A05: Funder Collaboration for Policy Change
Track
Collaborating for greater impact
Session Designer
Denise Mayotte, The Sheltering Arms Foundation
Session Description
Funders working together can be key players in effecting policy change. In this session, you’ll learn how a coalition of more than 27 members of Minnesota’s philanthropic community, working with and supporting a broad and diverse multisector coalition, has secured $100 million a year in scholarships to support low-income children’s access to high-quality early childhood experiences. The Start Early Funders Coalition is committed to ensuring that all children in Minnesota are fully ready for kindergarten by 2020. Participating grantmakers will share the ins and outs of their partnership. You’ll hear what it took for this large, diverse group to demonstrate a unified voice and statewide leadership on a key area of concern, forge a long-term vision, and develop a shared learning agenda. Participants and speakers will take part in a facilitated “fishbowl” discussion about what makes these kinds of funder collaborations work across a variety of issues and communities. Join the conversation and share your own lessons from working on policy change in a collaborative manner. You’ll come away with ideas and advice from peers across the country to support your own efforts to create legislative and other policy wins locally.
Session Designers
Denise Mayotte, The Sheltering Arms Foundation
Speakers
![[photo]](https://8ca84662c5b8f0cff50d-4baaaf97d63fd7b01243e1b1c57f0cc1.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/1037/profile_a59d47a152b602d865a2272d60271e60.png "Trista Harris, Minnesota Council on Foundations")
Trista Harris, Minnesota Council on Foundations
Biography
Trista is president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, a vibrant community of grantmakers who award more than $1 billion annually. Prior to joining MCF, she was executive director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice in Minneapolis and she previously served as program officer at Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. Trista earned her masters of public policy degree from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, and her bachelor of arts from Howard University, Washington DC. She is a passionate national advocate for the social sector using the tools of futurism to solve our communities' most pressing challenges.
![[photo]](https://8ca84662c5b8f0cff50d-4baaaf97d63fd7b01243e1b1c57f0cc1.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/1067/profile_d045e5dd586e5289ce2ca3fc054d757e.png "Frank Forsberg, Greater Twin Cities United Way")
Frank Forsberg, Greater Twin Cities United Way
Biography
Frank Forsberg is the Senior Vice president of Sustems Change and Innovation at the Greater Twin Cities United Way. He oversees impact planning, public policy, government relations, and external engagement. He came to the United Way in December 1999 from Catholic Charities, where he was administrator of the Advocacy and Outreach Division. He has a bachelor's degree in business from St. John's University and a master's degree in public administration from Hamline university.
![[photo]](https://8ca84662c5b8f0cff50d-4baaaf97d63fd7b01243e1b1c57f0cc1.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/1068/profile_89e2a3da16038c7927c5a32fa2687ba9.png "Denise Mayotte, The Sheltering Arms Foundation")
Denise Mayotte, The Sheltering Arms Foundation
Biography
Denise Mayotte is the executive director of The Sheltering Arms Foundation which is based in Minneapolis and makes grants to non-profits that help Minnesota's most vulnerable children. The foundation has a strong interest in supporting early childhood and afterschool time advocacy efforts. Prior to Sheltering Arms, Denise served as a program officer at the McKnight Foundation. She is the co-chair of the Start Early Funders Coalition and the Youth Funders Network and is a member of Mayor Hodges Cradle to K Cabinet. She has a BA from the University of Minnesota and was a policy fellow with the Humphrey Institute.