On February 17th, the world lost a leader, an activist and a philanthropist with the passing of Ambassador James Joseph. We would like to take a moment to reflect on his rich legacy and substantial impact.
Ambassador Joseph had an esteemed career serving philanthropic organizations and the United States government, including several years as the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. Throughout his career and in retirement, he was a powerful advocate for equity and social justice. As such, he had a profound role in shaping the organization that RMHF is today.
We had the honor of hosting Ambassador Joseph in 2016 when he came to speak to us about “Private Philanthropy and the New Normal: Reimagining the Potential of a Foundation.”
At this time, RMHF was at a point of inflection as we began a new phase of strategic planning and considered what our focus and impact needed to be in the future. Ambassador Joseph’s inspiring and practical counsel helped us take important steps to become who we are today.
Ambassador Joseph believed there was a very important role for smaller foundations to play in their communities – often one more powerful than they could see themselves. He helped us see the total impact that was possible and shared his thoughts on an integrated use of capital – social, moral, intellectual, reputational and financial – also known as SMIRF capital. It inspired us to take a deeper look at everything we had to offer our community to ensure we were fully leveraging all of our assets.