PARTNERS in Power

Top of my mind every day is how Grand Rapids Community Foundation uses our resources to overcome racial disparities. Not to just address those disparities, but to eliminate them. And while this may be reflective of my idealism from my developmental years in the 1960s and 1970s, it is what our community—and every other community across the nation and world where people of color live in fear for simply existing—deserves.

I wholeheartedly believe that if we work together and share our collective power, it can be done. While philanthropy, in many ways, has been complicit in perpetuating disparities, it can and does play a critical role in eliminating them. There is power in philanthropy, community philanthropy especially. The Community Foundation belongs to the community, and we strive to build a more inclusive philanthropic culture and practice in Greater Grand Rapids. We know our community benefits from the passion and commitment of philanthropists, activists, leaders, doers, changemakers and anyone who gives of their time, talent and treasure to make a better West Michigan for us all.

While building, sharing and wielding power is inspirational, the truth is it can be hard at times. Despite the discomfort that comes with doing things in new ways, this approach is critical to our work. It is the only way we can make progress toward racial, social and economic justice in our community. Slowly but surely, leveraging our power to make way for community-led solutions is becoming our new normal and the framework for how we seek to engage in grant partnerships, deepen relationships and show up in community.

Our partnerships are our secret sauce as a community foundation. We believe we have a charge to work alongside our partners to leverage our resources and networks to overcome the inequities that continue to grow. We have been purposeful about forging partnerships throughout our community, building trust and staying true to our intentions and promises. Yes, we often stumble along the way, but we are always moving forward. We have learned the importance of doing more listening and less talking to best understand how we can work side-by-side with our partners to identify how to make the most impact in the areas they care about most. Besides trusting us to invest in community through their unrestricted and field of interest resources, our donor partners continually amaze us by moving equity work forward through their investments in community-based philanthropy.

As we center our work on racial, social and economic justice, we must also build the trust capital necessary to be in true relationship with our partners. People know best what works for them and what works best for the community. We continue to reach out to various networks that may not have been known to us just a few years ago. Their voice is coming through loud and clear.

To be clear, this does not mean that we are giving up our responsibility to play a leadership role in building and managing our community’s permanent endowment and strengthening the lives of the people who call our community home. It means that we are creating the pathways to a more robust, vibrant community that everyone shapes. We are bringing to life the true meaning of a community foundation by reinforcing community-led philanthropy.

Diana R. Sieger, president Grand Rapids Community Foundation