FMS Announces 5 New Resources Detailing FMS's Experiences and Learnings on Organizational Transformation

Beginning in 2003, the Ford Foundation made several significant investments in the Foundation for the Mid South, enabling the FMS board and staff to reflect critically on how the organization needed to transform if its leadership wanted to effectively pursue its commitment to promote racial, social, and economic equity in the Mid South (AR, LA, and MS).

The foundation was challenged to work toward two goals. First, undertake and launch an effort that would increase the foundation's understanding of equity and inclusion and its role to build effective philanthropy in order to promote social change in the Mid South. Second, develop and initiate an internal change process that would engage the entire FMS board and staff to emphasize equity both inside and outside the foundation's four walls.

The Foundation for the Mid South recognizes the importance of sharing the lessons it is learning from our organizational transformation process with a wider audience. To this end, the foundation published 4 new documents and a stand alone website www.promoteequity.org that can inform and guide the efforts of organizations interested in working on issues of equity.

FMS also provided leadership to the Mid South Commission to Build Philanthropy. The group was established in January 2003 and consisted of thirty-two philanthropic, nonprofit, and corporate leaders from the region. The goal of this diverse group of Mid South citizens was to explore new ways to build philanthropy in the Mid South. The Commission developed a set of recommendations and strategies to make philanthropy more effective in dealing with racial and social equity for all citizens in the region.

The Commission studied community-based philanthropy in the Mid South, Chicago, and also internationally in Brazil and South Africa where it visited areas and organizations that are currently facing or overcoming similar problems. The Commission toured these programs, asked questions, studied their models, and integrated the information into their own suggestions for addressing the problems facing the people of the Mid South. >>> Commission page

More About FMS's >>> Building Philanthropy Initiative