Can we talk about...? A podcast on leading for racial equity in philanthropy

Today the Sewall Foundation board’s primary purpose isn’t to protect their portfolio and assets. It’s to steward the foundation’s values. But that wasn’t always the case. In this episode, Gabriela Alcalde, executive director of the Sewall Foundation, shares how the board evolved its definition of fiduciary duty and adopted a board purpose statement that puts community and mission impact first. Tune in to hear the tangible steps they’ve taken as an organization and new practices they’ve ...

Wait, wasn’t Season 1 also about boards? Turns out there’s more to talk about. Can we talk about..? veterans Monika Kalra Varma and Kevin Walker join us to share why we’re revisiting this topic in Season 4, and how foundation staff can harness the potential of their boards to accelerate their missions and values. Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at the Northwest Area Foundation board’s decision to double its grantmaking dollars, an exploration of the "right" percentage of time CEOs ...

Season 4 is here! And no, you’re not experiencing déjà vu. Mares is back, and so is the very first topic we tackled together on this podcast: foundation boards and governance. So what’s new this season? Video Our guests are waving hello to the camera! This season we’re bringing you full video episodes on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Shorter Episodes Mares will have all of 35 minutes each episode – give or take a few – to tackle one aspect of board service. Think fi...

Valériana Chikoti-Bandua Estes, executive director of Social Justice Fund Northwest and Maya Thornell Sandifor, managing director of the Kataly Foundation, join Mares for the final episode of season 3 focused on community philanthropy and equity. The episode begins with a conversation on power, and how community philanthropy typically underutilizes the power and influence they have. Together they share the need to move against the status quo for greater justice for their communities. They ...

Katie Carter, President of Pride Foundation, and Mindie Reule, President & CEO, Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, sit down with Mares to discuss tangible ways that philanthropy can be more accountable to the community it serves. They begin the conversation by naming how the structures that currently exist do not hold philanthropy accountable to the communities they serve, and discuss ways in which funders can develop accountability mechanisms that lead to greater transparency acr...