{"id":589598,"date":"2020-07-04T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=589598"},"modified":"2022-08-10T17:18:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T21:18:24","slug":"ep-112-what-foundations-are-thinking-right-now-with-caryl-m-stern","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/podcast\/ep-112-what-foundations-are-thinking-right-now-with-caryl-m-stern\/","title":{"rendered":"Ep 112: What Foundations Are Thinking Right Now (with Caryl M. Stern)"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know that old saying, \u201cMay you live in interesting times\u201d?<\/p>\n

Yeah, about that\u2026.<\/p>\n

The times have been terrifying and surreal. In particular for those of us that fall into the category of \u201colder Americans with underlying conditions.\u201d Yeah, people like me.<\/p>\n

But hope is medicine. And I find hope in the work of the nonprofit leaders I am privileged to serve. The juxtaposition of your immense struggles (read: funding, resources) and the exponential need for your work is like nothing I have ever seen.<\/p>\n

I could tell stories for days of small and mighty nonprofits that are delivering against all odds – with resilience, creativity, collaboration and sheer grit.<\/p>\n

That said, I get it. So many of you are struggling. Facing crises that are existential. Will we make it?<\/p>\n

I wanted to know what funders, especially foundations, are thinking at this time. I\u2019m imagining program officers inundated with requests for emergency grants.<\/p>\n

And so I spoke with the Executive Director of the Walton Family Foundation, Caryl Stern. In 2018 this foundation awarded nearly $600 million(!) in grants with a focus on the environment, K-12 education and the place the Waltons call home, Northwest Arkansas. The foundation invests around the world, on farms and back yards, and in the kids who are the future.<\/p>\n

For all of you nonprofit superheroes with tattered capes, this conversation is for you.<\/p>\n

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