Community Engagement

For decades, the Foundation has aimed to catalyze community-driven change in neighborhoods with longstanding barriers to opportunity. By centering resident voice in our community engagement, we place value and trust in those with lived experience, whom we intend to benefit through our work. 

Principles we follow

• Focus on relationships: Moving at speed of trust 
• Share leadership: Creating opportunities to share in decision-making and build the leadership capacity of residents 
• Transparent communication: Setting clear, honest expectations 
• Lead with curiosity: Listening for values, hopes & possibilities 

Adhering to these principles helps ensure our engagement is always mutual and never extractive. Together with the community, we commit to co-creating and following a shared vision.

Our approach to community engagement

We use a three-prong approach to community engagement: 

• Public visioning sessions for neighborhood residents 
• One-on-one interviews 
• Community advisory councils that inform priorities and make recommendations for both philanthropic investment and advocacy, using a structure for shared power that honors lived experience and proximity to issues