Empower by Example Laura Rock

Empower by Example
Episode 12
Jake Goodman, Executive Director of The Opportunity Fund https://www.theopportunityfund.org
 
 
In our second episode with Jake Goodman from The Opportunity Fund, Jake and I talk openly about our personal struggle with imposter syndrome. As Jake states, in almost everything that we fund, people are going to do even if they don’t have access to the funds. We realize that the founders of these amazing programs and initiatives will run their programs without paying themselves. We become close with the people and programs we fund.
 
When Jake asks me what I have learned by coming back to Pittsburgh after 13 years, we begin discussing the disparities between the haves and the have nots in Pittsburgh. We frankly question the existence of foundations and ask if Pittsburgh is one of the most philanthropic regions in the nation, why are the disparities still so profound?
 
The Rock Family Foundation and The Opportunity Fund work together and parallel to each other in many ways. Our partnership is important because we amplify our impact and our message when we support the same programs and funding areas. We are both currently working on the renovations for Downtown Pittsburgh’s low barrier winter homeless shelter. If you have questions about where we fund and how we decide which projects to back, please email Laura at rockfamilyfoundation@gmail.com.
 
https://www.post-gazette.com/social-services/2019/11/12/Winter-homeless-shelter-Allegheny- County-Smithfield-United-Church-Christ-Pittsburgh-Mercy/stories/201911120096
 
Music by Buscrates (https://www.instagram.com/buscrates/?hl=de)

Episode 11
Explicit
Jake Goodman, Executive Director of The Opportunity Fund
https://www.theopportunityfund.org
 
 
We have touched on the dark side of philanthropy on this podcast before, but Jake and I take a deep dive here.  How did we get here and how do we do these jobs with the knowledge that our daily lives are surrounded by privilege?  And what does it look like to work with us?  Our organizations have many parallels, but we are at different phases in our process creation. 
 
The Opportunity Fund was established upon the death of Gerri Kay to continue her life’s work.  Opportunity Fund awards grants to small to midsize arts organizations, and  organizations and initiatives that advance social and economic justice.  They have a two-step application and the they grant in two cycles each year.  They try their best to be as transparent as possible.  Their grant application process is steeped in humanity, and the way they operate as neighborhood partners has won the hearts of funders and grant applicants alike.
 
What is social justice?  For Jake in the case of philanthropy, in each area they fund there is also a status quo and it is benefiting some and leaving out others.  We mention the latest report on  Pittsburgh’s Inequality Across Gender and Race and we agree that the work being done by organizations like New Voices Pittsburgh.  When organizations meet with us to educate us, their perspective becomes part of the lens we use to determine which programs will be effective.  I explain to Jake that since they took time away from their day to educate me, so I felt the need to try to come up with an hourly rate.
 
Join us for the second half of this interview on 11/25 where we talk about navigating imposter syndrome.
 
Music by Buscrates (https://www.instagram.com/buscrates/?hl=de)

Empower by Example
Episode 10 
Michael Yonas, Director of Research and Special Initiatives for The Pittsburgh Foundation
https://pittsburghfoundation.org
yonasm@pghfdn.org 
 
 
 
Michael strives to cultivate culturally sensitive opportunities for informing interventions that reflect the priorities of communities, organizations and other stakeholders. His most recent efforts have focused on examining the influence of stress on health, systems for serving the homeless, and strategies for promoting community and school safety. He is influenced by years of community-based practice, service and research, focusing primarily on the role of neighborhood and systems-level factors impacting disparities in health. 
 
In this episode, we discuss Michael’s role at the Pittsburgh Foundation.  His grant making portfolio is broad and varied, and his interpersonal relationships with funders bring many engaged and creative outcome-driven solutions.  His work with Michelle McMurray (https://pittsburghfoundation.org/michelle-mcmurray) has been instrumental to The Rock Family Foundation and how we partner with other organizations.
 
As we heard about in EBE Episode 9 with Tammy Thompson, Michael is working on national RFP’s around the benefits cliff, or The Cliff Effect.  We discuss the programs at Circles of Greater Pittsburgh and how they are helping to mediate tough situations for those individuals and families who are up against The Cliff Effect. 
 
