Leveling the Playing Field: Philanthropy's Role in Building a More Equitable Philadelphia

Leveling the Playing Field: Philanthropy’s Role in Building a More Equitable Philadelphia
Thursday, September 9 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Online Conversation

Offered in Partnership with: The Regional Foundation Center of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Department of Public Administration at Villanova University

Sponsored by:

Bloomerang | Commonwealth Consulting Partners | First Nonprofit | TriNet | Zelenkofske Axelrod

*In order to prepare for this event, registration will close one hour before the program starts, at 9:00 AM EST.

Last September, nearly 200 professionals from Philly’s nonprofit and funding communities gathered (on-screen) for an open dialogue on the future of philanthropy in Philadelphia. At the time, we were just six months into our new COVID frontier, and many of us had more questions than answers. Even still, two major themes emerged from that conversation:

• Addressing both the universal and disparate impacts of COVID – Many have experienced some of the same “fallout” from the events of 2020, but certain groups, nonprofits, and communities are experiencing additional, disparate impacts. Especially communities of color and nonprofits led by people of color. How can philanthropy step up for all?
• Leading Systems Change – How can philanthropy not only incorporate but lead the way when it comes to undoing systemic practices rooted in centuries of racism, inequity, and inequality?

A year after that conversation and more than a year into this pandemic, what have we learned about philanthropy’s role in building a more equitable, just, and inclusive Philadelphia? How is philanthropy evolving to fill that role alongside our nonprofits? What needs to happen to bridge the “intention gap” we’re starting to see with racial equity funding? And how can nonprofits work together with philanthropy to move the needle?

Join PANO, RFC, and Villanova’s Department of Public Administration to discuss all this and more! In this program, we’ll take time to exchange information, learn from one another, share funding goals and ideas, and simply connect.

As we all continue to adapt to ever-evolving circumstances and begin to co-create our post-COVID reality, let’s also continue to grow, learn, and level the playing field – together.

*In order to prepare for this event, registration will close one hour before the program starts, at 9:00 AM EST.

Agenda:

9:45-10:00 AM | Informal Networking

10:00-10:10 AM | Welcome

10:10-10:50 AM | Setting the Stage (Lawanda Horton Sauter & Monica O. Montgomery) – Veteran fundraising consultant and nonprofit capacity builder Lawanda Horton Sauter will help to set the stage for our panel discussion, highlighting the following through a blend of presentation and interview-style conversation with Transformative Cultural Consultant Monica O. Montgomery:

• The Intention Gap – What is it, how do we close it, and how do we make a genuine commitment to creating equitable space and opportunity in the nonprofit sector?
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) – Why is this so important and what do orgs/foundations need to do to make good on their DEI promises?
• Cultural Competency, Cultural Incapacity, and Cultural Blindness – How do these fit together as a crucial foundation for DEI efforts?
• A few organizations that are beginning to put DEI plans into practice – How are groups like Shakespeare in Clark Park, Historic Germantown, and The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Violence Prevention walking the talk of DEI work?

10:50-11:00 AM | BREAK

11:00 AM-12:00 PM | Panel Discussion (Moderated by Lawanda Horton Sauter, featuring as panelists Jocelyn Arnold, Mayor’s Office of Grants and Community Partnerships; Monica Burch, Senior VP – Market Manager, PNC Community Development Banking; Diana Lu, Project Coordinator, Germantown Info Hub)

Cost:
FREE for everyone!

Terms of Participation
Your registration is good for a single login. Please do not share your unique login information with others, as it may interfere with your ability to join. If others from your organization wish to participate, please encourage them to register separately rather than try to “borrow” or share your login link.

Materials & Login/Call-In Instructions:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with instructions on how to login and call-in, will be emailed to attendees a few days prior to the date of the webinar. PANO uses Zoom as our platform for connecting; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

NOTE: A copy of the recording will be distributed to all who attend the live conversation. If you cannot make it this time around, please email Christina at christina@pano.org to be notified of future opportunities to attend this or a similar workshop. Additionally, registration will close at 9:00 AM on Thursday, September 9.

About the Speakers:

Lawanda Horton Sauter, M.S., Facilitator & Panel Discussion Moderator
Lawanda Horton Sauter, M.S., is the President and CEO of Mission Incorporated. For over 12 years, Mission Incorporated has been providing startup, grant writing, and growth development services to nonprofit organizations. Ms. Horton has raised over $25 million for organizations throughout PA, DE, NY, and NJ. To date, she has provided startup and capacity building support to over 250 organizations.

She has 20 years’ experience as a nonprofit executive and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from New England College. In addition to her nonprofit capacity building work, the community program Mission Forward is used to push arts and activism projects. Recently Ms. Horton raised $10,000 for The Trayvon Martin Foundation and Black Male Development Programs, and distributes over $1,000 worth of household items and food to families along Philadelphia’s Germantown Avenue annually.

