RFP: Mississippi Funders Table Coordinator/Strategic Planning Consultant
Mississippi Funders Table Coordinator/Strategic Planning Consultant
RFP Summary:
GSP is seeking an experienced consultant to work with identified funders to organize and support the development of a Mississippi Funders table that will drive investments to black, brown, and indigenous led organizations working on racial justice work throughout the state of Mississippi.
About Grantmakers for Southern Progress:
Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP) is a membership-based network of philanthropic leaders, practitioners, and individuals dedicated to leveraging resources for structural change in the South. Our mission is to transform philanthropic giving and practice in the South that prioritizes equity-focused structural change. As philanthropic giving and practices this will facilitate the strengthening of the organizational infrastructure and the building power within Southern communities to significantly increase racial, gender, and economic outcomes for people across the South.
We envision a growing network of philanthropic organizations and actors who fund across a spectrum of tools and strategies and have the explicit intention to increase investments in organizations led by people of color seeking to build political power, economic opportunity, and social inclusion. GSP is a network organizing within the sector to ensure that philanthropy and its leaders are in authentic relationships with and accountable to directly affected communities. Therefore, we encourage and support our members to listen to and work collaborate with social movements and organizations working for racial, economic and gender justice.
About the Mississippi Funders Table:
In 2021, a small group of national and local funders convened to discuss the opportunity to increase the number of committed funders resourcing multi-issued, intersectional racial justice work in the state of Mississippi. We understood a couple of key points. First, we needed to provide learning and engagement opportunities for both local and national funders to understand the complexity of structural change work in Mississippi. Second, we needed to do facilitate a deep dive with funding partners in the state to build trust and identify our authentic allies. This work is in process and is critically important to ensure funders’ ability to remove barriers from their grantmaking to support black, brown, and indigenous-led organizations leading grassroots work in Mississippi. Our strategy includes mapping which organizations funders are investing in, what type of initiatives they are funding, and to identify funding gaps across the state. It is equally important to help funders build community with the practitioners leading the work, to ground them in a shared understanding that systemic issues in the state are interconnected, and to create space for these groups to co-create, resource, and drive change in Mississippi.
The goal is to create a table that offers a:
• Safe and brave space to talk about the real issues and center Racial Justice;
• Space to deal with the narrative challenges;
• Landscape Analysis of Mississippi;
• Space to build a healthy ecosystem of funding partners and movement organizations to support transformational change in the State;
• Place to help funders see the power of their influence;
• Space to provide funder education that is not extractive and builds the capacity of movement organizations in the state;
• Opportunity to build a fund or organize funders to significantly increase investments to black, brown, and indigenous organizations leading this work in the state.
To date, we have had several meetings with the coordinating team and two at-large meetings. The coordinating team includes:
• Noyes Foundation
• Foundation of the Mid-South
• The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi
• The Public Welfare Foundation
• Grantmakers for Southern Progress
Table Coordinator/Strategic Planning Consultant Job Description:
GSP is seeking a Coordinator/Strategic Planning Consultant to lead a strategic planning process and coordinate the table’s work over the next year. The responsibilities of the Table Coordinator/Strategic Planning Consultant include but are not limited to the following:
Strategic Planning
• Proven ability to lead the development of a clear and actionable strategic plan to shape the table’s work in partnership with the funders and movement organizations connected to the work. The strategic plan will provide a roadmap for the table’s key priorities: strategic grantmaking, governance, ecosystem mapping, learning & outreach, and community engagement.
• Foster a working culture among the funders that is participatory, engaging, and action oriented.
• Develop a values-aligned set of systems and processes to support the table’s work that are grounded in equity and racial justice, centers community, and is transparent with its goals and objectives.
Coordination and Facilitation
• Facilitate and schedule meetings and strategic planning sessions.
• Convene virtual and in-person meetings for the funders table.
• Support development of and circulate meeting agendas.
• Document the table’s work (note taking, recordings).
• Initiate correspondence and communication with table members and community partners.
• Support recruitment and outreach to prospective members.
• Lead creation of reports, findings, fund materials for current and prospective members, as needed.
• Support the development of grant proposals and reports, if needed.
Fund Coordinator & Strategic Planning Consultant Key Qualifications:
• Deep knowledge of Mississippi and issues impacting marginalized communities and communities of color.
• An understanding of structural racism and systems of oppression.
• At least 5 years of project management and strategy development with proven experience developing strategic plans.
• Exceptional facilitation and communication skills (public speaking and writing), with the ability to align divergent opinions and establish common ground.
• Ability to work collaboratively and build/maintain strong partnerships.
• Competency to support the development/writing of grant proposals, budgets, and reporting.
• Competency in Microsoft Word, Outlook, OneDrive, Google Docs, and other project management tools.
Consultant Position Details:
• Part-Time Consultant (15-25 hours per week)
• 6-12 months
• Negotiable Pay
• Consultant should be based in the South; preferably in Mississippi
• Application Closes October 14, 2022
• Hiring Timeline: October/early November
This position is remote. Consultant will be expected to meet in-person to convene with the funders table and community partners. GSP COVID-19 policies and precautions must be followed for all in-person gatherings.
RFP Submission Requirements
Please submit the following required documents by October 14, 2022 to info@g4sp.org. The subject line should read: Mississippi Funders Table Coordinator RFP – Your or Your Firms Name
• Narrative to include background on firm previous work experience related to request.
• Your understanding multi-issues facing black, brown, and indigenous communities in the state of Mississippi
• Resume
• Consultancy fee based on experience and proposed deliverables.
If you have questions, please direct them to Eboni Brown at the above address and we will respond via email to all questions.