Navigating the Future of Aquaculture: Insights from Recent Convenings on Sustainable Seafood
Maggie Mascarenhas, SAFSF Public Policy Manager, this past May joined the GRACE Communications Foundation, Don’t Cage Our Oceans, many stakeholders in the fishing community, including members of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, in Savannah, Georgia at the kickoff event for a resource development project known as the Aquaculture Atlas. Later, in July, she joined Don’t Cage Our Oceans, State Innovation Exchange, state legislators from across the U.S., and members of the Duwamish Tribe and Suquamish Tribe in Seattle, Washington to discuss state policy opportunities to wrest seafood production from corporate control and support working waterfronts. Below are her reflections and learnings on…
Reflections of #ForumCon24 From Emerging Leaders Scholarship Recipients: Maggie Mascarenhas
This year, the United Philanthropy Forum offered eight scholarships to allow emerging leaders in the Forum network to attend their 2024 Annual Conference. This piece was originally published as part of UPF’s blog series featuring the eight emerging leaders who received scholarships to attend the conference. Below, Maggie Mascarenhas, SAFSF Public Policy Manager shares her reflections and key takeaways from attending the conference. Last month, I was lucky enough to attend United Philanthropy Forum’s Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. It was my first time attending an in-person Forum event apart from Foundation On the Hill, and my first time seeing…
Philanthropy’s Role in Creating Thriving Rural Communities
Holly Enowski, SAFSF Senior Membership Associate, shares her reflections after attending two rural-forward convenings: 2024 Rural Philanthropy Summit: Creating Thriving Communities, presented by Philanthropy Missouri and Community Foundation of the Ozarks, and Building an Intersectional Philanthropic Approach: Climate Change, Agriculture, and Healthy Rural Communities presented by SAFSF. Growing up in rural Missouri and now living in a town of 250, I have a keen awareness of the issues impacting rural communities and a deep desire to create a stronger, thriving rural Midwest. My summer has been full of travel – joining fellow PSO, Philanthropy Missouri, for their recent rural-focused summit,…
SAFSF On the Road Recap: Minnesota
Key Takeaways | Voices from the Field | Acknowledgements | Recordings | Connecting Further | Resources Last month, as part of our SAFSF On The Road series, we gathered over 80 climate, energy, and agriculture funders, and community leaders in Minneapolis for “Building an Intersectional Philanthropic Approach: Climate Change, Agriculture, and Healthy Rural Communities.” This event underscored the urgent need for investing in rural communities and agriculture as essential strategies for climate mitigation and resilience. It highlighted the importance of implementing comprehensive, systemic interventions to address the challenges effectively. These investments are crucial for promoting sustainable agriculture and enhancing the…
Job Announcement: Program Director
Position Summary SAFSF is seeking a Program Director to lead the design, coordination and administration of all aspects of our programs including planning, organizing, and executing an annual program plan and an annual in-person Forum. The function of this role is to ensure that SAFSF’s programs are aligned with our strategic direction, relevant to our community of members, and impactful towards our mission. The Program Director, reporting to the Vice President of Impact, will be responsible for providing leadership and direction to the Program Team, and directly supervise Associates. They will lead co-creation and coordination with managers and cross-functional roles,…
Being a Good Relative: Engaging with Native Communities
Angie Boone, SAFSF Membership and Development Associate, shares her reflections after attending the 2024 Native Americans in Philanthropy Conference. Sophie Ackoff, Program Manager, Food & Agriculture at the 11th Hour Project, reflects on the launch of the Indigenous Food Systems Community of Practice second cohort. Angie Boone, SAFSF As a Citizen of Cherokee Nation and formerly serving in a role with Pinoleville Pomo Nation, it meant a lot to me to be among the over 600 funders, tribal members, Native non-profits, Indigenous artists, and vendors from around the world who gathered at the 2024 Native Americans in Philanthropy Conference in…
Solutions from the Ground: Reflections from Appalachia Funders Network Convening
Written by SAFSF Communications Director Maggie Mosley During April, I traveled to Charleston, West Virginia for the annual Appalachia Funders Network (AFN) Convening, entitled Climbing the Mountains: Uniting Resources Inspiring Action, which brought together 165 funders, and a handful of non-profit and social enterprise practitioner leaders. For me, it felt like a homecoming; all my growing years and my career in food and farm systems started in Appalachian Kentucky. For those who may not be familiar, the Appalachian region covers a geography of 13 states from southern New York to northern Mississippi, with the bulk of the region represented in…
SAFSF On the Road: California Gathering Recap
As we reflect on the first SAFSF On the Road event, “Opportunities and Challenges in Funding Regenerative Agriculture,” we can’t help but feel grateful for the time, energy, and perspectives that everyone brought to the convening. Nestled near the Embarcadero, during the Spring Equinox, we gathered with 37 funders interested in regenerative agriculture in California and beyond. Together we explored strategies for accelerating philanthropic and investment funding of regenerative agriculture. Our purpose for the gathering was to learn from one another, surface curiosities and calls to action, and explore opportunities for alignment and collaboration. We sought to uncover alignments and misalignments among funders around a topic that…
Funding for a Better Farm Bill Has Been Sparse and Inconsistent. Is That Changing?—Inside Philanthropy
This week, Inside Philanthropy published an article about shifts in philanthropy to support sustained grassroots organizing and advocacy on the Farm Bill, the massive piece of federal legislation that governs agricultural markets and nutrition benefits. Advocates point to the need for more sustained engagement in between reauthorization periods every 5 years. For example, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition encourages funders to give “flexibility regarding advancing policy change, and [have] a greater recognition of the fact that we’re living and working in really complicated times,” With increased flexibility from funders organizations can “be responsive to opportunities when they arise, like the…
Making a SHOT for Real Agriculture Change via Federal Ag Funding
By Maria Doerr, Program Officer, Rural Climate Partnership The SAFSF Member Policy in Action highlights SAFSF members who are funding food and agriculture policy advocacy at the federal, state, tribal, and/or local levels. Please fill out this Google Form or email Maggie Mascarenhas if you are interested in your policy work being featured. There is *more federal funding available today than ever before* to advance climate and equity outcomes in our agriculture system. Yet without timely, focused investments from philanthropy, these funds are more likely to benefit practices with marginal climate benefits, go to the most established and conventional producers,…
