This summer, we asked nonprofit leaders around Oregon to tell us what they needed from Meyer. More than 1,000 of you responded, helping shape our new priorities.

It has been a humbling experience. As Meyer's director of programs, I've been amazed by the candid feedback from so many of our nonprofit partners, fellow funders and many other stakeholders across Oregon. I am grateful for the time, insight and expertise so generously shared.

We read each of the 1,000 surveys submitted from people working in a wide range of fields – from arts groups and food banks and advocates working for equitable public policy to organizations cultivating culturally specific communities and land trusts and everything in between. We heard hundreds of voices that came to us from across Oregon: from community listening sessions in the Eastern high desert, from focus groups in the Gorge and southern coast, from expert interviews in the Willamette Valley, from learning panels in the Metro area. The diversity of perspectives offered to us have been nothing short of inspiring and enlightening.

We remain on track to announce the overarching frameworks for our new programs in December, with detailed information available in early 2016. In the meantime, we want to share a taste of what we heard through our housing, environment and resilient social sector partner engagement work.

Several broad themes were consistent across the portfolio areas.

There was a call for Meyer to remain innovative and bold in what we fund and in the leadership we provide. We heard it as a challenge, really, to step this up even higher.

There was also incredible energy and enthusiasm for Meyer’s push to make equity a foundational value in all of our new programs. At the same time, we heard many questions from folks unsure what we mean when we speak of equity. Is it exclusively about race? Are we also inclusive of other forms of oppression and marginalized populations? The answers are “no,” and “yes!” Here’s Meyer’s equity statement, which is our way of owning how “race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, disability, geography, age and other forms of bias and oppression are embedded within the institutions and systems in our community.” We are determined to embrace the role of working to dismantle barriers to equity, so that all Oregonians can experience safety, health and prosperity.

We heard real excitement about the potential of Meyer to exercise our capacity to convene around topics of critical importance to the field. We received some of the clearest encouragement for our plans to support systems change and advocacy, not only through funding nonprofits, but also through our leadership, influence and role as convener.

The desire for core support, capacity building, leadership development and multi-year funding came through loud and clear.

We were reminded about the contributions and needs of rural Oregon, as well the importance modest amounts of funding, collaboration and personal connections can hold in rural communities.

Finally, we heard worries that Meyer’s new portfolios may get siloed. Those voices reinforced how important it is for us to intentionally think across portfolios as we move forward in our program planning. We heard support for sharpening our focus, along with a caution not to become rigid and prescriptive. And we recognized a general call to continue to be responsive in ways that allow organizations to put forward their ideas and needs that align with the impact we want to have in our priority areas.

There was also feedback specific to each portfolio. Here’s a sampling of what we heard:

Portfolio specific insights

Building Community portfolio stakeholders wanted a clear definition of what a resilient social sector means and who it includes. People were concerned about whether the arts were included in Meyer’s vision of the social sector (yes, they are!). Interestingly, the portfolio name itself received mixed reviews, with two very different viewpoints on what it means to be resilient: some consider it to mean strong, nimble and adaptive, while others equate it with beleaguered. We definitely consider it the former! We’re considering renaming this portfolio to better reflect our aspirations. People were especially interested in funding and other supports for leadership development, financial management, advocacy, community and civic engagement and collaboration. And we received excellent feedback and ideas about how Meyer could help organizations further equity in both their programs and operations. Additional information is provided in this Building Community Design Process summary.

Among those providing input into our Housing Opportunities portfolio, affordable rental housing was clearly the highest priority, with general agreement that Meyer should prioritize households at or below 60 percent median family income. At the same time, we also heard a desire for the portfolio to encompass the continuum of housing needs across the state, from supporting people transitioning from homelessness into housing and from rental housing to homeownership. Gentrification and displacement and other housing disparities were noted as significant challenges. Innovations in linking supportive services with housing and developing creative financing for affordable housing development also stood out as important needs. Above all, we were reminded to put people front and center, and to keep in mind the ultimate goal of affordable housing: providing low-income Oregonians with stability and access to opportunity. You can find additional detail in this summary.

Stakeholders of the Healthy Environment portfolio were concerned about climate change, demographic shifts and the impact of disparities on those who experience the most environmental benefits and burdens in our communities. Rural communities’ complex economic ties to the environment, a healthy environment in urban areas and water issues across the state emerged as important concerns. We were strongly encouraged to design programming that reflects the inextricable ties between humans and nature. Themes of innovation were coupled with practicality and conservation. A hunger for building a diverse and inclusive environmental movement was apparent, and people are interested in how Meyer can help to cultivate tables where the diversity of Oregonians’ relationships to the environment are represented and contribute to policy decisions. This summary provides additional information about what we heard around the environment.

As Doug Stamm, Meyer's chief executive officer has mentioned, work to define our education portfolio is in its early stages. We anticipate this work will take place well into 2016.

Going forward

All of the feedback we received – about challenges and opportunities facing our communities, about how the Meyer Trust can best further our vision of a flourishing and equitable Oregon – have been invaluable to our thinking and planning. We hope you will find the summaries of stakeholder input for our resilient social sector, housing and environments portfolios to be informative and inspiring. We know we have, and are using this input, along with information about key trends influencing Oregon communities, nonprofits, philanthropy, and our own perspectives on our work, to shape our new programs.

