Pulling Back the Curtain on Funder Decision Making
This session will share insights into funder decision-making and other aspects of the funding process from a funder point of view. Between power dynamics, unspoken expectations, and different funders’ styles, funder-nonprofit dynamics can be challenging to understand and navigate. Verónica, Tom, and Lauren will draw from their experiences in the grantmaking and philanthropy service spaces to share insights into how funders approach aspects of the funding process, with the goal of making communication and relationship-building with funders more accessible and inclusive.
This session is the final session of a four-part Fundraising Made Easy training series for food systems advocates in the Global Majority created by 50by40 and Apex Advocacy.
Meet the speakers:
Verónica Díaz Carrai - Partner & Executive Director, Tipping Point Private Foundation
Tipping Point Private Foundation invests its resources in causes that most support our mission: to improve animal welfare and reverse climate change by the displacement of factory farming. We support a variety of causes and initiatives that aim to reduce, or eliminate animal agriculture, as well as efforts to shift the demand for meat through development of plant based and cultivated meat. Verónica’s work at the foundation sits at the intersection of animals, people, and the environment as they relate to the industrial food system. Verónica's volunteer work and affiliate organizations include serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, the Board Chair of Animal Charity Evaluators, a Board Member of Beyond Carnism, and a Steering Committee Member of Farmed Animal Funders.
Tom Conger - Executive Director, Stray Dog Institute
As Executive Director, Tom oversees Stray Dog Institute’s grantmaking, research, and collaborations. Tom began his career in philanthropy service ten years ago when he founded a social venture to help donors and nonprofits make the best use of charitable giving. The venture sponsored donor-advised funds, provided investment advisory services, and developed a software platform to reduce the cost of donating, raising, and investing funds. The affiliated 501(c)(3) now operates as the Blackbaud Giving Fund, which granted $266 million to more than 100,000 nonprofits in 2020. Before philanthropy service, Tom founded and led a boutique research and consulting firm with offices in Washington, DC, London, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv. The firm specialized in foresight and its application to strategy and innovation primarily for Fortune 500 companies, including many in food and agriculture.
Lauren Kohler - Director of Food Systems Philanthropy, Stray Dog Institute
As Stray Dog Institute’s Director of Food Systems Philanthropy, Lauren develops and executes Stray Dog Institute’s food system-related grantmaking, activities, and strategy. Lauren brings an academic and professional background in food systems and environmental studies to her work. Previously, Lauren worked for the Yale Sustainable Food Program as a Senior Advisor, Farm Manager, and Volunteer Coordinator, leading community engagement in food systems learning. Lauren’s work is motivated by a deep care for people, animals, and the environment and a lifelong interest in the interconnections between people and the natural world.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
50by40 is a collective impact organization aiming to cut the global production and consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040. Our partner network includes non-governmental organizations working in the area of climate change, food security, animal rights, public health and nutrition, and alternative protein.
APEX Advocacy aims to increase the number of BIPOC individuals who participate in animal activism by advocating for collective liberation through animal rights, particularly in marginalized areas and communities that are disproportionately affected by the animal industrial complex.
