A Year of Listening, Strategy, and Focus

A Year of Listening, Strategy, and Focus

By Reggie Shuford

One year ago today, I stepped into this role as president and CEO of Independence Foundation, returning to Philadelphia after two years back in my home state of North Carolina. I had spent my entire career in civil rights work, first as an attorney and then, for 14 years, in leadership. I had plenty of relationships with people in philanthropy. But that was usually to convince them to support the organizations I was leading. Now, I’m on the other side of the conversation, working to fulfill Independence Foundation’s mission and support organizations that improve and enrich the life of our region.

I’ve spent the last year listening and learning from our team and our grantee partners and strategizing with our team about how the foundation and philanthropy at large can maximize our impact.

It’s impossible to talk about the last year without acknowledging what’s happening in the broader environment in our country. After decades of supporting science, the arts, and charitable work, the federal government – at the behest of the current president – decided it would no longer be in that business. That has had significant impact on our partners and the broader charitable and public interest community.

In this kind of moment, philanthropy can’t rest on our laurels or fall back on business-as-usual. For our part, Independence Foundation launched its Resiliency Fund, grants for providing structural support across the sector and that are supplemental to our regular grantmaking program. I know that we’re not the only foundation stepping in as the federal government steps out.

I am grateful for all that I inherited when I stepped into this role a year ago. For years,  Independence Foundation has been a steady presence in the philanthropic community in Philadelphia. My job now is to sculpt what we’ll be in the years ahead, in collaboration with our team and our grantee partners.

Change is afoot at Independence Foundation. For months, we’ve been working on our next strategic plan and expect that its release will be imminent. While details are forthcoming, we are thinking about how to be just as effective working upstream as we are downstream. We support organizations that help people in need. We also want to be a part of changing the systems that create the need in the first place.

It’s right there in our mission: “encourage systems and cultural change.” Charities do noble work, stepping in to provide aid for people experiencing difficult life circumstances. We also want to support efforts to make it less likely that people have those experiences in the first place.

Independence Foundation is taking seriously its role in the broader ecosystem of philanthropy and how we can have maximum impact for the good of the Philadelphia region. That’s what the last year has been about for me. We want to use our voice and our position to change systems and, thus, change lives, for the better.

My life’s work has been about advancing the rights and wellbeing of others, especially those who have been historically marginalized, in part because I know from personal experience what it’s like to be in that position. Leading the team at Independence Foundation is another form of that work. It’s been an enriching and fulfilling year. I’m grateful to be in the collaborative space with our grantee partners, our staff, and our board and look forward to what we will do together.