It has been a busy past nine months at Meyer: since February, we have continued to fund proposals while engaging with partners across the state and planning for our future. As of November, we’re on track for what will be our largest grantmaking year in the history of Meyer Memorial Trust. While we’ve made some modest adjustments to our timeline, we anticipate launching new programs within the first few months of 2016. We look forward to sharing more about our future direction in the coming weeks, and greatly appreciate your continued interest in and ideas about how we can work together to create a more flourishing and equitable Oregon.

— Candy

While Meyer restructured its grantmaking last year, it wound down its two main grant programs. But the work of the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) continued at full steam — and it was a very busy year of work for the AHI team, which offered six Requests for Proposals (RFPs), processed 108 applications and approved 61 grants, totaling $5.42 million. In this article, we’ll share an overview of the work of the Affordable Housing Initiative over the last year.

The AHI is structured around three broad goals: to strengthen the foundation, foster innovation and secure the future, and uses multiple strategies to reach those goals.

Most AHI strategies were funded over two years. In the coming year, we do not expect AHI to issue any additional requests for proposals. However, Meyer will be releasing information soon about its new funding opportunities, which will include some affordable housing work under the broader Housing Opportunities portfolio.

STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATION

Under this goal, we aim to preserve federally rent-subsidized stock at risk of being lost and maintain manufactured housing as a viable housing stock for many rural communities around the state. We funded four specific strategies, described below.

Sustaining Portfolios Strategy. Meyer Memorial Trust invited applications from organizations for flexible funds and technical assistance to support the development and implementation of property-specific portfolio preservation plans to help ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s existing affordable housing. We received thirteen proposals; nine were ultimately funded. Each organization was awarded $150,000.

Cascadia Behavioral Health (Multnomah County)

Catholic Community Services Foundation (Marion County)

Community Partners for Affordable Housing (Washington County)

Cornerstone Community Housing (Lane County)

Housing Authority of Jackson County (Jackson and Josephine counties)

Housing Works (Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties)

Innovative Housing, Inc. (Multnomah County)

ROSE CDC (Multnomah County)

Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services (Benton and Linn counties)

Total Amount awarded: $1,350,000 (over two years)

Capacity Building Technical Assistance Strategy. Meyer received seven applications from affordable housing organizations for support with capacity building and technical assistance to strengthen rent-restricted affordable housing portfolios. This opportunity was targeted at culturally-specific organizations and organizations that have a portfolio that serves at least 50 percent under-resourced rural communities and/or communities of color.

Each organization was awarded $50,000 (except where noted):

Community Action Team (Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties)

Horizon Project (Umatilla County)

NW Coastal Housing (Lincoln County, $25,000)

Marion County Housing Authority (Marion County)

Northwest Oregon Housing Authority (Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties)

Polk Community Development Corporation  (Polk County)

Sabin Community Development Corporation (Multnomah County)

Total Amount Awarded: $325,000 (over one year)

Preservation Strategy. Meyer made one grant to the Network for Oregon Affordable Housing to further the Oregon Housing Preservation Project, a program to preserve expiring contracts for federal rent subsidies at affordable housing properties throughout the state.

Total Amount Awarded: $300,000 (over two years)

Rural Manufactured Housing Strategy. This grant opportunity was made to Community and Shelter Assistance Corporation to support the conversion of manufactured home communities into resident-owned cooperatives statewide.

Total Amount Awarded:  $220,000 (over two years)

FOSTERING INNOVATION

Under this goal, Meyer strives to catalyze innovative strategies to increase availability of affordable housing and support residents’ stability and success. This year, Meyer funded three strategies under this goal.

Innovations in Affordable Housing Design, Finance and Construction Strategy. Meyer convened a panel of experts to dive deep into the cost drivers of affordable housing development. After publishing a report of the findings, we invited proposals that would test new cost-efficient approaches to providing more affordable housing in Oregon. Of the seventeen competitive proposals received, Meyer funded a total of five.

Innovative Housing - $149,138 (Multnomah County): To create a new rental housing community in East Multnomah County comprised of high-quality and energy-efficient new manufactured homes.

Northwest Housing Alternatives - $70,385 (Clackamas, Lane, Washington and Umatilla counties): To compare and evaluate strategies for lowering the cost of new rental housing construction on small-scale projects, with an emphasis on design concepts and financing strategies for rural and suburban infill.

REACH Community Development - $150,000 (Washington County): To pilot building larger, more cost-effective affordable housing projects by combining two kinds of federal housing tax credits, and by adopting design and construction strategies focused on reducing costs.

SquareOne Villages - $148,200 (Lane County): To pilot an improved version of the tiny house village model in a small community with fewer local resources, and to promote very basic, extremely low-cost housing through the development of a toolbox and training kit focused on replicating this approach in other Oregon communities.

Transition Projects, Inc. - $150,000 (Multnomah and Clatsop counties): To pilot a flexible, cost-efficient modular approach to housing development in partnership with Housing Development Center, Holst Architecture, and MODS PDX, a Portland-based manufacturer of modular housing. A second pilot is planned for the Oregon coast led by Northwest Oregon Housing Authority.

