ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND APPENDIX

Nathan Cummings Foundation

The Nathan Cummings Foundation is a multigenerational family foundation working to create a more just, vibrant, sustainable, and democratic society, rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice. The foundation has four main focuses to promote a healthy planet and democracy: advancing racial and economic justice, transitioning to an inclusive clean economy, activating corporate and political accountability, and building solidarity through voice, creativity, and culture. Its 100 percent commitment to mission-aligned investing is a bold continuation of this legacy and a testament to Nathan Cummings’ anchoring ethos that “nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome.”

Frontline Solutions

Frontline Solutions is a Black-owned national consulting firm that delivers a full range of services in strategic and business planning and program design that includes implementation, research, evaluation, technical assistance, and community engagement. With eighteen full-time staff in Washington, DC and Durham, North Carolina, the Frontline team is comprised of organizers, scholars, strategists, artists, and coaches who are adept at utilizing consulting as a tool for social change. Frontline’s capacity is further augmented by a robust team of part-time subject-matter and technical experts.

Cascade Philanthropy Advisors

Cascade Philanthropy Advisors, based in Seattle, helps donors use their money, time, and brainpower to create meaningful change in the world. The firm works with many different types of philanthropists — from multibillion-dollar foundations operating on a global scale to individual donors investing in their own communities. The common denominator is helping clients use their resources as effectively as possible. The firm’s services include: focusing philanthropic goals, developing grant strategies, developing learning goals, conducting qualitative assessments of past philanthropic efforts, authoring issue briefs that present good opportunities for impact, engaging next-generation family members, and helping Boards assess their strengths and develop improvement plans.

CREATIVE REPUTE

Creative Repute®, LLC is an award-winning graphic design and website development agency. It designs exclusively for social justice driven organizations and transformative brands who are interested in making the world a better place.

Justice and Equity

There is a long, devastating, and sanctioned history of racialized violence and anti-Blackness that has resulted in the destruction and continued social and economic exclusion of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people and communities. Policies and practices rooted in capitalism, white supremacy, anti-Semitism, and patriarchy have worked together to prevent the vast majority of people — across identities — from reaching their full potential. We believe that philanthropy is a product of this history and that the foundation, with its power and privilege, has a responsibility to work in partnership with and be led by those individuals and communities most harmed. We are committed to investing in strategies and solutions that seek to dismantle oppressive systems and promote just, fair, and sustainable outcomes.

Interdependence

We know that all life on this planet is interconnected and part of a broader ecosystem. We believe that prosperity can be abundant, resources shared in ways that are not extractive, and that we are more powerful when we work together toward common goals. However, these beliefs will always be in conflict with a society that operates through rugged individualism and scarcity. Therefore, we are committed to working in community with others, the equitable distribution of power and resources, and contributing to the restoration of our communities, humanity, and planet.

Learning and Listening

We believe that no one person has all the answers. We also acknowledge the reality that all voices and types of knowledge are not valued equally. This means we must participate in spaces where we are actively listening to diverse perspectives, valuing, and compensating lived experience as expertise, and entering conversations with curiosity and humility. In this approach, we honor the work that has come before us and seek to support, build on, and credit the collective knowledge and wisdom that already exists.

Courageous Transformation

We believe that structural change requires disruptive thinking and a bold vision for the future. The radical transformation of our society and economy relies on partnership with those whose knowledge and ideas call into question our assumptions. Even through discomfort, it is those critical partnerships that prompt us to interrogate our biases, confront systems that seek to maintain harmful power structures, and show us our potential to courageously reimagine and transform our world.

Integrity

We believe our values are what ground our work and, in difficult times, illuminate the path forward. Clear and open lines of communication and systems of accountability will be paramount to us finding our way if and when we stray from that path. However, the presence of wealth and power can create blind spots and relationships where accountability is one way and unbalanced. We believe that shifting that balance means being transparent about our priorities and decision-making processes, being honest and open about our failures and successes, and making way for feedback with a willingness to change course to strengthen us to be better partners to the communities we serve.