May Your Whole Being Be Welcomed

New Era of Philanthropy Community of Practice, Learning in Public Blog Series

This blog series captures reflections and lessons learned by the Equity-Centered Philanthropy (ECP) team at MDC, Inc. Written in a casual, conversational style by ECP staff, the series is also shaped and inspired by collective dialogue and shared learning with participants in the New Era of Philanthropy Community of Practice.

We gathered under the bright sunshine on the full moon in early April 2026 at Earthseed Land Collective.  Hosted by ECP’s two staff members (Zulayka Santiago and Kierra Clark) the New Era of Philanthropy Community of Practice included Dimple Abichandani (Practitioner in Residence), Alta Starr (somatics coach), Hope Tyson (visual notetaker) and 12 women representing various types of philanthropic organizations, practitioners, and consultants (participant list appears below).  

We began by rooting in gratitude.  Surrounded by trees that are over 200 years old, we noticed how our feet touched the earth as we were welcomed to the land by Vivette Jeffries-Logan, a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, and Zulayka Santiago, one of seven founding members of Earthseed Land Collective.  As we offered gifts of dried tobacco, we called in the names of our ancestors, serving as a reminder of the lineage from which we come. Vivette asked us to consider the question: On whose shoulders do you stand on and who are you accountable to? In a society that celebrates individualism and consumerism, it felt important to begin by offering gratitude for the many gifts we share, including our deep connections to the earth and to one another.  

Transitioning to a circle indoors, with flowers and mementos as our centerpiece, we re-introduced ourselves to each other. This time we went beyond the professional titles and organizational affiliations we shared during our virtual orientation.  Using the prompt: I am…; My people are…; My purpose is… we listened deeply to some of the stories that make us who we are.  This is a process that invites the brilliance of our minds and the wholeness of our being.  With grace and rigor, Alta Starr, somatics teacher coach and bodywork practitioner, guided the group through a centering practice.  Inviting us to remember: 

• Our length: dignity and inherent worthiness
• Our width: interconnection and community
• Our depth: past/ancestors, future/longings
• Our commitments: who and what we are committed to in this life 

Embodiment practices will be a throughline for the entirety of this 9-month journey towards co-creating a roadmap for engaging Southern-based foundations in the new era practices outlined in the book. Together, we will learn by being and by doing.  We began with an understanding that in order to transform the world, we must first transform ourselves (thank you Grace Lee Boggs).  We explored our own money stories, what ancestral wisdom we received pertaining to our relationships to money, to then be able to explore what new story we want to write for our future.  There was personal reflection, tenderness and care as we opened our hearts and our minds to each other. 

Together we explored the unifying foundational principles for this community of practice: 

• Creating Space for Inner Work 
• Rooted in Nature
• Honoring Indigenous Worldview
• Centering Women & Femme-Identified Folks 
• Grounded in Community Wisdom
• Experiential and Collaborative Co-Creation 

As we closed our first in-person gathering, Alta led us through a practice of clarifying our purpose as we began to generate our collective commitments for this community of practice.  There was lots of movement, laughter, tears, linking of arms, songs and chants as we began to clarify the WHY of our work together: 

• Rooted in right relationships and radical imagination with intention and courage to make philanthropy a space of joy, love and redistribution.
• Dream bigger, move together!

This is only the beginning.  What else will be made possible through this intentional, embodied process?  Stay tuned as we continue to learn together. 

New Era of Philanthropy Community of Practice Participant List