Bridging Divides: Lessons from Place-Based Philanthropy

An event summary contributed by The Horizon Forum

In the midst of confounding uncertainty our country’s leading philanthropic and charitable organizations are grappling with a myriad of shared challenges. From unprecedented federal funding cuts and government restructuring to increased polarization and rising xenophobia, foundations and grantmaking institutions across the United States are navigating complex stakeholder ecosystems to ensure that essential support and services are provided to the most vulnerable among us. 

At the same time, foundations are forecasting medium and long-term strategies to ensure sustainability in the face of a precarious horizon. To help shed light on the current state of affairs and better understand how place-based grantmakers are meeting the challenge of the current moment, the Minnesota Council on Foundations partnered with the Horizon Forum (a fiscally sponsored project at the Proteus Fund) to host a conversation with R.T. Rybak, CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation and Jeremy Wells, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. While covering a range of topics, the discussion stressed the importance of:

1. Values-Alignment and Relationship Management in a Polarized Environment
2. Bridging Resource Gaps Through Innovative Finance and Philanthropy
3. Narrative Change

While the full conversation can be accessed in the recording, some highlights of the discussion are provided below.  

Values Alignment and Relationship Management in a Polarized Environment

One of the most important lessons shared by both Rybak and Wells was the importance of maintaining relationships and pursuing problem solving despite of—or perhaps because of—differences of opinion, outlook, or otherwise. Wells poignantly said, 

“We're trying to make sure that we're staying in relationship with as many people as possible through this process because we believe that we do have the ability to both learn from and change hearts and minds of people we're in partnership with, especially our fund holders, but only if we're still in relationship with them. So sometimes you may have to get to a ‘no’ – in terms of approving a grant, for example. But how do you get to a ‘no’ while still staying in the relationship…because as soon as you lose the relationship, you lose the opportunity to learn from or collaborate with that individual's philanthropic decisions moving forward.”

Therefore, maintaining dialogue is integral to living out the organization’s values—not eroding them.

R.T. Rybak echoed this call to values-based philanthropy, sharing how his foundation balances fundholder autonomy with ethical red lines. “Our fundholders can give where they want—but not to hate,” he said. He also noted that while the foundation is a co-plaintiff in a case against the EPA over its cancellation of a $60 million environmental justice grant, it also aggressively attempted to engage the administration through dialogue and negotiation instead of legal recourse. But as Rybak says, sometimes “you have to fight like hell” to protect not only your foundation's rights but also the values you represent.

Bridging Resource Gaps Through Innovative Finance and Collaborative Philanthropy 

Another key topic discussed was the importance of innovative financing as a crucial lever for addressing resource challenges in today’s philanthropic landscape. In the face of declining philanthropic activity nationwide, alongside ongoing economic uncertainty, foundation leaders are leaning into innovative financing strategies, including impact investments, blended finance, non-cash asset capture, and collaborative funding models, to address pressing resource gaps. Jeremy Wells noted that the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation is standing up two separate investment pools to align capital with community values, allowing for both the deepening of relationships across its donor and grantee ecosystem as well as the creation of new revenue sources.  Wells says, “We are coming into relationship with new individuals and organizations for the first time because of these strategies. And so, it becomes another front door to our house, if you will.” Wells also shared that the Foundation has taken a more active role in directing and managing its investments, more than doubling its staff size in this area, and thus allowing for greater coordination between investment strategies, donor engagement, and grantee support. 

Although foundations are facing resource gaps, R.T. Rybak quickly reminded the audience that unlocking frozen or dormant assets is just as critical as developing new sources of philanthropic capital. In fact, he argues that focusing on growing one’s giving ambitions will generate more revenue. While seemingly counterintuitive, it is indeed the case that demand often produces supply in a healthy marketplace. For community foundations and DAF sponsors, engaging donors to accelerate their giving by aligning philanthropic capital with shared community goals can trigger multiple network effects. For Rybak, impact investing has been a critical tool in supporting collaborative programs such as the Ground Break Coalition, which aims to commit $5.3 billion over ten years to support racial and economic justice through entrepreneurship, business support, and homeownership. 

Narrative Change and Shared-Problem Solving

Another area that participants highlighted as crucial to helping overcome social, cultural, and urban-rural divides was narrative change. When funders and nonprofits actively engage in narrative change, they can create a more inclusive dialogue that acknowledges the unique challenges and strengths communities face. Paul Masiarchin of the Minnesota Council on Foundations noted that they have been convening a group to address this issue as part of its Rural and Urban Bridging Initiative (RUBI). He asked participants to comment on how narrative change and strategy can help foster collaboration and problem-solving among diverse stakeholders who may otherwise feel disconnected. 

Rybak commented on the importance of place in promoting an awareness of shared challenges, powerfully noting that, “I think one of the common grounds is in fact common ground.” He continued to say that “the connection we have to people when we interact going through a downtown or a small town main street is something that was fractured during COVID” but is an area that funders and donors should focus on to understand that what happens in a rural main street is similar to what happens in downtown Minneapolis. 

Wells raised the critical role foundations can serve as conveners:  

“How can we amplify and share stories that will resonate with all groups of people across Minnesota? Again, how can we get more people at the table having these conversations as opposed to getting to our own camps and throwing names and insults at each other?”

In addition to its support of RUBI, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation has focused on narrative change in the areas of equity in partnership with public media platforms such as NPR and TPT (Twin Cities PBS). Support for local media ecosystems (through the work of Press Forward, for example) and community-level collaboration was also stressed by John Larsen of the John Larsen Foundation, who co-founded Upstream. Upstream is an environmental stewardship initiative that integrates equity and dialogue into its program design, thereby fostering shared problem solving and social cohesion simultaneously. 

Further Discussion

Other critical areas of discussion in the webinar include managing reputational risk, forging public-private partnerships, and promoting sector-wide advocacy and coordination. 

We invite readers to listen to the full conversation even if, or perhaps because, it may seem too challenging to capture the current state of affairs in the midst of today’s dizzying news cycle and rapidly changing political environment.

More Information

This webinar marks the first in the Horizon Forum’s learning series and applied-research initiative, Philanthropy and Polarization: Navigating Uncertainty and Creating Opportunities for Shared Problem Solving. For more information on this initiative, contact the Horizon Forum, [email protected].

To learn more about the Minnesota Council on Foundation’s work in this and other areas, contact Paul Masiarchin, [email protected].