Description

A central goal of the Luce Foundation’s Religion and Theology Program is to stimulate faith-rooted efforts to envision and build a more just, compassionate, and democratic world. A related program objective is to strengthen third sector work on religion and faith, by deepening funding partnerships and building new communities of philanthropic practice.
 
The grant being recommended here will serve both of these purposes. 
 
Over the course of the last few years, Luce Foundation Program Director Jonathan VanAntwerpen has participated regularly, alongside representatives of other foundations, in an initiative on faith and philanthropy. Initially launched by staff members at the Fetzer Institute, Ford Foundation, and Open Society Foundations, the working group that anchors the initiative has grown to include members representing several other foundations – including Kalliopeia, Nathan Cummings, Wayfarer, and others – and it continues to expand. 
 
While the group is diverse, and draws participation from representatives of foundations that each articulate their missions in distinctive ways, its work is animated in large part by a shared commitment to the importance of spirit-rooted and faith-based efforts to address many of today’s pressing challenges related to justice, democracy, belonging, and the health of the planet. 
 
One outgrowth of this working group has been the launch of an exploratory pooled fund. The Fetzer Institute has agreed to hold monies contributed to the fund, to administer grants made through it, and to provide direct support for its administration. As the pooled fund proposal from Fetzer states, the fund is envisioned in part as a space for members of the Faith & Philanthropy working group to act together (creating deeper connections and coalition), to learn together and create shared narratives, and to strengthen the field of faith-rooted work with a view to stimulating larger future investments from both institutional philanthropy and individual donors. 
 
Contributors to the fund thus far have included Fetzer, Ford, OSF, and Gates. A contribution from Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies is pending.
 
 Like these other contributions, our grant would make a direct contribution to the pooled fund, which will award a first set of twelve grants in 2023. Each $200,000 grant from the pooled fund will provide general operating support for organizations identified and selected by a small selection committee (in which Jonathan VanAntwerpen has also been a participant).