Liberty Hill Partners with SoCal Grantmakers and Sierra Health Foundation to Host Leadership Roundtable

Recently, more than 40 leaders from philanthropy across Southern California gathered in downtown Los Angeles to discuss how to defend multi-racial democracy in an era of federal disinvestment and attacks on vulnerable communities.

Nationally recognized author, community organizer, and president of the Freedom Together Foundation–Deepak Bhargava–called on funders and leaders in the philanthropic space to organize, strategize, and make space for difficult conversations as we take on today’s challenges together.

Expanding on remarks given at Liberty Hill’s Upton Sinclair Celebration on April 30th, Deepak called upon philanthropic leaders to make urgent and transformational changes to the way they do business to meet this critical moment. Participants discussed strategies such as increasing payouts, endowing the community organizing sector in the same way funders endow museums and universities, and moving with more urgency.

Foundation leaders also engaged in discussion about the importance of funding community organizing, and the pivotal role that organizing plays in defending democracy. Deepak stressed the importance of three core organizing strategies–lawfully disrupting harmful systems, delegitimizing harmful policies, and drawing detractors from the authoritarian coalition. He emphasized investing deeply in community organizing so that a pro-democracy coalition can mount an effective response to current and emerging threats to democracy.

The discussion ended with a call to move forward with courage, keep lines of dialogue open, and stay connected with peers as we tackle the challenges ahead.