the new year is a time for celebration and reflection, the first month of the year has started off with a drumbeat of mass shootings, police brutality, and ongoing violence in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Panorama stands in solidarity with individuals and organizations on the frontlines of racial justice and human rights all across the globe. We are outraged and deeply saddened by the disregard for our common humanity that was displayed in the footage of the Memphis police killing of Tyre Nichols. We are committed to supporting our partners and peers advocating for justice to prevail around the world.
To encourage additional funding towards racial justice, today we are sharing the latest set of insights coming from our Collaborative Learning from Impact Philanthropy initiative. Recommendations and Insights for Funders of Racial Justice and Equity Organizations was informed by leaders of racial justice and equity organizations that received grants from MacKenzie Scott and who recently participated in one of our peer learning communities. They made six recommendations for funders to shift practices toward equity and work together to drive transformative change for racial justice.
The recommendations include:
I hope you will take a few minutes to read the recommendations and that they inspire you to reflect on how you might contribute to a more just and equal world.
In partnership,
Gabrielle Fitzgerald
Founder and CEO
Panorama Group
The insights from racial justice leaders gathered here reflect the historical under-investment in communities of color and restricted funding for racial justice and equity organizations.
What do racial justice leaders want funders to know about windfall grants? View our latest report for six practical recommendations for adopting a trust-based approach with a racial justice lens.
Panorama's Dr. Abbie Hodgson, Director of The Ascend Fund, recently sat down with Inside Philanthropy to talk about what it will take to achieve gender parity in politics and how it can improve our democratic institutions.
This may sound like an audacious goal, but we're unapologetically ambitious in our efforts to elect more women, particularly in state legislatures.
Read the Inside Philanthropy feature
Several Panorama staff were excited to attend HRFN's global conference in Oaxaca, Mexico in December – not just as the network's fiscal sponsor, but as active participants learning from peers all over the world.
HRFN brought together almost 300 attendees, including a mix of public and private donors, as well as strong representation from both Global South and Global North funds. Our team led a discussion of learnings from windfall grants and participants' experiences moving towards more trust-based grants and other mechanisms to drive equity. Our team also participated in a number of insightful sessions focused on crisis responses and resourcing human rights defenders, gender justice and the support of feminist movements worldwide, and more.
Panorama's Andrea Ackerman recently co-wrote a blog with other participants reflecting on one session in particular, exploring potential models for the future of participatory grantmaking.
Read the blog on participatory grantmaking
This December also saw huge progress for workplace survivors of sexual harassment in the U.S. with the December 7 signing of the Speak Out Act. This was the second piece of legislation shepherded through Congress by Lift Our Voices, following last March's Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. Panorama is pleased to fiscally sponsor Lift Our Voices.
"Together, these two bills represent not only the most significant changes to American labor law this century but are also the first national legislative victories of the #MeToo movement," the project's co-founders wrote in a recent op-ed.
Progress is neither linear nor guaranteed.
Read Ascend Fund's post-election report for analysis of 2022 midterms' impact on women's representation. Key takeaway? Progress is neither linear nor guaranteed.
We are still in a mental health crisis—and youth need our continued support.
Watch a video message from Upswing Fund Director Mark Long on the importance of partnering to support adolescent mental health.
We're sharing lessons from organizations that received large, unrestricted grants.
Here are three articles we published recently based on our research, analysis, and peer learning on making and managing windfall gifts:
Photo credit: Gritchelle Fallesgon for Disabled and Here.
This post originally appeared in Panorama's bi-monthly newsletter. Sign up here to get updates.