Total Amount Awarded: $667,723 (over one year)

Private Market Strategy. The Private Market RFP sought proposals to increase access by low-income renters to quality private market housing units in communities of their choice. Of the 17 proposals received, Meyer funded seven projects over a period of one to two years.

ACCESS - $80,500 (Jackson County): To develop a pilot project to use flexible rent assistance and a landlord risk mitigation fund to increase access for Jackson County families leaving residential addictions treatment with open Child Protective Services cases.

Community Action Program of East Central Oregon - $50,000 (Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler counties): To develop a Housing Navigator position and setup a landlord risk mitigation fund for low-income Latino families in Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler counties.

JOIN - $84,990 (Multnomah County): To co-fund, along with the Portland Housing Bureau, development of a homeless systems landlord retention and recruitment toolkit and training program for service providers.

Multifamily NW - $149,850 (Statewide): To fund the Housing Choice Educational Partnership to develop educational material and a training toolkit about fair housing laws.

Northwest Housing Alternatives - $149,510 (Clackamas County): For a pilot project aimed at increasing low-income renters' housing access in Clackamas County by using flexible funding tools to encourage private landlords to relax screening criteria.

Northwest Oregon Housing Authority - $80,000 (Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties): To fund a collaborative to develop a security deposit loan pilot project aimed at providing case management for private market renters in rural Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties.

Northwest Pilot Project - $130,000 (Multnomah County): For a pilot project to prevent the displacement of low-income residents from Inner Portland neighborhoods, using permanent rent assistance (S8) to help seniors [EH6] of color remain in their communities.

Total Amount Awarded: $650,000 (over two years)

Systems Alignment Strategy. Meyer invited proposals from collaboratives proposing to better align affordable housing with services that contribute to residents’ stability and success. We received 21 excellent projects looking to align housing with several different systems and funded nine projects over one to two years.

ACCESS - $24,000 (Jackson County): For piloting and documenting close collaboration between housing and other services in Southern Oregon to better meet the needs of families involved with child welfare and TANF programs.

Catholic Community Services of the Mid Willamette - $75,000 (Marion County): For the Fostering Hope Initiative, which will develop a 'Pay for Success' (PFS) system in Marion County focused on diverting children from the foster care system through strong coordination between affordable housing, education, health and other social service systems.

Columbia Gorge Health Council - $128,500 (Hood River and Wasco counties): For the Bridges to Health - Housing Pathways project, which works to better link housing and services in the Columbia Gorge through a 'Pathways' model basing payments on the achievement of specific pre-defined housing related outcomes.

Community Action Partnership of Oregon - $110,162 (Statewide, with a focus on Jackson, Klamath and Lake counties): For piloting and documenting close collaboration between housing and other services in Southern Oregon to better meet the needs of families involved with child welfare and TANF programs.

Enterprise Community Partners - $150,000 (Portland Metro): For 'Innovation through Flexible Spending Benefits,' a pilot program that uses flexible spending for housing-related expenses as a cost-effective strategy to support better

Klamath-Lake Community Action Services - $50,000 (Klamath and Lake counties): For piloting and documenting close collaboration between housing and other services in Southern Oregon to better meet the needs of families involved with child welfare and TANF programs.

REACH Community Development - $150,000 (Multnomah County): For the 'Housing with Services Pilot Project,' supporting a robust network of services to residents of affordable housing properties in Portland.

United Way of Lane County - $75,000 (Lane County): For the integration of early learning and affordable housing services in Lane County, to improve the kindergarten-readiness and family stability of affordable housing residents.

Worksystems, Inc. - $128,139 (Multnomah and Washington counties): For the 'Home to Work Collaborative Project,' which aligns housing support (and homelessness prevention) with employment resources in Multnomah and Washington counties.

Total Amount Awarded: $890,801 (over two years)

SECURING THE FUTURE

This third AHI goal aims to develop resources and policies that will expand the availability of affordable housing into the future. We funded one strategy under this goal.

Advocacy. Meyer’s advocacy RFP invited proposals from organizations engaged in community-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing to increase access to and resources for affordable housing in local jurisdictions and across Oregon. Advocacy is identified in the AHI Framework as a key strategy for advancing a broader agenda around improving access to safe, decent and affordable housing around the state. Of the 19 proposals received in this RFP, we funded ten projects that will run over one to two years.

Center for Intercultural Organizing - $80,000 (Multnomah, Washington and Jackson counties): To develop and mobilize tenants leaders in Multnomah, Washington and Jackson Counties around local and state housing policy issues that affect Oregonians, including low-income rural households, immigrants and refugees.

Community Alliance of Tenants - $88,746 (Multnomah County): To support community-based participatory research, organizing and advocacy around policy change to protect tenants from no-cause termination/eviction.

Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization - $62,000 (Portland Metro): To expand the diversity of voices in housing advocacy to address racial disparities directly related to housing and increase the availability of affordable housing for marginalized immigrant and refugee families.

Mid-Columbia Housing Authority - $35,000 (Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties): To support a community-based housing network to address affordable housing issues in the Gorge.

