TFA Strategic Articulation & Fund Development Strategy

“Strong Policy and Advocacy Agenda”

3. “Strong Policy and Advocacy Agenda” evaluates how TFA can continue to advance its public policy and advocacy agenda to appeal to national foundations. Our research has shown that larger national foundations are most interested in alliances that are transforming public policies or engaging in advocacy strategies. Seven out of the nine alliances in the landscape analysis had a public policy focus. The alliances without a public/advocacy agenda had the lowest number of funding sources. In contrast, the four strong alliances had high levels of policy and advocacy work and more funding sources. The three strongest policy and advocacy approaches were as follows:

TransForm

Elevate Chicago

Puget Sound Sage

Organizational Function:

Organizational Function:

Organizational Function:

Disrupting inequity through work with agencies and decision- makers to craft policy and regulations that focus on equity and climate, without stifling innovation.

Shape the Debate: Elected officials, opinion-leaders and the media view Puget Sound Sage as a go-to resource for economic and environmental policy expertise, innovative ideas and racial equity expertise when it comes to shaping sound policies and winning local campaigns. Grow the Movement: We advocate for policy that makes racial and social equity a top goal for decision makers at all levels

Implementing the community working group “Systems Change” , which is focused on policy and other interventions in decision-making processes

The TransFormation Alliance can advance their funding strategies through considering or strengthening three fundamental approaches to addressing public policy. First, learn from TransForm’s approach to branding awareness to reflect on their process of building a reputation around the policies they support or have won. Second, Elevate Chicago’s approach to system change should compel the TransFormation Alliance to rethink their bridge work to not just fund smaller organizations, but provide these smaller organizations and community members a powerful platform to devise policies and demand racial equity. Third, Puget Sound Sage urges the TransFormation Alliance to embrace their unapologetic framework and use that as an asset

“I am proud, perhaps the most proud of the fact that we have embraced community engagement as a critical component of our approach to the work”

to conduct research and thus, shape debate around policies seeking to disregard racial equity. It should be noted that TransForm and Elevate Chicago were the only two alliances receiving funding from both local and national funders. Recommendation: Strengthen existing policy platform, including policy platform, including the following activities: • Developing a state legislator curriculum to help policymakers learn about and productively discuss the difficult, adaptive challenges of our transportation system • Shaping and Informing the City’s TOD Ordinance = TOD Living Transit Fund (Invest Atlanta) • Equipping Finance Institutions with the Equity Evaluation Scorecard (Southface)

Capacity Consideration: Hire a policy consultant to conduct a landscape analysis of city, state and federal policies that would hinder or advance TransFormation Alliance’s work.

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TRANSFORMATION ALLIANCE STRATEGIC ARTICULATION MAP & FUND DEVELOPMENT PLAN REPORT

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