In Chicago, foundations, donors and individuals are coming together to benefit the city they love. Benefit Chicago is the latest example of extreme collaboration in which good people come together to not just meet, but to get something done. They aim to put $100 million to work in the community to fill the unmet need for financial capital in the social sector.
What happens when foundations and others collaborate?
Minnesota is proof that collaboration between local organizations and foundations can generate groundbreaking change. Our own Central Corridor Funders Collaborative has been incredibly successful in using the creation of the Green Line light rail to drive neighborhood development. The Northside Funders Group leverages its collaborators’ diverse perspectives and depth of knowledge in order to maximize their social impact in North Minneapolis.
In Chicago, the visionaries who run the MacArthur Foundation, Chicago Community Trust and Calvert Foundation came together over years of planning to create a unique partnership allowing individuals and institutions to give back to their own community through as little as a $20 investment.
The positive side of Minnesota Nice is we already know how to work together. Congrats to our friends in the windy city. Tweet or email me with your ideas for what can work here!
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This powerful quote is how Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison opened his keynote address at the Minnesota Council on Foundations annual conference last month. As Americans, we stand for individual freedom, the right to pursue happiness, and the dignity of each person. These fundamental values are under assault. We need to muster our courage and act. Perhaps it’s reaching out to a friend with disabilities who is worried about funding cuts. Maybe it’s shopping and dining at non-traditional places and restaurants such as those found on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Or maybe it’s running for public office so we’ll have better leadership choices. Let me know what actions you’re taking in these fraught times.
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