Good News for Bridge-Builders: Resources, Programs and Community to Support Your EBDI Journey

By Awale (Wally) Osman, Director of Organizational Learning and Leadership Development for Equity and Belonging

Two weeks ago at an event hosted by the Bush Foundation, I sat in an auditorium listening to john a. powell describe the work of bridging — how we build a world where everyone belongs. That same evening, the President of the United States called my community—and by extension, me— “garbage.”

I share this not to center my experience, but because it clarifies why this moment matters. The EBDI Institute we are launching is not an abstraction. It is a response to a world where some people are actively pushed outside the circle of human concern — and where the rest of us must decide what we will do about it.

powell reminds us that belonging is not a sentimental ideal. It is a shared responsibility. Bridging is not passive. It is active work, especially now.

The EBDI Institute exists to support you in that work so we can all build the Minnesota we want.

The Minnesota We're Working Toward

We are committed to helping philanthropy create the conditions for a Minnesota where race no longer determines outcomes or predicts success. We are committed to helping philanthropy create the conditions for a Minnesota where race no longer determines outcomes or predicts success. 

We believe a more equitable Minnesota is possible. Courageous and connected leaders working—within and across—our philanthropic community help build this future together. We’re investing long-term in these leaders and the communities they serve through our new EBDI Institute. 

Through leadership development, organizational learning, and practice, we support MCF members at all stages of their equity, belonging, diversity, and inclusion (EBDI) journey as our contribution to help tilt the odds toward our shared vision.

The Challenge We're Facing Together

This work has never been easy. Right now, it is particularly hard.

Across the country, EBDI efforts face renewed resistance — legal challenges, corporate rollbacks, political attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion itself. Many funders are quietly rolling back commitments, erasing words from websites, afraid of becoming targets. Others are speaking louder, standing behind their values. Many are somewhere in between — still committed, but unsure how to move forward with clarity, courage, and coherence.

Federal funding cuts have sent shockwaves through the nonprofit sector. Political narratives about waste, fraud, and abuse are undermining trust in vital community institutions. And when leaders in the highest offices use dehumanizing language about immigrant communities, the need for bridging work becomes more urgent, not less.

MCF is here to support you through it. This isn't institutional fog or platitudes. It's personal — for our philanthropic leaders navigating the space between what they believe, what their boards expect, what their peers model, and what feels politically safe.

Our new EBDI Institute provides resources and programs to create space to reconnect with your internal compass, speak honestly, and discover new paths forward. You don’t have to do this alone.

Introducing the EBDI Institute

The EBDI Institute meets you where you are, whether you’re just beginning to center EBDI in your work, navigating pushback on established commitments, or looking to deepen your practice. We offer four interconnected pathways:

Experiential Leadership Lab

What: Quarterly, full-day, in-person sessions designed to deepen your capacity to lead through the complexity of EBDI work.

For: Open to all MCF members. 

Cost: Free in 2026, fee-based starting 2027

Center for Organizational Learning and Practice

What: Ongoing virtual programs, including “Foundation Spotlights” and “Learning Across Sectors,” plus a Living Resource Library to lower the barriers to implementing EBDI.

For: Open to all MCF members.

Cost: Free for MCF members.

Rural Urban Bridging for Impact (RUBI)

What: Network convenings and resources to amplify and invest in rural-urban bridging work and help heal divides across Minnesota.

For: Open to all MCF members.

Cost: Free for MCF members.

People of Color and LGBTQ+ Community of Practice

What: A courageous collective featuring quarterly leadership sessions, virtual Ubuntu Circles for peer support, and an annual Ubuntu Leadership Summit.

For: Open to MCF members who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and/or LGBTQ+.

Cost: Quarterly sessions and Ubuntu Circles: Free; Summit: Free in 2026, fee-based starting in 2027

How Did MCF Come Up With the New EBDI Institute? 

The EBDI Institute emerged from a rigorous, year-long Theory of Change (TOC) process. Through deep listening with the board, staff, select nonprofits and members, we identified where MCF could be most useful to you and how we can best contribute to a better future for all Minnesotans. 

As the graphic below illustrates, we examined three domains: the external challenges to equity and belonging in Minnesota, our members’ aspirations and developmental needs, and MCF’s strengths as a philanthropic infrastructure organization. The center of that diagram—where all three circles overlap—is where the EBDI Institute lives. It represents the strategic positioning where Minnesota’s equity challenges, your aspirations as practitioners, and MCF’s capacity to convene, build capacity, and mobilize resources all meet.

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Learn more about our EBDI Theory of Change

Our Shared Path Forward

2026 is the first year of the EBDI Institute and we welcome feedback. We are launching these offerings, learning what works, and adapting based on your experience. We may include longer sessions, cohort-based offerings, and other adaptations based on emerging needs and interests. Your participation and feedback will directly shape how the Institute evolves. 

And while we strive to offer more culturally appropriate and responsive content and pedagogy, we are not perfect at any of these things. We stumble. We try again. We improve.

Take Your Next Step

We're rolling out EBDI Institute programs throughout 2026. Initial offerings are available now and more coming in January and beyond. Here’s what’s open for registration now: 

Session 7: Different Voices, Stronger Together: Celebrating 2025, Launching Our 2026 ‘Rooted and Rising’ Journey

People of Color and LGBTQ+ Community of Practice – Leadership Without Easy Answers Series

January 29, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. | In person at McKnight Foundation

For MCF members who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and/or LGBTQ+.

Register for “Session 7: Different Voices, Stronger Together”

COLP 1: Building a Culture of Transformation and Belonging: Lessons from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Foundation Spotlight Series – Center for Organizational Learning and Practice (COLP)

February 24, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Virtual

Open to all MCF members.

Register for “COLP 1: Building a Culture of Transformation and Belonging”

ELL 1: What Comes Next? Reimagining the Systems We Need for Shared Prosperity and Belonging

Experiential Leadership Lab (ELL) Session

March 26, 2026 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. | In person at Greater Twin Cities United Way

Open to all MCF members.

Register for “ELL 1: What Comes Next?”

I’d also love to hear from you. What EBDI challenges are you facing in your work? How might the EBDI Institute help fill gaps or support you and your colleagues? Take a look at my online scheduling system and grab 30 minutes with me. I’m looking forward to learning more about your work.

 

This work has never been more needed. In a time when some are being pushed outside the circle of human concern, we are choosing to invest in the hard, necessary work of bridging—and you don’t have to do it alone.

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