2020 Annual Meeting | Reimagine Philanthropy
Maryland Philanthropy Network is using this year’s annual meeting as an opportunity for transformative change. Our Network must recognize the responsibility to engage in truth-telling and healing in order to support positive community transformation in Maryland. Together we'll hear from local and national grantmakers on the cutting edge of restorative practices, welcome new board members, and celebrate our outgoing board members and CEO Celeste Amato.
To sharpen our racial analyses and better understand the critical shifts needed to reimagine philanthropy, we have invited Vanessa Daniel, founder and Executive Director of Groundswell Fund, and Jamye Wooten, founder of CLLCTIVLY, to be in conversation with our membership. Kondwani Fidel, Baltimore native and globally recognized poet, will close our session by sharing how art and creativity have an indelible role in moving people to action for lasting social change.
This program will commence further dialogues about the steps Maryland Philanthropy Network and its members must engage in to advance the impact of giving across Maryland communities. This five-part series will continue into 2021 and feature special programs on Social Determinants of Health and Economic Justice, Race Equity and Reconciliation, Culture and Creative Placemaking, and Climate Justice.
Our annual meeting is open to members of Maryland Philanthropy Network and invited guests. This event is supported by a contribution from the Charles Crane Family Foundation.
Speakers
Vanessa Daniel is the founder and Executive Director of Groundswell Fund, the largest funder of the U.S. reproductive justice movement and of Groundswell Action Fund, the largest fund in the country centering giving to women of color-led 501c4 organizations. Under her leadership, Groundswell has moved more than $50 million to the field, with a focus on grassroots organizing led by women of color, low income women and transgender people, and ninety percent of its total giving going to work led by women of color. Vanessa’s roots in labor and community organizing inspired a unique funding model at Groundswell: a program staff team of women of color who come directly out of grassroots organizing and who support grantees through grantmaking, capacity building, and funder organizing to raise the visibility of grantee work in the broader funder/donor community. Groundswell’s work includes the only fund in the country dedicated to supporting access to midwifery and doula care for women of color, low income women and transgender people, and a robust women of color-led Integrated Voter Engagement training program. In 2017, Groundswell received the National Committee of Responsible Philanthropy’s “Impact Award” for smashing issue silos and Vanessa was featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of 15 “Influencers” who are changing the non-profit world.
Jamye Wooten is a Digital Communications & Social Impact Strategist, Network Weaver, and Founder of CLLCTIVLY and KINETICS. On the forefront of digital strategy, his work has spanned the globe – advising nonprofits, faith-based organizations, corporations, and individuals in their efforts to engage their constituencies. Wooten, a co-founder of Baltimore United for Change, launched CLLCTIVLY in 2019, a social impact organization that is creating an ecosystem to foster collaboration, increase social impact and amplify the voices of Black-led organizations in greater Baltimore. His goal is to end the fragmentation and duplication of programs and be a resource for those that seek to find, fund and/or partner with Black social change organizations.
Kondwani Fidel and his poetry have become one in the same. The passion Fidel brings to his work has taken the Baltimore native around the globe to confront education reform, civil rights, and growing up in an underserved community. Fidel has captivated audiences at conferences, literary events, and has lectured and taught classes at the University of East London while touring in the United Kingdom. Fidel’s lyrical poetry has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, The Root, The Independent, Mic, and Baltimore Sun along with his inspiring narratives for brands such as Under Armour. His viral essay, “How a Young Boy has Been Decaying in Baltimore Since Age 10: A Death Note”, cemented Fidel as an authority in his city. In 2018, The Baltimore Sun honored Fidel in its heralded ‘Best of Baltimore’ issue for his courage, innovative thinking, and leadership in local schools and communities.