Marguerite Casey Foundation

Thank you National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) for publishing this timely article on humane investing! And a huge shout out to Daniel Gould, CFA, CAIA—MCF's Vice President of Investments and Operations—for your leadership in ensuring our endowment aligns with our vision for a better world, and for sharing these powerful lessons far and wide.

“Representation isn’t enough.” Carmen Rojas, PhD, president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation, broke it down at Hispanics in Philanthropy, highlighting how people who care about racial and economic justice must: 🎯  examine the tradeoff between the politics of representation and ideological alignment;  🏛️ discuss the role government should be playing in our society;  📚 learn and own our histories of multiracial solidarity. If these sound like conversations you’d like to be a part of, check out MCF’s Summer School: Building A People and Planet-Centered Future at the link in the comments.

"Solidarity is a verb." 👏 Catch highlights from our recent MCF Summer School webinar on "The State of Student Protesting" and sign up to join our next session!

🚨 Happening today! 🚨 Register now to join #MCFSummerSchool and hear from experts on Why Government Matters and what it will take to remake it to truly serve the public good. Find the registration link in the comments.

The stakes couldn't be higher. While some describe the *threat* of fascism in the United States, many are already *living* it. ⚠️ In Texas, a man charged with murdering a protester was pardoned by the state’s governor normalizing violence against those seeking to hold powerful people accountable. ⚠️ In Mississippi, a court is ordering an independent newspaper to expose confidential sources after a story ran exposing political corruption threatening the First Amendment protection afforded journalists. ⚠️ Across the country organizers are being named terrorists for fighting for the sanctity of life in Palestine, the health of our planet at Standing Rock, and against the expansion of the prison industrial complex at Cop City. For those of us who care about freedom—especially funders—we urgently need to understand how we got here and how we can fuel multiracial coalitions powerful enough to fight the forces of fascism. I’m proud to announce that Marguerite Casey Foundation has launched our Summer School series as part of our work to meet the challenges and opportunities of this moment. Summer School sessions are live events that take place in collaboration with visionary organizers, activist scholars, and experts to provide political education that has the power to spark the solidarity essential for creating a future focused on the well-being of people and the planet. Together, we can—and must—fight fascism with multiracial solidarity. Register now for MCF’s Summer School: Building A People and Planet-Centered Future at the link in the comments!

I’m thrilled to uplift this powerful conversation on "The Future of Work" with Adrian Haro, CEO of The Workers Lab. Every worker deserves dignified, humane conditions, but to make that real, we have to radically renovate what working life in the US offers to the folks who hold it up every day. Improving conditions for low-wage and gig workers in the excluded workers’ economy means we’ve got to start listening to workers' experiences, analysis, and expertise. That’s where The Workers Lab excels, and is part of what made them an ideal part of MCF’s 2023 #PublicDollarsForPublicGood grant recipient cohort. Their work is helping demonstrate that flexible W-2 employment with fair pay, access to benefits, protections, dignity, and opportunity for advancement is possible, all while leveraging public dollars in partnership with local public agencies, community-based organizations, and businesses. 🎧 Listen now on Lemonada Media’s #GoodThings podcast! Find the link in the comments, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is straight out of a fascist playbook. In Mississippi, a court ordered the state’s only independent newspaper to hand over information about their confidential sources; sources who had helped break a major story about corruption in the state. This draconian order threatens the First Amendment protection afforded journalists and sets our country further along the wrong path. Instead of penalizing reporting that helps hold corrupt officials to account, we need policies and resources that can strengthen the work of investigative journalism and keep communities informed about the issues that matter to them most. Read this important letter to the editor by Adam Ganucheau, editor in chief of Mississippi Today ⬇

I’ve been thinking a lot about the rising tide of fascism and what our role as funders could and should be to uproot this very real threat at our doorstep. To effectively counter the relentless attacks on our communities, racial justice organizing, DEI initiatives, and more, I think it’s imperative that people who care about social justice develop a deep understanding of the history, actors, and systems behind these assaults. In the spirit of building that understanding, I invite you to join me for the next MCF Summer School webinar: “Framers of Fascism: Key Protagonists of the Right.” 🗓 Date: Thursday, June 20 at noon ET  📚 With special guests:   🌟 Jean Guerrero: Award-winning investigative journalist and author of “Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda” 🌟 Dr. Daniel HoSang: Professor of American Studies and interdisciplinary scholar of racism in politics, culture, and the law  From pinpointing the right’s ideological pillars to uncovering its diverse recruiting strategies, this virtual session will argue that progressives must understand the “who” and “how” of the right. We'll delve into the people setting and executing the right’s agenda, their strategies for making inroads with disaffected progressives and moderates, as well as their efforts to undermine government functions. The ideological blueprint for the right’s resurgence over the last 8 years is complex and frightening. If we are serious about contesting their political agenda, we must understand their protagonists, plans, and plots. 🔗 Register now at: https://lnkd.in/gbdVg7Th.

🥁ANNOUNCING: Our 2024 #PublicDollarsForPublicGood (PDPG) cohort! We're granting more than $3M to 9 organizations conducting bold experiments to increase public funding for the public good; institutions and services that keep people housed, educated, and healthy.

Happening now! Join the #MCFBookClub virtual premiere in honor of #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence "Slain women’s mothers don’t grieve for them any less, their children don’t cry for them any less, their siblings don’t mourn them any less and we should not protest their killings any less than we do the killings of their brothers, fathers, and sons.” — Kimberle Crenshaw, author of #SayHerName We must learn these stories and say these names in our ongoing fight to end the violence of policing. In service of that vision, MCF will send you a free copy of #SayHerName while supplies last. Sign up at the link in the comments.