Our Vision
The Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy envisions effective and efficient nonprofit and philanthropic organizations throughout the state, working together to improve the lives of the people and communities of Mississippi.
Our Work
To serve, build capacity, and foster collaboration among and between Mississippi’s nonprofit and philanthropic communities.
The Principles and Standards for Nonprofit and Philanthropy Excellence are based on the fundamental values of quality, responsibility and accountability.
The 12 accountability principles distinguish the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors from government and the business sector. The management practices provide specific guidelines for individual organizations to evaluate and improve their operations, governance, human resources, advocacy, financial management and fundraising.
Principles and Standards for Nonprofit and Philanthropy Excellence are meant to educate nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, board members, managers, volunteers and staff about the fundamental roles and responsibilities of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. The Alliance expects that the Principles and Standards will be useful to virtually every nonprofit and philanthropic organization as they form a set of reference tools that can be adapted to meet particular needs and circumstances.
Learn
We are taking an innovative and transformative approach to support learning, growth, development, and collaboration between nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.
The tools and training we provide to mission-based organizations increase capacity and effectiveness that allow our members to promote practical policy and programmatic solutions to some of the state’s most pressing and persistent issues.
News and Updates
The Community Foundations COVID-19 Grant Program
As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, the State of Mississippi has recently implemented The Community Foundations COVID-19 Grant Program.
Administered by seven Mississippi community foundations, the program provides grants up $4,000.00 to reimburse eligible nonprofit entities and food pantries for pandemic related expenses incurred from March 1, 2020 thru December 30, 2020. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Each application will be reviewed by the community foundation serving the county in which a nonprofit entity or food pantry’s primary office is located.
Applications will be accepted until January 15, 2021. One application submission per organization per granting fund is allowed. To apply, go to www.mscaresgrant.com.
The Mississippi Foundation for Women Grant Opportunity
The Ms. Foundation for Women is so excited to announce that we are deepening our commitment to the South AND the leadership of Women and Girls of Color (WGOC). This strategic approach embodies our values and desire to create change in an area where there is both great need and opportunity learned from the Pocket Change report that WGOC in the Southern region receive the least philanthropic funding while leading vital, innovative work. Our initial grantmaking of $1,000,000 will support WGOC-led organizations in these 14 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Women and Girls of Color represent the future of this country, demographically, and are pivotal frontline leaders and organizers in powerful social change movements. We’ve learned it’s important to name WGOC, track funding to them, and work to increase it. Therefore, we will share our learnings to increase the knowledge of the philanthropic sector and encourage our peers to direct more resources to WGOC.
We are looking forward to meeting new organizations, leaders, and work unfamiliar to us with this open call. We hope that you will share our RFP far and wide. Please join us for our informational webinars to learn more about the leadership and work we hope to engage.
Webinar dates: December 10 and December 17, 2020, 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm EST
Link to RFP page on our website: https://bit.ly/MSsouth
Please contact Ms. Program Officers Coya White Hat-Artichoker (CWhiteHat-Artichoker@ms.foundation.org) or Samantha Franklin (sfranklin@ms.foundation.org) with any questions. We are more than happy to be of assistance.
Race, Equity, and Unavoidable Challenges for Philanthropy
Phil Buchanan, President, CEP
The murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis has led to an outpouring of protest, rage, and in some cases destruction that should surprise no one. From Amadou Diallo to Trayvon Martin to Walter Scott to literally countless other killings (seen and unseen), we as a country have tolerated what can only be described as lynchings. This is, of course, the contemporary manifestation of a dehumanization of Black people rooted in slavery — and it’s crucial to see it in this historical context.
The deep anger, hurt, and fear felt by many Black Americans is the responsibility of white people. White peoples’ privilege (and the litany of things many white Americans have the luxury not to even worry about) takes so many forms it’s impossible to list them all here. But in aggregate it is the accumulated privilege of centuries of racist policies in every aspect of American life — from criminal justice to housing to healthcare.
The results are so pronounced — shocking disparities in basic rights and freedoms, net worth, and access to opportunity — that they stand in shameful contrast to the commonly embraced rhetoric about what America means. As Ibram X. Kendi notes in How to Be An Anti-Racist, “There may be no more consequential white privilege than life itself. White lives matter to the tune of 3.5 additional years over black lives in the United States.”
Coupling General Operating, Capacity Building Grants Drive Outcomes
Providing long-term general operating support along with capacity-building grants may be a “gold standard” funding practice that drives positive outcomes achieved at the community level, a report commissioned by the Citi Foundation and produced by Synergos finds.
COVID-19 & Economic Stimulus Package Letters
This week, United Philanthropy Forum joined other national nonprofit and philanthropy organizations in signing on to two letters sent to Capitol Hill on behalf of nonprofits, relating to proposed COVID-19 and economic stimulus package legislation.
On March 12, 2020, the Forum signed on to a letter to Congressional offices outlining why nonprofits must be included in COVID-19 stimulus package legislation. This letter highlighted practical policy examples and solutions for Members of Congress to think about when drafting legislation. On March 14, 2020, the House voted 363-40 to pass H.R. 6201, Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This bill ensures that nonprofits can use a tax credit to offer paid leave for their employees – one of the requests in the letter.
On March 18, 2020, the Forum signed on to a second letter that asks Congress to provide an infusion of $60 billion in capital to America’s charitable nonprofits to maintain operations, expand the scope to address increasing demands, and stabilize losses from closures throughout the country. Later that evening, the Senate voted 90-8 to pass the House bill and the president signed it into law. The final bill includes paid sick leave, food assistance for vulnerable populations and financial help for coronavirus testing.