Oregon Center for Public Policy - $40,000 (Statewide): For general operating support

Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence - $23,314 (Statewide): To expand partnership efforts in housing advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Tillamook County Community Action Resource Enterprises - $40,000 (Tillamook County): To support to a new countywide housing task force and complete a countywide housing assessment.

Urban League of Portland - $90,000 (Statewide) To organize Oregon's African American communities to improve access to affordable, accessible, culturally-appropriate and safe housing.

Welcome Home Coalition - $80,000 (Multnomah County): To support the Welcome Home Coalition's Leadership Academy.

Total Amount Awarded: $539,060 (over one to two years)

In addition, Meyer made a grant of $138,000 (over two years) to the Housing Alliance for its Diversifying Voices program. This project has statewide reach.  

ANCILLARY FUNDS

The AHI’s core investments are supported by a small pool of ancillary grant funds to help build capacity and long-term sustainability of affordable housing organizations serving under-resourced communities through technical assistance, training, operating support and strategic growth capital. In the last year, Meyer made eleven grants — mostly for technical assistance, training support and grants to support equity advancement in the housing field — that totaled $345,500 over two years.

Many Meyer grants aided Oregonians in times of recession with food, utilities and housing. Other grants built important institutions in our state: health clinics, community centers, libraries and museums. Much of our past grantmaking was good and essential.

Then why shift?

Because our state has changed. Our challenges are bigger, more serious and more difficult to address. Oregon has grown from 3 million in just 12 years to 4 million citizens today. Twenty-two percent of our residents are people of color. Portland has the 3rd highest rate among major cities of unsheltered chronically homeless and we are 46th among states for our graduation rate. Our past method of grantmaking was not addressing these trends head-on.

What is Meyer changing?

We are no longer a purely responsive foundation waiting for nonprofit organizations to request funding. We are now very focused on meeting our state's most serious challenges. We have increased our staff and hired experts who have spent months listening to our community to learn what is needed and what approach is best. We hope to bring together talented leaders and nonprofit organizations within our state to address our issues in a comprehensive fashion, leveraging private, nonprofit and government funds. We have learned that focus is incredibly important. We have done this before with the Affordable Housing and Willamette River initiatives. Both have shown some positive measurable results. We believe it can work in other areas. And we are so committed that we are spending a greater portion of Meyer funds than has ever been allocated before.

We will review all programs with an equitable lens. Our demographics have changed remarkably and all of Oregon can not flourish unless all residents are included. We are learning with all of you how to accomplish this.

How is Meyer the same?

We are still concerned about the same issues (issues that surveys indicate Oregonians care most about): affordable housing, good schools, a healthy environment and strengthening our leaders and nonprofit organizations to be better equipped to changing conditions.

We remain totally committed to our nonprofit partners. They have helped set our direction and will be key in moving us toward it.

We still believe Oregon's problems can be solved.

The strength of this new approach depends upon our respectful partnership with nonprofit organizations and our acceptance of all residents. If we are all pulling together, we remain optimistic that Oregon can meet our challenges and that we can make it better place for all of us. We look forward to starting this process with you.

—DC

Debbie Craig stepped down from Meyer’s Board of Trustees in 2019, after serving 23 years.

Today I am excited to announce that Meyer Memorial Trust is launching our new funding opportunities.

Over the past 12 months, we paid out nearly $38 million in grants and program related investments. At the same time, we completely overhauled our grantmaking to be more strategic, to have greater impact and to focus on what we believe is the greatest impediment to achieving an Oregon where all people can reach their full potential: Inequities.

The reasoning underlying our focus on equity is straightforward: inequity is a pernicious obstacle to the flourishing and equitable state Oregonians deserve.

Previously at Meyer, we had two main funding portals: Responsive Grants, aimed at larger projects and often larger organizations, and Grassroots Grants, which focused on smaller projects and emerging nonprofits. In addition, in recent years, we began funding three initiatives, one focused on the Willamette River, another focused on affordable housing and a third, in partnership with other local funders, the Chalkboard Project, focused on education. While the initiatives were targeted, most of Meyer’s funding went to assorted requests made through our responsive grants programs.

But our experience with the initiatives was eye-opening and instructive. Where we were unable to measure impact over time from our Responsive and Grassroots grantmaking, we were able to track it via our initiatives. Impact matters, particularly in Oregon, which has relatively few place-based foundations compared to other areas of the country. Although $38 million in grantmaking sounds like a lot of money, only when it is targeted can it help move the needle to make life measurably better in communities across the state.

Within our new focused portfolios — Building Community, Healthy Environment, Housing Opportunities and Equitable Education — we will prioritize work that increases equity for and inclusion of Oregonians who experience disparities because of race, ethnicity, income, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other oppressions. While we will still support some organizations that do not have equity as a primary focus, we are asking all our partners to explore equity within the context of their organizations. And we will challenge and support them to make progress on integrating diversity, equity and inclusion in their work, partnerships, outreach, policies, staff and boards.

