As NCFP’s 2020 Class of Fellows, we’ve been sitting down and doing a lot of listening. Not the kind of listening you do at a plenary session or on a webinar. The kind of listening that requires some courage. Courage to be in spaces and conversations that are often uncharted waters and make us entirely uncomfortable.

Discussions with people from all different races, classes and lived experiences that illuminate personal stories and raw emotions. Inner dialogues that examine our unconscious biases. This takes the kind of courage that allows oneself to be truly vulnerable; gives permission to fumble and recover; and turns the mirror on ourselves to unpack how we are really showing up in these spaces.

Welcome to three women’s journeys around racial equity in the field of family philanthropy.

Our hope is that sharing our journeys and putting ourselves out there in uncomfortable ways may inspire others to do the same, for if we are to truly be effective change makers in philanthropy, we must intentionally examine the history that has created so many of our social problems and inequities and we must center race in our thinking and approach.

We definitely don’t presume to be the experts. But what we do know is that each of us individually has been navigating a path that has led us to believe we need to speak up…we need to sit down and listen…and we need to understand that this work is forever work.

Read the full article about racial equity in family philanthropy by Mary Mountcastle , Kelly D. Nowlin, and June Wilson at the National Center for Family Philanthropy.