1.
Creating a just future requires bold, transformative action now, not merely incremental improvements.
Native communities talk about what’s going to happen seven generations ahead of us, and there’s something about the conversation with Trista this morning, her futurism, that requires us to remember that we got here because our ancestors were radical imaginaries. They didn’t just have a vision. They imagined a future for which no evidence was possible.
Flozell Daniels, Jr.
3.
Big ideas need more than just funding—they need social, moral, intellectual, and reputational support to thrive.
As philanthropy, we have the opportunity to invest in our partners the same ways that business is investing. And the metrics for success are not, ‘Are you moving? Are you getting more people employed when the job market is going down?’ No, the metric for As philanthropy, we have the opportunity to invest in our partners the same ways that business is
investing. And the metrics for success are not, ‘Are you moving? Are you getting more people employed when the job market is going down?’ No, the metric for success is: Are you a stronger organization? Are you a better business? Are you sustainable over time? Are you able to scale? So, that’s our big idea.
Rev. Anderson
5.
The playbook for policy change exists, but philanthropy must elevate awareness, build the will, and fund the solutions rather than focusing on the problems.
There are people that want change, are working to change policy, and working to build momentum to sustain those policies. We need the funders to trust the community because we are the ones on the ground with knowledge of the solutions. We face the challenges every day. What we need are foundations who have the courage to inject more money into this type of work to really see a different Arkansas in the next ten, twenty years.
Magaly Licolli
2.
Intermediaries are essential in states like Arkansas, empowering communities and amplifying finite resources through collaboration and innovative partnerships without taking center stage.
The idea and/or approach that you may want to take may take some time to get to the top, but we recognize in collaboration, you get far greater energy. I like to say that when we work with communities or at tables, we come in with the jersey. We don’t come in with the cape. We’re not superheroes saving communities.
Kim Davis
4.
Resourcing movements means supporting local voices that can challenge external narratives and amplify the lived experiences of their communities.
The South is disproportionately affected by media deserts, large conglomerates, different parts of the media trade, and so a lot of what you read when it’s about the South is not written by southerners, not written by people with the lived experience. [Oxford American’s] mission is to make sure that people telling the stories are from the communities that we’re telling and amplifying stories about.
Dr. Sara A. Lewis