One consequence of our new strategy and pursuit of deeper impact is that we will have to make difficult choices. Where in the past we assessed proposals based on their individual merits, we will now strive to identify the strongest opportunities to make progress toward our specific goals with partners who share our commitment to furthering equity. With our focus on building community, supporting a healthy environment, ensuring housing opportunities and achieving equitable education for all Oregonians, we recognize that there will be work and outstanding nonprofits that we have funded in the past that will not strongly align with our new direction and will be unlikely to receive grants going forward.

You’ll find details of our Spring 2016 Funding Opportunities, for which we will begin accepting Inquiry Applications on Monday, April 4th. Additional funding opportunities to support the sector and in the Equitable Education portfolio will be announced later this year and there will also likely be strategy-specific opportunities through our Affordable Housing and/or Willamette River initiatives. All told we anticipate paying out in the range of $36 million this year, including awards made under the Spring 2016 Funding Opportunities, existing and multi-year awards, initiative funding and other opportunities that may present as we get deeper into the new program work.

Before I let you go, a reminder: these shifts in our grantmaking are just part of the ongoing strategic changes you’ll notice at Meyer. We heard your calls for Meyer to take a more active role to convene and leverage our influence. Going forward, we will be an engaged partner in the shared work of making Oregon a more equitable place.

We enter this new era for Meyer committed and energized around the values that drive and shape our work: equity, transparency, responsiveness, innovation, collaboration and humbleness. So as we continue on this journey, we will evaluate our funding portfolios and encourage your candid and constructive feedback. Together we can strive for the greatest possible impact in Oregon. I’ve said it before, we know the road ahead will present some unanticipated challenges and we don’t have all the answers. We’re going to remain transparent about our progress as we move forward. Your input is key.

For now, I invite you to explore our website for details of Meyer’s portfolios, the latest funding opportunities and our updated Frequently Asked Questions about the changes. And be sure to check out Trustee Debbie Craig’s post about why Meyer is changing here.

—DS

So you've probably heard about the illustration contest Meyer and Northwest Health Foundation launched in February 2016, to help identify images from Oregon artists that further the discourse on equity.

We were drawn to the illustrations floating around the web, usually depicting three individuals standing on boxes outside a fence. Often the images were used to show the difference between equality, where everyone gets the same resources, and equity, which speaks to each person getting the resources they need.

Our contest ends March 31st, and while we've gotten some really interesting submissions from youths and adults, we're excited about what more may come our way.

Recently, we came across a LinkedIn post by Aasha M. Abdill, an independent evaluation and strategy consultant based in Washington, D.C., taking on the ubiquitous image of those three figures on boxes stacked outside a fence. She had a fresh perspective about how the popular image gets equity so very, very wrong.

With her permission, we share Aasha's post:

 

I have seen this picture floating around many times on LinkedIn for several months now.

While I very much appreciated the intended purpose of the image-- distinguishing equity from equality-- the first time I saw it, I could not click the "like" button. Something about the image bugged me.  Yet, I couldn't easily figure out why and I didn't have any free time to think on it. After a while I stopped seeing it in my feed and I forgot about it.

A couple of months later, a slightly different version resurfaced. It appeared consistently and boldly in my feed with little concern for my escalating irritation. As each LinkedIn colleague liked, shared and commented in its favor, I felt an irrational exasperation. I am not easily vexed so this was a clear problem that I knew I needed to address.

I stared at the image. It "stared" back at me. I frowned. I sighed. I furrowed my brow. I walked away. And, then it hit me. My voice in my head screamed with a mixture of indignation and relief, "That's why I can't stand you!"

Do you know why? If you don't, it's understandable because it exemplifies the insidiousness of implicit bias. So, I will not keep you entrapped for a second longer. Instead, I will ask you one question.

In the picture, why are the three individuals so observably different in capability (physical height and age)?

Social equity is imperative because structural inequality exists; that is, you can predict the outcomes of individuals based on social characteristics that should not have any direct correlation to the outcome. Why then, is it possible to predict? Because, social inequality is perpetuated by institutional and individual discrimination. So, to address social inequities, the boxes appearing in the second frame are necessarily doled out unequally so that equity can be achieved.

The problem with the picture is in its implicit bias that many do not see. If we believe, fundamentally, that all people regardless of race, class or creed are comparably able, there should be little difference between the individuals in this picture. What should be drawn as dissimilar are not the individuals but rather the bottom boxes they are standing on in the first frame.

While I fully appreciate the intended purpose of the image, its point regrettably rests upon a deeply ingrained belief of the inherent inequality of people. And, despite the sincere explicit intention for increasing understanding, empathy, and justice for redressing social inequities, the picture's sentiment implicitly reinforces the idea that minorities (or those otherwise unprivileged) have inferior abilities.

So, for all you artists — please! Please create another picture. One that conveys the important distinction of equity and equality without the hidden and deeply ingrained bigotry.

 

On that note, please submit your own entry into the Equity Illustrated design contest. Help us get this right.

And read the rest of Aasha's conversation-provoking post on LinkedIn here.

As philanthropy has begun to shift the conversation from equality towards equity, we've seen (and experienced at Meyer) the challenges of accurately conveying the complex goals of equity in a way that is simple and easily understandable.

