SoCal Grantmakers’ Post

That's a wrap for Days 1 and 2 of Fundamentals of Effective Grantmaking! We can't wait to see the 2025 Fundamentals cohort again on Thursday, November 13! We kicked off the day with Monica Banks, Manager of Professional Learning at SoCal Grantmakers, who took the stage and led the session "Philanthropic Foundations as Vehicles for Public Service." During this, we explored the U.S. philanthropic landscape, historical moments that have influenced the sector, defined commonly used vernacular, and discussed the different types of foundations. Jennifer Vanore, Ph. D. (UniHealth Foundation & SCG Board Member) and Rosemary C. Veniegas, Ph. D. (California Community Foundation), provided an overview of the life cycle of a grant in "The Art of Grantmaking: Making Connections and Navigating Philanthropy." We continued the day with Patricia Yossen (Heart of Los Angeles), who led participants in a creative activity building sculptural bridges representing our connections and the unique strengths we each bring to our work. The day concluded with Felicia Jones (Social Good Solutions) and Kaci Y. Patterson, MBA (Social Good Solutions & Black Equity Collective), who explored the historical context of inequity in grantmaking and discussed strategies for how funders can center equity in their work. On the second day, attendees joined a participatory workshop, guided by Adrienne Wittenberg (S. Mark Taper Foundation & SCG Board Member), "Numbers Tell A Story: Understanding the Basics of Financial Statements." In this session, attendees learned about the practical hands-on experience and resources to understand nonprofit financial materials from a programmatic perspective. Later, Seyron Foo (Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency) led the session "The Art of Advocacy: Philanthropy's Role in Public Policy Engagement," which focused on effectively moving a foundation's agenda forward and shared the fundamentals of advocacy for foundations. Our day ended with the session "Trust-Based Philanthropy: An Ethos, a Movement, and an Approach for this Moment," in which Shaady Salehi (Trust-Based Philanthropy Project) highlighted what it looks like to meet the moment with a trust-based approach. #SCGFundamentals