This month, our newsletter is devoted to exploring important ways philanthropic organizations can support their communities, in addition to grantmaking. Although grantmaking is one important strategy that most philanthropic organizations utilize, foundations have other forms of capital available that can be used to support their partners.
In his interview from: Wit and Wisdom: Unleashing the Philanthropic Imagination by Dr. Mark Constantine, Ambassador Joseph shared multiple ways foundations can deploy SMIRF capital. In describing reputational capital, he said, “foundations can use their social capital as a kind of collateral for organizations whose formal credentials and written proposals understate their potential and reliability.”
Scroll down to read about several of the ways RMHF is deploying SMIRF capital. You’ll hear from Cecilia Barbosa, PhD, MPH, MCP, about the research she conducted, based on an initiative with our region’s Latino community, and made possible through RMHF’s relationships and partnerships in the community and with national funders (social capital). We also share a report produced by VCU that explores the health needs of the LGBTQ+ population, greatly aided by our relationship with a national foundation, Laughing Gull (social capital), and through our local knowledge and connections (intellectual and reputational capital).
Understanding these types of capital is especially important for smaller foundations like RMHF, who may have limited financial reserves but want to do all we can to support our partners and region. We have the privilege of bringing people together, building relationships, sharing knowledge and catalyzing ideas to strive for greater health and racial equity in our community.
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An Interview with Dr. Cecilia Barbosa |
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Hispanic, Latino and undocumented communities across the country have been particularly adversely impacted by COVID-19. At the height of the pandemic, RMHF served as a fiscal sponsor for a grant from the CDC Foundation, and $588,230 was contributed from the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond’s Covid-19 Response Fund, to address the vital needs of the Latino population in the Richmond region. Cecilia Barbosa, PhD, MPH, MCP, principal and owner of cBe consulting and immediate past chair and current health committee chair of the Virginia Latino Advisory Board, led an evaluation of the CDC Foundation initiative and its impact on our region’s Latino community. We sat down [virtually] with Cecilia to talk about the report and its findings, the reasons Latino communities have been exponentially impacted by COVID-19 and the ways she hopes our region will build on the relationships we’ve created to move forward in partnership and collaboration with our Latino neighbors.
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RMHF and PlanRVA are engaging Reinvestment Fund and collaborating with community leaders to update the Market Value Analysis
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Three years ago, Reinvestment Fund, a federally certified community development financial institution (CDFI), completed a market value analysis(MVA) for the Richmond region. The analysis used 2017 census data and community voices to present our region with rich information about the housing market here in Richmond. We are excited to report that we have engaged Reinvestment Fund again to do a second MVA that will help us assess change that has occurred in our housing markets over the past few years. This new analysis is being jointly funded by RMHF and Plan RVA, a regional planning entity that focuses on solving problems in transportation and housing. The MVA is a significant undertaking that will help us measure the impact of both previous investments and the pandemic on our housing markets, which is critically important information given the close ties between housing stability, affordability and quality of health and racial equity. The insights from the analysis will help inform RMHF’s planning, future grantmaking and policy and advocacy work and will serve as a resource for many of our partners. We plan to communicate regularly about the analysis as we kick off the project and begin to receive new insights.
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RMHF partners with Laughing Gull Foundation and VCU to assess the needs of our region’s LGBTQ+ community |
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Individuals that identify as LGBTQ+, particularly persons of color, face unique challenges when accessing and receiving health care and other services. If we are to advance health equity of our LGBTQ+ community members in the Richmond region, we must first understand their needs and challenges of receiving culturally competent care and services, hear firsthand about their lived experiences, and engage them in crafting solutions that matter. To do so, RMHF commissioned a Greater Richmond LGBTQ+ Needs & Opportunities Assessment. This assessment, which is now complete and available to the public, was funded in partnership with Laughing Gull Foundation, a North Carolina-based foundation addressing structural racism and economic inequality, and conducted by Dr. Kevin Allison and Dr. Eli Costen at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The ultimate goal of the report is to support and ensure continuation of services where there are concrete benefits to our LGBTQ+ community, while also recognizing the opportunity for increased service provision in areas where needs are unmet or the community is underserved. The findings will inform RMHF’s policy and advocacy work moving forward.
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Congratulations to RMHF Trustees and Partners who are doing big things!
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RMHF Trustee, Vanessa Walker Harris, M.D., has been appointed Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Resources by Governor Northam.
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Gina Lyles, Engagement Director at Performing Statistics and RMHF HEArtist, was named Executive Director of The Hive, a new non-profit community development organization. The Hive, a youth-centered community that holistically supports young people as they transition into adulthood, launched late last month.
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Tanya Gonzalez, Executive Director of Sacred Heart Center and RMHF Trustee, is being recognized by VCU at its Alumni’s 10 Under 10 awards program. This awards program spotlights noteworthy and distinctive achievements made by alumni who received their first degree from VCU within the past 10 years.
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Heather Crislip, formerly President and CEO of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) of Virginia, is now the Executive Director at The Richmond Forum.
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