Equality is focused on giving all people the same things. By providing the same input, equality expects similar outputs. While equality can work well in binary situations, the concept has proven to be unsuccessful in more complex settings.

Take Meyer’s office plants, for example. All of our plants receive the same amount of sunlight, water and attention. But most remain stagnant and a couple have actually begun to wilt. When I think about botanical diversity, these outcomes are more than just plausible, they’re expected. The solution to our wilting problem isn’t new plants, its plant equity.

Which seems pretty simple right? You don’t give a diverse group of plants the same thing, you give each plant the proper care and resources it needs in order to reach its full potential. If we treated our plants equitably, they’d all have the chance to thrive.

People are more complicated than plants. To reach their full potential, people need systemic barriers that stand in their way to be removed.

Even in the foundation world, where people like myself are actively engaged in equity work, it can be a difficult concept to articulate. Graphics like this commonly shared one have been immensely helpful at moving the conversation forward, by providing an image that can be easily interpreted by a broad audience.

In this recent blog post on LinkedIn, Aasha M. Abdill does a marvelous job of addressing that baseball game graphic, and its insidious, implicit bias. Her critique is one reason we sponsored Equity Illustrated, to help develop a better visual tool to help lead us to greater clarity and consensus around equity and how it differs from equality. Often, the simplest images can help convey the most complex idea.

Just last year this simple animated video, inspired by this article, compared sexual consent with drinking tea. As complex as consent can be, after watching the short video, consent becomes as straightforward as drinking a cup of tea.

We’re hoping for similar results illustrating equity so that all Oregonians can understand this critical concept. 

So, can you help us illustrate why equity is just as simple as tea? Ten days remain in our contest. Pick your medium and grab your supplies and enter by midnight, Thursday, March 31st.

— DDJ

While I am a self-acknowledged evangelist, I recognize that “equity” is radical thinking in some circles. But for me, and at Meyer, equity has become the driving force in how we approach our work.

The underlying premise begins with the acknowledgment that resources applied equally across the board do not solve deep problems. To meaningfully address the persistent gaps/disparities we witness in Oregon, we need to implement strategies rooted in equity that are not necessarily equal.

Equity is at the forefront of our daily news: you see it every time you read about race, profiling, education-wage-housing gaps, gender rights and disparities, power or privilege, immigration and protectionism. And the list goes on.

Eliminating these inequities has become one of the most pressing and critical issues of our time. I don’t think that’s hyperbole. What we strive for at Meyer, in service to our vision of a “flourishing and equitable Oregon,” is to eliminate barriers that keep ALL Oregonians from reaching their full potential.

This year marks my 18th in the independent sector — 14 years at Meyer and four at the nonprofit Friends of the Children. Before that I was at NIKE in global public affairs and corporate philanthropy.

To sum up my professional endeavors over the past 20 plus years, I’ve been working to solve social problems. It became acutely apparent to me during the past five years that my efforts, while well-intended and productive in many ways, were missing a key component: deliberate and consistent integration of principles of equity.

I came to this realization a few years back when we began using a racial equity framework during extensive equity and inclusion training at Meyer. I’ve blogged before about how insightful and life-changing it was to learn and engage in this very personal and challenging work with my co-workers and trustees, particularly those who represent historically marginalized and disadvantaged populations and spoke openly and courageously about the barriers and challenges they encountered.

Quite simply, their honesty changed the way I view our world, the way I look at problem solving and, in turn, the way we at Meyer approach our work. It especially caused me to reflect on philanthropy and its challenges.

Philanthropy, borne out of wealth, is often at direct odds with equity. Historically rooted in notions of charity or generosity — not ill-intended, mind you — philanthropy can come across as decidedly noblesse oblige. Driven by the moral imperative that comes with power and privilege — an obligation to help others in need — and encouraged by significant tax incentives, a lot of money changed hands under this system. And many positive outcomes were achieved. But has this traditional style of philanthropy taken advantage of its full potential in a way that has created widespread and lasting impact? After two decades in the field, my answer is, to a great extent, “NO.”

In fact, traditional approaches to philanthropy can really miss the mark by not focusing on the underpinnings or causes of problems so often rooted in long-term bias, racism and other “isms” and oppression. In an effort to be “equal,” it sometimes ignored persistent disparities based on such characteristics as race, ethnicity, income, gender, sexual orientation and disability status. Often it acted without recognizing barriers imposed by historical disparities now embedded in our organizations, institutions and cultures. It reinforced marginalization by passing over people and communities that have historically been left out. And often it relied on predominantly white, highly educated, well-intended, yet often privileged, foundation leaders, staff and nonprofit executives to decide how best to address the challenges faced by “others.” Rarely were historically marginalized communities included in the development of philanthropy’s strategies and grantmaking.

Over the past 34 years, while Meyer has engaged in good and important work, I’ve come to realize that we — I, as CEO and the organization itself — were not completely immune from this historical culture and approach to philanthropy.

