Jan 2022

Upcoming Program Highlights for Grantmakers for Education

EdFunders News

We’re excited to have you join us for some of our upcoming events.

In-Person Programming

  • We are looking forward to being together again for our annual conference in Austin, TX, October 18-20, 2022. Look out for information about this year’s theme and request for proposals, coming soon.
  • More details on other in-person programming opportunities will be coming soon.

New Podcast

  • Grantmakers for Education is launching a new podcast, The Future of Smart, hosted by Chief Program Officer Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen. Join us as we explore familiar topics through an unfamiliar lens, examining some of our deepest assumptions about education. Be watching for the pilot episodes to drop in late February!

Building Racial Literacy

Join us on February 15 from 2:00-3:30 pm ET for Race Literacy and Healing 101: A Foundation for Change.

Our facilitator is Milagros Phillips, the creator of Race Demystified, a compassionate approach to healing from racial conditioning. Race Literacy 101 introduces vital information that helps participants understand the context of racial biases, how racial trauma gets passed on and how racial conditioning affects all areas of life, including financial decisions, philanthropy, and much more.

Webinars

We are excited to announce a series of web-based programs:

  • Learning Series on the Future of Education with Phi Delta Kappan and Spencer Foundation

As we emerge from the disruptions of COVID, American education is in a moment of possibility. Join us for a series of conversations with panelists who believe we are seeing the desire, the demand and the readiness for something new.

  • Learning Series on the Future of Teaching

Even before COVID there was growing agreement on the need for a shift in how we think about the role of educators. Join us for a series of conversations with educators, system leaders and advocates working to build the future of the profession and explore the challenges and possibilities of this moment, and implications for funders. 

    • Session #1: Reimagining the Role of Educators - Details forthcoming.
    • Session #2: The Impact of State and Local Systems on Educator Preparation - Details forthcoming.

Impact & Learning Groups

We are excited to announce that we will be launching two new Impact & Learning Groups in 2022. We invite any members interested in joining to email ujoshihansen@edfunders.org.

  • Redefining the Purpose of School: Explore with members the contours of critical questions in education and what a shift in perspective means for the work of education grantmakers post-COVID.
    • What is the purpose of education? What would a new narrative that centers human flourishing and well-being include?
    • In a transformed system what would we value and how would we measure the system’s success against those values?
    • What investments would be needed in the short, medium, and long-term to develop the capacity of leaders in education and adjacent sectors to build this new vision?
  • Shifting Power in Education Grantmaking: Learn with other members about emerging strategies aimed at shifting power in grantmaking.
    • Rethinking the application and RFP process to expand access to funding opportunities.
    • The critical importance of expanding our social and professional networks to enable new players into the rarified world of philanthropy.
    • Participatory grantmaking processes.
    • How impact is defined and measured.

Coming soon, a kick-off event for the Shifting Power in Education Grantmaking Impact Group featuring Sunanna Chand of The Reinvention Lab at Teach for America, Meredith Olson of VELA Education Fund and Shruti Sehra of New Profit.