GreenLight Fund

GreenLight Fund offices are closed today in observance of Juneteenth.

We join communities across the country in celebrating Black freedom, resilience, and joy, while recognizing the lasting impact of slavery and generations of racial injustice that still persist today. Juneteenth is a time to reflect and recommit to the work of building a more just and equitable future.

What does it take to change the way philanthropy works?

GreenLight Fund Twin Cities Executive Director Simone Hardeman-Jones recently joined Brandon Butler on Butternomics: The Business of Culture podcast to discuss what it means to reimagine philanthropy through listening, shared accountability, and community-centered decision-making.

Watch or listen to the conversation: greenlightfund.org/simone-hardeman-jones-on-butternomics-reimagining-philanthropy-from-the-inside-out/

Simone Hardeman-Jones on Butternomics: Reimagining Philanthropy from the Inside Out - GreenLight Fund We actively engage with local communities to identify needs not being met and invite in best-in-class nonprofits uniquely suited to address them.

At Guardian Summit 2026, GreenLight Fund CEO Ali Knight joined Tulaine M. (Former CEO and Proximity Fellow, New Profit) and Darren Isom (Partner, The Bridgespan Group) for a panel discussion on what more durable and equitable funding approaches could look like in practice.

During a time when funding for racial equity has declined sharply, the discussion focused on what it takes to move beyond a philanthropic model that too often keeps equity-driven organizations in constant survival mode. Thank you, Camelback Ventures, for inviting Ali to be part of the conversation.

At the ABFE Harambee Conference 2026, leaders across philanthropy, nonprofit, and community systems gathered around a central question: what does it truly take to create lasting change? Across sessions and conversations, a set of themes emerged - grounded not in theory, but in lived experience, community voice, and the daily work of building a more just and inclusive society.

Reflections from Tish Johnson-Jones (GreenLight Fund Greater Newark), Simone Hardeman-Jones (GreenLight Fund Twin Cities), and GreenLight Fund CEO Ali Knight highlight four key ideas shaping our work: patience and long-term investment, holding urgency and transformation together, centering humanity in transformative change, and community-centered system building.

Read the full blog post: https://greenlightfund.org/lessons-from-harambee-2026/