Our equity training, study and collective journey helped us to fully acknowledge the biases that shape our lives and the philanthropic sector we operate in. Before then, I had not completely understood how my privilege as a white guy from a family with the means to make my dreams come true continued to shape my view of our work and the world. Like many in the Pacific Northwest, I was progressive, thoughtful and “colorblind.” And I served no one by not recognizing how deeply historical bias and oppression are embedded in our institutions, our culture and our own subconscious, which naturally frames such things as who we live alongside, who we hire and who we socialize with. And those dominant culture biases and oppressions have shaped our decision making and strategy implementation.

I, and Meyer, are not alone on this journey in Oregon. Philanthropic organizations all over the state also put equity at the center of what they do or have begun to do so. A few examples:

• MRG Foundation was borne out of a desire to have the deepest impact on the root causes of social inequity.
• The Collins Foundation has been working intensely on equity for more than two years, and finalized in December plans to apply an equity lens to its grantmaking.
• Oregon Community Foundation recently released a statement affirming its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Spirit Mountain Community Fund invests in, partners with and supports organizations that prioritize diversity and equity at the leadership level.
• Social Venture Partners Portland uses an equity lens to ensure more racially equitable investments close significant gaps in opportunity and resources for children of color living in poverty.
• Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington launched a new strategic plan to embed equity throughout our region while developing new and diverse philanthropies.

This is the philanthropic environment into which Meyer Memorial Trust announced a complete overhaul of our strategy last year.

During 2015 we worked to realign our efforts to be more strategic and to have greater impact. Today marks the first day that applicants can begin to apply for $11 million in grants under three of our redesigned funding areas: Building Community, Healthy Environment and Housing Opportunities. We are constructing our fourth portfolio, Equitable Education, with funding opportunities to follow.

We will prioritize work with, and look to work alongside, nonprofit partners who share our interest in increasing equity and inclusion of Oregonians who experience disparities because of race, ethnicity, income, gender, sexual orientation, disability status and other historical oppressions.

We have gathered a stellar and diverse staff with content experience to help leverage our grant awards through a multitude of strategies, including taking a more active role to convene and leverage our influence, engaging in independent research/education of policymakers and advocacy, developing new and diverse leaders, and amplifying the voices and work of organizations, networks and coalitions committed to dismantling inequities and increasing equitable opportunities.

We are building in assessment of the progress and outcomes of our grants, programs and partnerships to help us understand both our achievements and our failures. Look for us to course correct when needed — and be fully transparent about what does and does not work and what we are learning.

Meyer is committed to being an engaged partner in this shared work of making Oregon a more equitable place. If you’re here to apply, this is where you go first.

— Doug

When Meyer’s current five-year Affordable Housing Initiative launched in 2014, it felt audacious. We worked with the field to craft a refreshed framework of strategies, aimed towards innovation, systems change and the leveraging of resources.

With two dedicated and experienced program officers leading the initiative, we set out to change how Meyer advanced its affordable housing work. And the equity focus that is now central to Meyer’s work was, in several key ways, first tested through AHI’s work over the last two years.

Now it’s time to take stock of our progress to date. Kristina Smock Consulting recently completed an assessment of the first full year of AHI’s refreshed grantmaking. Evaluation highlights include:

• The Preservation and Rural Housing strategies continue to achieve significant impact in preserving affordable housing across the state (p. 9-11 and p. 12-15, respectively);
• The Sustaining Portfolios strategy, in partnership with technical assistance provider, Housing Development Center, produced a trove of data about the state of ten housing portfolios, including 157 properties (p. 16-18);
• The Cost Efficiencies strategy convened an expert group to identify cost drivers and opportunities for reducing the cost of developing affordable housing (p. 19-22);
• While Oregon wrestles with a historically low vacancy rate, the Private Market strategy helped strengthen understandings of HB-2639 Housing Choice Voucher reform law, illuminated the challenges faced by low-income and underserved populations, and strengthened relationships (p. 23-27); AHI also learned promising strategies that may flourish in a market with normal vacancy rates;
• Grants made under the Advocacy strategy contributed to momentum around key local housing priorities, strengthened and diversified state-level engagement, supported 2015 legislative wins and set the stage for a robust 2016 legislative agenda (p. 31-36);
• All of the Requests For Proposals were framed with an equity lens and three-quarters of the AHI grants were awarded to projects and organizations that fulfilled at least one of the four AHI equity objectives (p. 39-47);
• Meyer’s intention around reaching all regions of the state was largely achieved, with  a significant amount of grants outside the urban Willamette Valley (p. 43);
• Goals to reach projects or organizations that served a majority people of color showed mixed success; of all the year one projects funded, 31% had projects that served a majority of people of color and 37% were for organizations that serve a majority of people of color (p. 44);
• Meyer faces challenges in implementing data collection and gathering outcomes on equity indicators (p. 40-41) and we have ample room for improvement; and
• Meyer continues to refine our AHI strategies, based on data and feedback from the field. We worked to add the Sustaining Portfolios strategy (p. 16) and modified the advocacy strategy after year one to be both wider in scope, with deeper investments over 1-2 years (p. 36).

 

The AHI Year One Evaluation is a sign Meyer remains committed to learning, in all forms. We built a convening structure into the AHI that facilitates sharing between grantees, field practitioners and Meyer. We continue to convene multi-sector workgroups on tough issues and will spread the findings of those groups. In the coming year, our AHI program officers will share blog posts about each of the strategies, highlighting both challenges and successes. And we know that dedicated time for learning and reflection, coupled with annual evaluations from an outside consultant, are critical to successful execution of the Initiative.