She was awarded in 2013 the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Minority Business Leaders award and was named among the NAACP’s top 100 most influential black women in Philadelphia. In 2018, Ms. Horton received an award for her anti-violence work from the Social Innovation Journal and has had articles on nonprofit capacity building published by Generocity, Nonprofit Quarterly, and the Social Innovations
Journal. Lawanda also received a grant from the School District of Philadelphia in 2019 to do educational interventions in the arts.

Monica O. Montgomery, M.A., Featured Speaker

Monica O. Montgomery, M.A., is a transformative cultural consultant immersed in propelling organizations forward, in art, culture, creative economy, history, and equity strategies. She is the co-founder of Museum Hue, the premiere multicultural group in advancing the visibility and viability of people of color in museums. She champions diversity in action, having consulted on DEI initiatives over the past decade, specializing in advising and training staff, stakeholders, boards, foundations, associations, and influencers on concepts of socially responsive practice and community care. She keynotes across the country at conferences like: Association of Art Museum Curators, American Alliance of Museums, Association of African American Museums, Museum Next, MuseumExpert.org, Henry Stewart Events, Culture&, Museums Association, Themed Entertainment Association, The American Association for State and Local History, National Council on Public History, Museum Education Roundtables, Arts Administrators of Color, and Arts Marketing Association UK.

Additionally, she is the Social Justice, Special Projects + Programming Curator with Smithsonian Institution Arts + Industries Building. She has independently curated 40+ social justice, contemporary art and public history exhibits, experiences, and festivals, with renowned organizations like the South African Embassy, Brooklyn Museum, Portland Art Museum, Teachers College, Woodlawn Mansion, Weeksville Heritage Center, The Highline, and The New School. She has honed her talents over two decades as an: executive director of 3 museums, independent curator, fundraiser, marketer, program manager, and seasoned public speaker who simultaneously serves as a leadership coach and expert advisor for boards and staff in museums, historic houses, cultural centers, greenspaces.

As a leader working in community engagement and inclusion in museums, her passion lies in remedy and resolution of organizational challenges, and she holistically approaches audiences, stakeholders through a lens of welcoming and belonging. Monica is a graduate professor teaching courses around Museums Community Engagement and Social Change at: Georgetown University, American University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Pratt Institute, and NYU. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication from Temple University and Master of Arts in Corporate Communication from LaSalle University in Philadelphia. She has been featured in the media on Smithsonian Magazine, Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, C-Span, Hyperallergic, Radio One, Black Art in America, Humans of New York, and The Museum Life podcast.

Jocelyn Arnold, Panelist

Jocelyn Arnold is Deputy Chief Grants Officer for the Mayor’s Office of Grants & Community Partnerships. She started as a Grants Officer in 2013 and has been in her current role for the past 5 years. Jocelyn is very active in her community, currently serving on the boards of Pennsylvania Disproportionate Minority Contact Youth/Law Enforcement Corp., Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project, and Roadmap to Homes Community. She was also a member of the Steering Committee for Philadelphia Black Giving Circle until this June.

Monica Burch, M.B.A., Panelist

Monica L. Burch is PNC Bank’s senior vice president and market manager of Community Development Banking for Philadelphia, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey.

Prior to her current role, Burch spent more than three years ats vice president and Community Development market manager for Citizens bank’s Eastern PA, New Jersey, and Delaware region. In that role, she focused on Community Reinvestment Act initiatives in the region.

Burch brings over 15 years of banking experience with PNC to its clients and prospects. She spent the majority of her financial services career as a Corporate Credit Underwriter with PNC where she received her commercial credit training. Her primary focus was middle market companies with revenues of $30MM to $500MM as well as nonprofit organizations with $5MM to $29MM in net assets.

Active in a range of community organizations, Burch is a board member of the Urban Affairs Coalition, a member of the City of Philadelphia Housing Advisory Board, LISC Philadelphia Advisory Board, and Cooper’s Ferry Partnership.

Burch received her B.A. degree from Spelman College in Economics and M.B.A. degree from University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Diana Lu, M.C.P., Panelist

Diana Lu is a city planner who likes to write. She has spent more than ten years in the nonprofit, public, and media sectors working on economic development, placemaking, and resource redistribution. Diana leads the Germantown Info Hub, a community-centered journalism project that shares information for and by Germantown residents, and community engagement editor for Root Quarterly, a Philadelphia-based print journal. She previously served as the Community Engagement Editor for PlanPhilly, WHYY’s planning, design, and development news project.

Diana serves on the ‘Change the Narrative’ committee for the Women’s Economic Security Initiative, board of the Independence Business Alliance (LGBTQ chamber), and finance committee for Women’s Community Revitalization Project. Her work in economic development and community engagement in the AAPI community was honored by Governor Tom Wolf’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs in 2018.

Diana has lived and relied on public transit in Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Paris, but became a proud SEPTA rider in 2009. She holds a Master’s degree in City Planning (MCP) from the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and a B.A. in Urban Studies and French from Vassar College.