Building a Grassroots Community Engaged Investment Approach to Grantmaking and Investment - A Three-Part Virtual Workshop with the Center for Cultural Innovation
January 11th, 18th, and 25th, 2022
1:00pm-2:30pm Eastern
The workshop has ended. To learn about opportunities for Transform Finance to support your approach to power building in investment, contact info@transformfinance.org.
Philanthropic funders are increasingly seeking to engage more deeply the communities they serve, both in their grantmaking and investment capacities. This interest aligns with a growing movement to build Grassroots Community Engaged Investment (GCEI): community development and place-based investment efforts where the communities have ownership and governance over the investments that affect them.
Funders interested in GCEI often need support in understanding how to turn their interest into action. In some cases, they may face challenges: the funding strategies and innovative financing tools that support GCEI projects may be unfamiliar to them, or they may face difficulty convincing their colleagues about this approach. As part of a nascent field, existing projects don’t always fit traditional due diligence measures or may not seem “shovel-ready.”
Building on our recent seminal report and an introductory discussion series, this workshop, led by Transform Finance and hosted by the Center for Cultural Innovation, provides a space to learn and share practices between funders who have supported GCEI initiatives and those who are eager to engage with this emerging strategy.
The program is designed for philanthropy practitioners who are interested in supporting innovative projects that build community power through the investment process. This includes:
- Program Officers who want to make grants that support specific projects or infrastructure for the field of GCEI
- Foundation Investment Staff who are considering making investments with a GCEI lens
- Other Philanthropic Investment Actors, such as family offices and high-net worth individuals
What will you get out of the workshop?
- A framework for understanding power-building investment opportunities in the context of your existing philanthropic programs, such as COVID recovery, health, housing security, and racial equity
- A deep understanding of different models of GCEI with specific examples, such as single-project real estate developments and community-governed funds
- Best practices from philanthropic actors who support GCEI projects through grants and investments
- An opportunity to develop, workshop, and troubleshoot your own strategies
- Deeper relationships with other funders focusing on building power through investment
- Connections to experts who can help tackle your questions and build strategies around GCEI