It’s clear that Meyer can’t do this work alone; we rely every day on housing developers, providers, advocates, community members and funders to carry out the vision that every Oregonian has a decent, safe and affordable place to call home.

We welcome your feedback on this Year One Evaluation of the AHI, and look forward to learning together in the coming years.

— Theresa

We continue to hear many good questions from our partners, such as:

How many funding opportunities will you have this year? 

In 2016, there is one major funding call across the three active portfolios: Housing Opportunities, Healthy Environment and Building Community. Each has a slightly staggered deadline, so you will want to think through which portfolio area and goal is the best fit and apply by that deadline. Housing Opportunities, for example, has the first deadline for inquiry applications, on Monday, May 9th at 5pm. Deadlines for the other portfolios will follow.

I have an existing grant with Meyer. May I still apply? 

Absolutely.

How much should I apply for? 

That is a great question without a simple answer.  We can say that Meyer is rarely the first funder or only funder of a project. We look for projects that leverage other resources.

Each portfolio gives ranges for the types of requests that it will be accepting. In general, we expect to make a few grants at the very high end of the range. Those projects will tend to be bigger, more complex, and may involve several organizations working collaboratively. We'll look at the grant request relative to the full budget for the project and the organization, and how much of an organization's budget Meyer would support if it has multiple grants.

No single factor determines the answer. So, consider these points and try to craft a request that makes sense within the ranges described in each portfolio. See more answers to questions we've heard on our FAQs page. And, finally, reach out to the portfolio staff or questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org) if you want to talk through a grant request size.

Don't forget: the deadline for Housing Opportunities funding is 5 p.m., Monday, May 9th.

I just topped off a whirlwind of travel over the past month with a trip to my hometown, the Twin Cities. 

I still visit from time to time to see family and friends, but on this occasion I went for the first site visit of my fellowship with the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities PLACES program.

PLACES aims to advance funder efforts that empower communities of color and low-income communities to influence growth and development decision-making in their communities.

There’s lots of things to share about my time in Minneapolis, but I wanted to offer two takeaways from my visit.

The story of the Twin Cities is familiar

Not only does it evoke a host of teenage memories, but it sounds and looks a lot like Portland. The region is growing and its economy is strong. Like Portland, it has more nonprofits than most places, all working to improve the region. But, not everyone is doing well. Communities of color, low-income communities and communities that have historically experienced disparities are falling further behind while communities that have privilege are getting further ahead. Unemployment disparities are especially stark. Race, place and outcomes are highly correlated. We heard that “Minneapolis is fierce about affordable housing.” We know that Portland’s affordable housing conversation is also fierce … in that friendly, Portland way. Numerous presenters referenced a culture of “Minnesota nice” that hinders productive discourse about race. In Portland, we all know about “Portland nice.” And, it seems to cause a similar problem.

Work for equity and social change is complex 

It requires collaboration and long-term commitment. It’s not the work of individuals acting in isolation or for the faint of heart.

We saw this in action during an all-day visit to the North Minneapolis Broadway Corridor — a place where community leaders demonstrate passionate commitment to their community, despite the deep disparities and challenges they face. During a panel discussion, community leaders described decades-long disinvestments in the area, while resources poured into neighboring white neighborhoods. The panel buzzed with what someone dubbed “positive tension.” The leaders didn’t agree on everything. They challenged each other’s assumptions and spoke difficult truths to each other — and to us.

DeVon Nolen, a force for positive change and Project/Market Manager of the West Broadway Business Area Coalition, led us on a tour of the corridor which included numerous nonprofits and small businesses working together. She shared creative solutions — some that haven’t yet taken hold and others that are working. For example, amidst a shower of bubbles (yes, bubbles) flowing from the rooftop of its building, Juxtaposition Arts wowed us with their youth empowerment and community development work. Along the way, we met business owners, long-time residents, and newcomers young and old, who shared impressions about the community or quizzed us about what we were doing there. Folks were clearly interested and engaged.

During lunch at Breaking Bread, an impromptu parade of several North Minneapolis leaders shared inspiring vignettes about their work. I particularly appreciated hearing from the director of Neighbors Organizing for Change who won a commitment from the state to reinvest some of the its surplus dollars into North Minneapolis. This is how real change happens.

We topped off the day by hearing from the Northside Funders Group, a collaborative of philanthropic organizations aligning investments to reduce disparities in North Minneapolis.

The level of collaboration, organizing and action we saw was remarkable. Even though I grew up in the Twin Cities, I didn’t know the story of North Minneapolis or many of the other things I learned during the site visit.

Over the coming year, the PLACES program will offer me three more opportunities — in Hartford, Conn.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Jacksonville, Fla. — to hear how different funders are supporting and engaging with communities to advance equity. I look forward to sharing what I learn next time and how we can apply lessons from PLACES to our work for an equitable and flourishing Oregon.

— Jill

Juxtaposition Arts wowed us with their youth empowerment and community development work. Here's their community mind map and plan mural.