My name is Brittany Shaheen (she/her/hers), and I have served at the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) since February of 2021, beginning as a Program Generalist and working my way to my current position as a Program Officer. CAAP, a national institution of ACCESS and the only Arab American Community Foundation in the country, empowers the Arab American community by strengthening strategic giving in the community while shaping perceptions, highlighting heritage, and demonstrating collective impact. When I heard about the GCIR 2024 conference, I immediately knew I wanted to attend. I was honored to be the recipient of the Emerging Leader Scholarship, and I learned so much as a result.
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Drawing on reflections from a recent GCIR webinar about the value of learning in grantmakin, GCIR's Programs Learning Manager Anduriña Espinoza-Wasil explains that learning for evaluation purposes is not a one-time event at the end of a grant period, but a powerful process that is ongoing. There is an important relationship between learning and strategy, the ways learning processes can hold us accountable to the communities we serve, and how funders can start learning now.
Visibilize, mobilize, and amplify: These three goals represented the driving force behind a recent learning trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, organized for 15 funders by Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) and Grantmakers Concerned with Imigrants and Refugees (GCIR). This delgation traveled to McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico in early May to connect with nonprofits providing critical services. Humanitarian relief, legal services, power-building, and advocacy are just some examples of the vital work groups are leading in border communities.
The learning trip left a lasting impact on Lincoln Mondy, a Program Officer at the Andrus Family Fund. He joined Ivy O. Suriyopas, GCIR's Vice President of Programs, and Andrea Villaseñor de la Vega, Director of the Migration and Climate Mobility program at HIP, to share his personal reflections and experiences.
"I don't have 5-year goals, I have 500-year goals of liberation," declared Rubén Garza of Voces Unidas. He didn't hold back in a room full of funders and community leaders from the Rio Grande Valley.
Rubén set the tone for 15 funders who traveled from across the United States and Mexico to join a learning trip to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and Reynosa, Mexico. Hosted by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Hispanics in Philanthropy, the experience aimed to amplify the voices of border communities, demonstrate the impacts of unjust immigration policies, and mobilize resources for migrant-serving groups.
Emerging leader scholarship receipeint, Joél Junior Morales, reflects on his experience at GCIR's 2022 convening in Houston.