Overview
For the Jackson Community Foundation (JCF) in Jackson, Michigan, CFLeads–a national network of community foundations focused on community leadership–has been an essential partner on the Foundation’s equity journey. Beginning with JCF’s participation in the Michigan Community Leadership Network and continuing through the Foundation’s inclusion in an Equity Network cohort in 2018, the power of coming together with peers helped JCF forge its own equity path. The experiences inspired the Foundation first to take a step back and assess its current status and capabilities, then to gather board members to assess internal equity values, and later to take further steps such as making its grant application process more accessible to smaller organizations, and dedicating funding to tackling systemic racism.
The Jackson Community Foundation began in 1948. In 2022, the Foundation had assets totaling $42 million and awarded $2 million in grants (in such areas as education; arts, culture and recreation; physical, emotional and mental health; scholarships; organization capacity building; civil, social, and legal systemic change; and youth development, among others).
Racial Equity Updates
In the fall of 2023, our board, committee members, emeritus trustees, and staff convened for our annual strategic advance, a time for thinking strategically together. Our foundational reading for this gathering was “The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership” by Anne Wallestad and published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review on March 10, 2021. Our goal by the end of the day was to identify the essential elements of our purpose as a community foundation in our community right now. After a few months of afterwork, the Board of Trustees approved our new Purpose to guide us internally. So, here it is: Together we exist to transform our community by dismantling inequities, building authentic relationships, cultivating trust, and sharing power. Every day we are finding ways to live into our purpose while harnessing our grantmaking, community leadership and relationships, public policy advocacy, and impact investments. This opportunity mattered to us.