HFF has paused its organizational operations, effective October 31, 2023. While we will continue to honor our existing multi-year commitments to HFF partners, we will not be making new grant commitments during this time. This page contains information that was current as of Spring 2023. It will be updated when HFF returns from its organizational pause. Read more about our pause here.
We center Black people and Black communities in our work and focus our grantmaking on Washington, DC.
Aligning our Strategy: Power-Building
This is a year of transition for HFF’s grantmaking, as we continue to take steps to align our grantmaking strategy with our overall strategic framework.
As a first step, we have established our Power-Building portfolio, in which we will seek to fund an ecosystem of organizations and community-led efforts that utilize power-building strategies to effect individual and systemic change. Using the power-building strategies outlined in the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity’s 2019 paper, Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens, as a guide, we seek to fund a strategic continuum of organizing, advocacy, and mutual aid; we no longer fund organizations that provide direct services only (i.e., with no connection to organizing or advocacy).
We value partnerships with organizations who share our core beliefs (Justice and Power; Equity; Collaboration; and Continuous Learning) and will provide support for collaborative efforts when appropriate.
In furtherance of self-determination and agency, we fund organizations led by People of the Global Majority, prioritizing Black-led organizations. We embrace the definition of a “Black-led” organization coined by our Racial Justice Initiative grantmaking team: one that “has Black people in key leadership positions with significant decision-making power and develops and supports Black leadership. Ending anti-Black racism is central to the mission and strategies of the work (which necessarily includes strong Black leadership).”
We prioritize support in the form of multi-year, general operating funding and we value long-term funding partnerships with nonprofits. To that end, grantees in our Power-Building portfolio receive grants of $45,000/year for a period of three years.
2023 POWER-BUILDING GRANTEES
Our Timeline and the Road Ahead
Our inaugural Power-Building portfolio is comprised of long-standing HFF partners who consistently engage in power building practices in service of racial justice (see listing above). We will have opportunities for additional grantees to receive funding through this portfolio beginning in 2024.
As our strategy evolves, we are committed to creating transparency in our processes, data, and decision making in order to maintain accountability and solidarity with our community. We will create a comprehensive plan for evaluation, assessment, and accountability in 2023 and look forward to providing updates here as they are finalized.
At this time the Horning Family Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.
Courtesy of Critical Exposure