Dear Colleagues,
As we begin 2025, we at GEO already find ourselves deep in conversation with many of you about the currents of change within our communities, institutions, and sectors during these times. We hear concerns about mounting pressures to pull back from racial equity commitments, to narrow perspectives, and to voluntarily cede hard-won ground. We appreciate that challenges are significant and very real – from legal intricacies associated with equity-focused funding and DEI initiatives, to threats to nonprofits and civil society, to cultural shifts away from nuanced approaches to community-centered grantmaking.
Further, we are witnessing a range of emotions shaping our experiences – from uncertainty and exhaustion to anxiety and grief, to anger and urgency for meaningful societal change. For many of us, the question of what philanthropy can do in the face of intersecting systems of oppression and marginalization is palpable.
The GEO community teaches us that recurring cycles of change such as this are precisely when our commitment to transformative change for thriving nonprofits and communities matters most. Despite any presence of doubt or fear, we invite your continued participation in our collective efforts to support thriving nonprofits and communities with clear eyes. Together, it is possible to remain steadfast and strategic in our efforts. GEO believes in the potential of our roles as grantmakers to elevate the stories of our diverse and powerful communities, to acknowledge the opportunities and barriers to progress within prevailing conditions, and to make visible the changes we seek to cultivate, together.
GEO remains a place where grantmakers explore concrete strategies for maintaining robust equity work in challenging times. Multi-racial coalition building has always proven effective for advancing equity and justice. This work requires humility, courage, and love. Love is a core value at GEO and practicing love is the acknowledgment, acceptance, and accountability that bridges differences between people and allows us to influence the human dynamics that drive social systems.
As a community of learning and action navigating the current moment together, we offer specific ways to strengthen your practice and engage with GEO’s resources:
First, invest in sustained learning and peer support. Join us for GEO’s 2025 Learning Conference this spring, where we will explore practices in equity-informed, community-driven grantmaking. Participants leave equipped with knowledge, tools, and relationships to apply learning in all aspects of our work. Join us as we go beyond the basics and support grantmakers in engaging in intentional learning practices both inside and outside our organizations.
Second, deepen your leadership capacity for transformative change by connecting with colleagues. Through GEO peer communities and cohorts, members harness the power of community to share insights, learning and experiences, while moving to solutions that advance racial equity and transform philanthropy. The Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellowship is currently accepting applications for its 2025 cohort. This year-long experience brings together senior leaders to develop strategies for organizational transformation that can withstand external pressures while advancing equity and justice.
Third, ground your work in rigorous data and field-level insights. GEO’s forthcoming field study measures how philanthropy operationalizes our commitments to nonprofits and communities. This research isn’t just about documentation – it’s about building the evidence base we need to make the case for sustained equity. Your participation helps strengthen our collective ability to respond to challenges with clarity and conviction.
For those ready to take action:
- Register for the 2025 Learning Conference by February 15 to secure early-bird pricing.
- Submit your application for the Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellowship by January 31 to develop the leadership capabilities needed for this moment.
- Ensure that one person in your organization is signed up to participate in our field study to contribute to our shared understanding of effective practices and access emerging insights.
- Engage with your regional association of grantmakers to stay abreast of strategic developments underway in your geographic area and build local support networks.
- Stay connected to the GEO community throughout the year by exploring offerings on GEO’s new website, attending a member orientation, and making sure you and your colleagues are signed up to receive our newsletter.
In the face of so much change and uncertainty, we appreciate the temptation to pause, retreat, or preemptively narrow one’s vision. These tendencies diminish our capacity to be responsive to shifting dynamics. Instead, we believe the time is now to deepen our connection with each other, to reground ourselves in our core values, and to strengthen our collective capacity for transforming social systems. GEO exists to help philanthropy stay dynamic, principled, and effective in service of generative meaningful change. We are here to support you in replacing fear with clarity, retraction with expansion, and isolation with community.
Let’s continue this journey together, understanding the challenges while staying focused on the possibilities for progress. The pathway forward isn’t about retreating from our values but about deepening our practice of them together.
In solidarity and purpose,
Marcus*
President and CEO
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations