About This Episode

Indigenous organizers are at the forefront of revolutionary movements for sovereignty, environmental justice and land rights, movements that confront our largely ignored history of Native genocide and broken treaty promises. Yet, foundations, many who claim to support marginalized and underrepresented communities, spend just 0.4% of their annual funding on Native communities. Native causes are overlooked and underfunded by philanthropy. 

In this podcast, we hear from Indigenous organizer and tribal attorney, Tara Houska, and two social justice funders, Edgar Villanueva and Jason Franklin. We explore the tensions that arise when Indigenous activists seek grants to support their radical work and encounter funders that are hesitant to fund direct action, largely uneducated about Indigenous history, disconnected from struggles at the frontline, and financially linked to the industries that profit on the devastation of Native lands. 

Hosts

Abhinaya Narayanan

is a medical student in the UCLA PRIME program and a Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her background is in community organizing, policy, and advocacy to fight for social, racial, and economic justice for marginalized communities.

Oscar Echeverria

is a medical student in the UCLA PRIME program and a Master in Public Policy student at the Harvard Kennedy School. His background is in community health and health disparities work, along with advocacy for racial justice and health equity.

Nneka Onwuzurike

is a joint Master in Public Policy and Master of Business Administration student at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School. Her background is in creative writing, institutional fundraising, and donor organizing for local social justice organizations.

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Follow our interviewees on Twitter:

• Edgar Villanueva: https://twitter.com/VillanuevaEdgar
• Tara Houska: https://twitter.com/zhaabowekwe
• Jason Franklin: https://twitter.com/fundingchange

Keep up with their work:

• What is Line 3? Winona LaDuke Explains Line 3
• Take action to Stop Line 3
• Keep up with the Giniw Collective
• Learn more about Native Americans in Philanthropy
• Learn more about the Solidaire Network

Protest Law, Divestment, and the Vision for Climate Justice:

• The Red New Deal, an indigenous vision for climate justice: “A Red Deal” by Nick Estes (Jacobin)
• Bans on critical infrastructure protest: 

About This Episode

What happens when social movement activists receive leadership fellowships? In this podcast, three Harvard Kennedy School graduate fellows discuss philanthropic scholarships and fellowships given to “change agents.” They review the major foundations who are funding fellowships, examine the history of how this type of giving came about, think aloud some critiques and alternatives, then chat about their personal connections to this topic.

Hosts

Becky Mer

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, and she has previously worked in criminal justice reform in the United States and abroad.

Inayat Sabhikhi

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. She is associated with the Right to Information and Right to Food movements in India. Talk to her about gully rap and Zadie Smith.

Samer Hjouj

is a Center for Public Leadership Fellow and Master in Public Policy candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, and he has previously worked in education in Palestine.

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Videos

• Rockefeller Fellowship on Social Innovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t6JyGoDnzQ
• Open Society Foundation for South Africa Commemorative Scholarship and Fellowship Awards 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCyTHhShfjA
• Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=43&v=qqH3Cib-Y5Q&feature=emb_logo
• 2019 Obama Foundation Fellows:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxPYxQ0KNkY
• Emerson Collective Dial Fellows:
• https://www.emersoncollective.com/organizations/emerson-collective-dial-fellowship/
• Harvard Lecture by Condoleeza Rice: 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLYCE4NU9Hw
• Professor Randall Westbrook on W.E.B. Du Bois’ Talented Tenth:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wollGiMRCIE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnACmH2ueSU

Books

• Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy (2014)
• International Scholarships in Higher Education: Pathways to Social Change edited by Joan Dassin, Robin Marsh, and Matt Mawer (2017)
• The Lucky Few and the Worthy Many: Scholarship Competitions and the World’s Future Leaders edited by Warren F. Ilchman, Alice S. Ilchman, and Mary H. Tolar (2004)
• The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2007)
• Top Down: The Ford Foundation, Black Power, and the Reinvention of Racial Liberalism by Karen Ferguson (2013)

Articles

• Beilke, Jayne R. (1997) “The Changing Emphasis...

About This Episode

Lowell, MA; Hershey, PA, and… the Bay Area? Company towns don’t look like they used to, and tech hot spots are the company towns for today’s digital age. Heavyweights in philanthropy look a little different these days, too: tech phenoms unafraid of risk and hungry to problem solve, at times to a fault. Taking a historical lens to American company towns, we consider whether tech philanthropists can adopt and scale the blueprint a foundation used to innovatively revitalize a rural company town. From urban housing shortages to COVID-19, philanthropy’s human stakes have never been higher. In this podcast, we examine how the tech industry can get better at doing good.

Hosts

Amaya Bravo-France, MUP2020

is an urban planner focusing on housing and neighborhood development, and has worked on environmental and housing issues at nonprofit organizations in California.

Evita Chavez, MUP2 2020

comes to Harvard after working as a Legislative Assistant in the California State Senate, where she staffed the state’s groundbreaking accessory dwelling unit law in 2016 and advised on various housing legislation for Senator Bob Wieckowski.

Sophie Dover, MPA 2020

split her early career between both U.S. coasts in roles which spanned technology, communications, government, and the arts. She is a concurrent Dartmouth MBA.

John Joanino, MPP 2021

began his career in tech philanthropy managing charitable crowdfunding partnerships with celebrities at Omaze.com and most recently led digital communications at a racial equity policy advocacy organization in Los Angeles, California.

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America’s Company Towns-Smithsonian Magazine

Blue Sky Center (New Cuyama, CA)

Partnership for the Bay’s Future (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)

PICO California