2021 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
While the start of Chambers Initiative in early 2020 prompted a new depth of investments by Chambers Fund within the program areas of equity and democracy, the events leading up to – and including – the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol Building was a flash point for America. This crisis reiterated the urgent need to strengthen democracy and democratic values against further erosion. Our grantmaking last year reflects that urgency, as you’ll see on our grantees page.
Internally, the foundation spent 2021 unpacking philanthropy’s role in upholding white supremacist power structures and systems, and how best to integrate racial equity into our own grantmaking. We leaned into the principles of Trust Based Philanthropy, acknowledging that these practices must be deliberate and ongoing – not something static that is ever fully “done”. Underlying all other work of the past year: an unfortunately now-familiar COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the pandemic continues at the writing of this report, the increased accessibility of vaccines and therapeutics last year brought us all a great deal of hope for the future.
Program Area Grantmaking
As part of Chambers Initiative, the foundation increased grantmaking within its Equity & Democracy and Women’s Economic Security program areas. In 2021, Chambers Fund focused on strengthening core democratic values at the state and national levels, with an emphasis on supporting organizations led by and focused on communities of color. In practice, this translated to multi-year grants for voter education and protections, issue advocacy, community organizing, and transformational leadership and pipeline organizations. The foundation also made unrestricted grants to long-time Colorado policy grantees working on various research and advocacy issues ranging from TABOR-related fiscal tangles to reproductive rights protections with the expected turnover of Roe vs. Wade in 2022.
Pandemic and Other Emergency Relief
Chambers Fund prioritizes funding to organizations engaged in advocacy, policy, and systems change over those providing direct services. But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and the final withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan led the Board to make a few out-of-the ordinary grants in response to out-of-the-ordinary times. The foundation made approximately $155,000 in grants related to COVID-19 relief and vaccine equity, support for Afghanistan refugees, and natural disaster responses.
Please see our 2021 Grantees Page for more information.