“The Capital Collaborative is a great opportunity to get real about how racism shows up in our lives and our work, and to stop avoiding the difficult conversations and feelings that often surface for white people when we talk about race. This is also a great way to build a network of other funders who want to be more explicitly antiracist.”
“Here it is - the opening of the 2021 Camelback Fellowship Application. With our search for the next generation of the #CamelbackFam in full swing, we wanted to fill you in on some updates. In the name of continuous evolution, we’re making a few changes (you know we like to keep it fresh!)”
“Creating systemic equity is the counterbalance to systemic racism, but it requires a retooling of the whole system, investment in people and communities, and new diverse leadership. Equity requires humbleness and prioritized spending beyond many well-meaning organizations working within the realm of anti-racism. Merely turning the pie so that people of color can now enjoy the portions white Americans have been accustomed to fails to recognize that the entire pie is poisonous.”
Read More“White people, whether intentional or not, have created and upheld the policies and systems that perpetuate racism. I don’t think those systems and policies can change until many more white people understand the specific ways they contribute to this. Acknowledging race, learning to talk about it, and understand the role we each play in reinforcing or actively breaking down systems of racism is really hard and emotional work. It’s been valuable to have a group of people grappling with these same issues to learn from and reaffirm that while this is difficult it is worth it.”
“When Camelback first started, our goal was to build a community of people committed to diversifying entrepreneurship. We know, though, that our work is about more than putting new faces to old problems. It is about how we can grow a community willing to use their assets to pass on a future that can work for everyone.”
Read More“I get to do really important work supporting Camelback Venture’s Capital Collaborative. For reference, Capital Collaborative is a program that works with mostly white grantmakers and social impact investors who are ready to critically examine and deepen their organization’s commitment to racial and gender equity — but may not know how. I’m proud of this and other work I do in service of building a more just and equitable world — but as a white father, partnered with a white wife, raising three white children I believe it is equally, and on some days more, impactful to be raising our children to be anti-racist.”
Read More“In 2021, we are looking forward to brighter days, growth, and innovation. We launched a new Capital Collaborative cohort; we are reconfiguring the Camelback Fellowship, and we are investing in our network of past Fellows by building a team to support them.”
What's your Equity Journey to an Antiracist Policy Agenda? Scott Jenkins is the Strategy Director of Lumina Foundation and proud Camelback Ventures Capital Collaborative supporter. Listen as he shares his personal equity narrative - a powerful story about learning and revolution.
Read MoreThe makeup of my predominantly white world only started to change when I became conscious of it — and when I started to be more intentional about the relationships I was building both personally and professionally. My networks are more diverse now than ever, yet still predominantly white — and I acknowledge this will always be a work in progress. Why? Because for white Americans, our uninterrogated and unconscious ways of being are white. “Business as usual” defaults to white.
Read MoreI want to know what values and principles will guide your work in pursuit of justice and how will you hold yourself publicly accountable to striving to live out these values and principles each day. In my work supporting funders interested in a more community-centered and justice-oriented approach, the eagerness to sprint toward the creation and execution of solutions is inspiring, but without being firmly grounded in a set of values and principles their strategy is standing on a bed of quicksand.
Read MoreKey take-aways from Camelback Ventures' Capital Collaborative webinar highlighting its critical #WalkYourTalk racial equity work with funders nationwide. Panelists shared their personal and professional anti-racist journeys and how they actively apply those lessons learned in advancing racial justice in their current philanthropic roles.
Read MoreWhen you know better, you can do better. And this is why striving to be “antiracist” in your philanthropic work is something that takes daily practice through tough conversations and taking the time to better educate yourself. One of the best ways to do this is by reading books.
Read MoreSo often we ask the tough questions of the recipients of our funds … “What will success look like?” “How will you spend the money?” etc. While these can play a role in building understanding and trust, they also perpetuate a power divide and constantly put the people doing the difficult work in the hot seat.
Read MoreThe first step in building an anti-racist society doesn’t start with a checklist. Too often a singular act (a company statement, a social media post, a donation, etc) makes white leadership feel like they’ve done their job. Adopting a racial equity ideology is transformative. It’s not simply about what you do, but how you chose to live your life.
Read MoreI believe it is first and foremost the work of white people - in this case, those in grant-making and investing - to have the courage to take the risks required, the kind of courage and risks that our friends and colleagues of color exhibit daily in the battle against systemic racism that they cannot opt out of. We shouldn’t either.
Read MoreI believe it is first and foremost the work of white people - in this case, those in grant-making and investing - to have the courage to take the risks required, the kind of courage and risks that our friends and colleagues of color exhibit daily in the battle against systemic racism that they cannot opt out of. We shouldn’t either.
Read MoreI believe it is first and foremost the work of white people - in this case, those in grant-making and investing - to have the courage to take the risks required, the kind of courage and risks that our friends and colleagues of color exhibit daily in the battle against systemic racism that they cannot opt out of. We shouldn’t either.
Read More“The intersection of inheritance, wealth, and racism was undeniable and the notion of ‘passing something along’ began to take on a different, more powerful meaning for me. It is through this lens that I realized the need to redirect our focus from generational wealth to building generational inheritance.”
Read MoreWe’ve assembled a group of six alumni from around the country, kinda like our very own Camelback Avengers. We’re calling them our Alumni Ambassadors. They’ll be involved more in our decision-making process, culture building, and keeping connections going across cohorts.
Read More“I want to see cultural sustainability through economic empowerment and the creation of good jobs. Where is the local music label? The Black Restaurant Group? The Black-owned textile company?” Nadiyah Morris, New Orleans native and director of our Local Economies track, reflects on the economic history and future of the city.
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