Michael is a “data guy”, and you can hear his expertise throughout in this episode.  His knowledge of the problems that surround families in poverty and the numerous meaningful statistics he is able to communicate make him an invaluable partner in the Pittsburgh philanthropy circles.  His recent work is well-known throughout the city from grassroots organizations, to large county-run systems, to city policy meetings.  He focuses on amplifying the voices of youth and organizations that are doing youth-led work.  
 
You can read The Pittsburgh Foundation’s report A Qualitative Study of Youth and the Juvenile Justice System here: https://pittsburghfoundation.org/sites/default/files/100%20Percent%20Pittsburgh%20--%20Youth%20and%20Juvenile%20Justice%20Report.pdf
More information about the Juvenile Justice Dashboard can be found here: https://pittsburghfoundation.org/tools-to-thrive
 
When Michael began telling his personal story of volunteering, I was so inspired.  His explanation of what his community service has meant in his life, and how he has pushed through the uncomfortable parts of volunteering is a shining example of how to live a life of service, professionally and personally.
 
Follow The Pittsburgh Foundation on the socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PittsburghFdn/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pittsburgh_fdn/?hl=en
 
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Empower by Example
 
Episode 9:
Tammy Thompson, Executive Director, Circles of Greater Pittsburgh
http://circlespgh.org
T3 Consulting and T3 Media: https://www.tammytthompson.com
 
 
 
Tammy is a Poverty Expert, Nationally Sought After Speaker, Executive Producer of We Wear The Mask, a documentary released in 2017 highlighting the stigma associated with women in poverty and The Owner of T3 Consulting and T3 Media.  Her work has been featured in The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  She is a mother of five and grandmother of 17.  She now lives in Pittsburgh and is raising her granddaughter.
 
In this episode, we question how much money has been wasted by continuing to address the issues of poverty in the same ways, year after year.  What is the human cost of not getting this right?  We should be ringing alarms.
 
Tammy shares her own issues with food insecurity and how she worked to overcome her subconscious, trying to fill the void of never having enough to eat.  She has found that many individuals she works with are experiencing food insecurity because of the time they spent as a younger person without regular access to food.  We also talk about what it feels like to teach others a vital concept when you have not fully learned it yourself, and how important it is for you to go on teaching it anyhow.
 
Circles USA has been working on an issue called The Cliff Effect, which penalizes people for taking steps to get out of poverty.  Tammy explains the trap of government subsidies and how people are really being impacted by the “cliff”.  She describes the very real situations facing many Americans living under the poverty line who are unable to break out.
 
You can find Tammy on social media.  Check out her events!!  On Friday, November 8th Tammy is hosting an anniversary party for The Gallery on Penn.  Join us there!  https://www.facebook.com/events/621872778344035/
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammy.t.thompson
IG:https://www.instagram.com/tammytthompson/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-thompson-22385532/
Tammy’s book, Spending Log: https://www.tammytthompson.com/product-page/spending-log
 
Music by Buscrates (https://www.instagram.com/buscrates/?hl=de)

Empower by Example - Episode 8
 
Michelle Walker, Walker Philanthropic Consulting, https://www.walkerphilanthropic.com
 
Awareness Excitement Engagement
 
Michelle and I recap the articles, conferences, films and studies have come out regarding implicit bias and gender equity since we last spoke.  We also give listeners some background information about how the mission of The Rock Family Foundation was determined, and how we hear the same question over and over:
 
Why girls???
 
Specifically, why young women of color, and why these specific transition points, county placements and referrals?  From foster care to juvenile justice - how can we empower these girls to transition to a sustainable life?
 
Let’s dive in!
 
There has been a big buzz in October 2019 around gender equity.  From Melinda Gates to a study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, we are finding that women and girls are funded as an afterthought. 1.6% of philanthropic contributions in the US goes to women and girls specific programs.  $338 Billion total contributions, $6.3 Billion total for women and girls.
 
We discuss what we can all be doing to support gender and racial equity in our day to day lives.  Michelle speaks to what needs to change in the philanthropic communities in order to further racial and gender equity.  We should consider who holds the power, what systems are we working in, and how can we highlight these inequities in the actual work.  How do more women and more women of color find themselves at the table, or how they can set their own table?  How can we begin the work that you know needs to be done.  How can we change the systems?  Can we change the rules or replace the rule makers?
 
