other states, it's a bit more sporadic or transactional, whereas GGA seems intentional and consistent. • Well, I think, getting the family foundations to have a conversation about equity, I'm just going to keep it real. I never thought I would see that day. And to create that space, having an honest conversation about equity and bringing people in who know what they're talking about is something that I appreciate. • I've come to respect GGA's ability to be impartial and bring people to the table from the public sector who we don't often get to hear from. Relationship with SECF - 5 • I think that Lydia continues to make GGA distinct from SECF is fantastic. We can certainly get engaged with SECF very meaningfully, but it seems GGA is much more event-specific. SECF is so much bigger than GGA; it's harder to get involved in a real way. • There was some tension between the role of GGA and the role of SECF. GGA works, obviously, under the umbrella of SECF in a lot of ways. I'm sure it's not completely solved but I feel like perhaps due to Lydia and the steering committee, that some of those tensions have gone away. The relationship seems more comfortable, there seems to be less awkwardness there. • One of the things that makes GGA unique, honestly, is its partnership with SECF. Many of the statewide PSOs or philanthropic serving organizations that are growing today are moving toward just independence, which means that they have to build more infrastructure and have a lot more money to function. Because of the partnership that we've established with SECF, they've been able to function at a very high level. In some cases much higher than some of the kind of statewide associations that are 501(c)(3)s and with much less financial resources. Ability to connect metro to rural – 5 It was important to be a part of GGA because we're a rural-based foundation in South Georgia. But yet we know that we have a lot to learn from our colleagues, but we're not connecting with them formally or informally. GGA is truly a statewide organization, so there'll be participation from rural counties in Atlanta. Many of these issues affect everybody across the state, so you need to hear the voice of people in rural Georgia to understand what the issues are and how it affects them. I mean, the uniqueness of GGA for me is truly the connection and the human ability to connect quickly with somebody in Albany or Rome. Transformational vs. transactional philanthropy – 4 • The learning that GGA has gone through over the past year and concrete sessions and speakers that they brought in exposed GGA members to new voices. • I think GGA, over this year, challenges members through those structured conversations. • GGA supports members on how they rethink grantmaking, the type of requirements they require for grantmaking, being exposed to and seeking out organizations that they're not typically aware of, and removing barriers.
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