Advocating for affordable housing and reducing disparities in health outcomes were two of the issues discussed during the first VFN Regional Funders Gathering of 2024, held in northern Virginia on July 24. Special thanks to four of our members who collaborated to co-host the event in Alexandria: ACT for Alexandria, the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier, The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and the Northern Virginia Health Foundation. The theme of regional collaboration was echoed throughout the gathering, in an overview on policy and advocacy, in small group discussions, and in the large group discussion at the conclusion of the meeting.
Bess Littlefield, VFN’s CEO, provided an overview of our work and highlighted some of the results of our recent membership survey. Regional and statewide collaboration was cited as extremely important or important by a strong majority of members, and co-funding opportunities across funders also received good support. Robin Mockenhaupt, Director of Policy & Advocacy discussed how policy and advocacy was integrated into VFN’s first 3 years of operation, and talked about what we are learning from members this year.
Member Survey Results
Many of our members are interested in and use policy and advocacy strategies in service of their mission, on particular issues that are central to their strategy, e.g., behavioral health, housing. Funder staff don’t always know what they can legally do – based on the type of organization they are – and are curious about how to strengthen support for policy and advocacy in their Trustees. The recent membership survey showed that 83% of survey respondents said it was important or extremely important for VFN to engage in policy and advocacy efforts at the state level, and 49% at the national level. Robin asked attendees how might we collaboratively make an impact in policy and advocacy in our region, by the 2025 Regional Funders Gathering in Northern VA.
Small Group Discussions
Small group discussions led to ideas about how we might advocate for affordable housing in Northern Virginia, and how we might impact policies to reduce racial disparities in health outcomes.
- On affordable housing, changing the narrative about housing affordability in our region, understanding what funders are currently doing, convening partners and community residents, creating a pooled fund for work underway, and advocating for state and local housing trust funds in affordable housing were all seen as possible next steps.
- On reducing racial disparities in health outcomes, school-based mental health, preventive mental health supports for children, and advocating for expanded insurance for mental health in BIPOC communities were all suggested as ways to address some of the disparities. Tactics might include developing a pooled fund, preparing a joint OpEd, conducting a survey of the landscape, and analyzing the policy obstacles.
At the conclusion of the gathering, participants were asked for their interest in hosting a follow-up conversation with other members to continue the conversation. A focus on action was clearly the highlight of the meeting, and we look forward to next steps in regional collaboration, possibly as a model for other regions in the future.
