The HEFN community invested millions of dollars in 2013 in support of healthier people, communities, and environments. It also was an exciting and productive year for the field and for HEFN. Here’s a recap of the year’s activities to build and strengthen environmental health and justice philanthropy.
Bringing Funders Together
In October, HEFN held its 2013 annual meeting in Washington, DC. This annual meeting focused on the “power of people” and featured diverse speakers – from a demographer to a civil rights leader to a robotics professor – highlighting opportunities for philanthropy to support the rising American majorities in support of environmental health and justice. Read more about HEFN’s 2013 meeting.
In December HEFN and five funder group partners jointly hosted a funder tour of California’s San Joaquin Valley. Read about this tour.
Raising the Visibility of Environmental Health & Justice
Webinars and Funder-Organized Calls
HEFN hosted a webinar series and numerous calls providing learning opportunities about environmental health and justice interests. Topics ranged from smart growth to green chemistry to fracking impacts on agriculture. Many were collaboratively developed with other funder groups to broaden our reach and help funders connect across communities.
- CEQA Reform: A Strategy Discussion with Environmental and Public Health Advocates Webinar co-sponsored with the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Grantmakers In Health, Northern California Grantmakers, San Diego Grantmakers, and Southern California Grantmakers. (March)
- Scaling Green Chemistry: Advancing Benign by Design Solutions to Remove Toxics in Everyday HEFN Member-Initiated Conversation. (March)
- Fracking the Farm: Understanding Impacts and Challenges of Fracking on Agriculture. Webinar co-sponsored with the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (April)
- Developments on TSCA reform. HEFN Member Calls. (May – June)
- A Healthier Way to Grow: I-710 Freeway Expansion in California. Webinar co-sponsored with the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and the Environmental Grantmakers Association. (October)
- Finally! An International Treaty to Control Mercury Pollution – Now How Do We Make it Real? HEFN member-initiated webinar, co-sponsored with the Sustainability Funders (October)
- Congressional Moves Towards Major Chemicals Policy Reforms: What’s in Play and What's at Stake? Webinar (co-sponsored with the Environmental Grantmakers Association (December)
Outreach into Philanthropy
HEFN regularly reaches out into philanthropy to engage new funders and increase investments in environmental health and justice. We raise the visibility of environmental health and justice issues through online and written publications, joint programming with other funder groups, and representation at funder meetings.
In 2013 HEFN broadened its reach and relationships with other affinity groups, regional associations of grantmakers, and donor networks. Staff attended, spoke at, or supported programming at numerous meetings including:
- Environmental Grantmakers Association Federal Policy Briefing (February)
- Grantmakers In Health 2013 Meeting (March)
- Coal Funders / Climate and Energy Funders Group 2013 Meetings (April)
- Funders' Committee for Civic Participation Spring Convening (May)
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders 2013 Forum (June)
- NIEHS Conference on Environmental Health and Justice Disparities (July)
- Environmental Grantmakers Association Fall Retreat & Meeting with Chinese Funder Delegation (September)
- Facing the Challenges: Research on Shale Gas Extraction Symposium (November)
- Funders Learning Tour to the CA Central Valley (December)
- Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation 2013 Winter Convening (December)
- Health and Housing Funders Forum Calls (Quarterly)
Social Media
HEFN’s blog, Giving InSight, was published weekly and crossed its one-year anniversary. Contributors have included HEFN members, staff, and affinity group colleagues. In 2013 the blog attracted just over 6,500 views, with the following posts garnering the most attention: funder learning tour in California’s Central Valley, connections between money-in-politics and environmental health, innovations in designing chemicals free from endocrine disruptors, and fracking.
Giving InSight posts often are picked up and reposted on others’ blogs, including GrantWatch and the Huffington Post. HEFN’s online presence also expanded in 2013 by using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Publications
HEFN published new resources for funders in 2013, including:
- A 4-page briefing paper on fracking;
- A guide to assessing and addressing environmental health concerns at the local level;
- A summary of a 2012 funder-NGO survey on fracking; and
- Several “funder stories” profiling members’ grantmaking.
Helping Funders Collaborate
Many funders participate in HEFN to consult and collaborate for greater impact. In 2013 HEFN’s member-driven collaboration priorities included addressing impacts of fracking, protecting people from toxic chemicals, and promoting environmental health and justice in communities.
To help funders collaborate on these issues, HEFN provided resource materials and helped members regularly connect through online communications, networking, webinars and convenings. On calls members discussed grantmaking, strategies, and field developments with resource people. HEFN members and staff partnered in outreach, to expand investment and funder dialogue on priority issues.
In May HEFN’s working group on fracking held a day-long strategy meeting in Washington, DC, with 15 funders in attendance.
Strengthening the Organization
HEFN made major steps in 2013 to strengthen its core offerings and operations. HEFN overhauled its website, providing new resources for members as well as for funders exploring environmental health and justice issues. HEFN upgraded its internal information systems to enable staff to better track its recruitment, fundraising, and programming efforts; the new system will improve HEFN’s ability to manage relationships with many more funders, track trends in the field, provide analysis of grantmaking across issue areas, and produce new offerings like funder directories. Members, watch your email for a quick survey of your foundation’s grantmaking.
Leadership is very important to HEFN. Its national Steering Committee worked throughout the year to identify and support members in leadership, including in program development, strategic collaboration and outreach. Three new members will join the national Steering Committee in January 2014: Lauren Davis (11th Hour Project), Christine James (John Merck Fund), and Amy Panek (Park Foundation).
Service to the Field
HEFN’s work with funders and donors is ultimately aimed to serve the field and society. HEFN staff provided more than 25 “office hours” consultations in 2013 to offer strategic, development or organizational advice to funders, nonprofits, researchers, and staff of other funder groups.