We hope that we gave you a lot to think about, from statistics and percentages, to ways you can make change right where you are today.  Join us in the Empower by Example Facebook group to continue the discussion and share you ideas and tips with a network of people who are making the moves and changing the systems each day.
 
 
Links to learn more:
White Privilege Conference: https://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com
 
You can check out highlights of the 2019 Black Girls Equity Alliance Equity 
Summit here: https://pitt.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=2cdc57eb-bcbb-463d-89fe-aad500d5488d&fbclid=IwAR3xCcOXlqjr-rL3e7ZapHTN8iPPH-wfW0ofUMUOsQ4iGiTcCQjb0QJYmpE
 
Link to Melinda Gates article:https://time.com/5690596/melinda-gates-empowering-women/
 
Information about the 1.6% statistic: https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Charities-Dedicated-to-Women/247273
 
Link to black owned businesses in Pittsburgh https://cocoapreneur.com
Ways to support gender equity https://www.evoke.org/articles/october-2019/big-ideas/how-to-support-gender-equality-in-america?utm_source=FB&utm_medium=MG_OG&utm_campaign=EV_OCT&utm_content=10419_POST_&linkId=74762401&fbclid=IwAR2Qfc2mu4pmV76eMD86shLeaqhIaAEZhejv23XkMDy_eMfp5yctVOQt6ds
 
Systems change expert article: http://donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Leverage_Points.pdf
 
Pushot: The Criminalization of Black Girls https://www.moniquewmorris.me/documentary
 
Empower by Example Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/611787169312502/
 
Heather Hopson at Motormouth Multimedia: https://motormouthmultimedia.com/our-team/

Empower by Example
 
Episode 7 - Heather Arnet, CEO Women and Girls Foundation of Southwestern PA
 
Get to know Heather Arnet and her work at WGF!!  From theater to branding to business development, Heather used her experience as a feminist/activist theater director to step into the role of CEO of a women’s fund that was founded in Pittsburgh in the late 1990’s.  Arnet joined the organization in 2004 and she is a tireless advocate for women and girls rights locally, nationally, and internationally. She serves as a regular Op-Ed writer for the Huffington Post, Daily Beast, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Business Times, and commentator to local and national media regarding women and girls’ rights and economic development.  At WGF, Arnet has spearheaded efforts to decrease the gender wage gap and increase women’s representation on public and corporate boards.
 
Her mission is so big that everyone wants to be a part of it.  There are so many things that impact women and girls, and advocacy work with that gender lens is critical in Pennsylvania.  Femisphire is a report WGF released in 2016 that cited 76% of Pittsburgh households living in poverty are single moms.  This report grabbed the attention of the larger foundations and endowments in the area, which has led to several initiatives that put single moms at the center of conversations about economic development, the transportation solutions, and fair wages.  Learn more by reading the report here: https://wgfpa.org/Femisphere-Phase-One-Presentation-September-2016-combined-3.pdf or watching a short video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sbqyXPvfNI
 
For more information about intersectionality, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Ted Talk is here: https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en
 
When Arnet came on as CEO, she spent some time asking “Where are the girls?”  The GirlGov program was born as they brought girls in to create and run their own programs.  It speaks to the culture of WGF, where programs are created by the end user and the participants themselves.  Along those lines, in 2019 Codeswitch was an innovative hack-a-thon that put the single moms at the center of all of the conversations.  Heather Hopson of Single Mom Defined facilitated 40 single moms attending and participating in a technological solution that would benefit them in the Femisphere.  The entire facilitation from the initial meeting to the awards ceremony was about the absolute best product that could be achieved.  
 
You can learn more about Codeswitch here: https://wgfpa.org/our-work/codeswitch/
If you are a single mom living in the Pittsburgh area, check out Single Mom Defined: https://www.facebook.com/SingleMomDefined/
 
WGF is a leader in policy that supports families, and Heather is mobilizing politicians to create policies that reframe the way our society takes leave from work to care from their families.  The Family Care Act refers to paid medical leave and insurance funds.  To support this bill sign up for the action steps:
 
For more information about Pediatric Palliative Care, check out their organization’s website: https://getpalliativecare.org/whatis/pediatric/
 
You can also follow Women and Girls foundation::
 
Newsletter: https://wgfpa.org/news-events/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/wgfpa
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wgfpa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wgfpa?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
 
 
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