Afton Bloom

"The need for a surge in funding is plain. Philanthropy needs to step up. We at MacArthur believe it is time to tap our reserves to get more money flowing." Over the past few months, we have been working with our clients to navigate the brutal realities of the new US political environment and administration. While our context is rapidly evolving and the future is extremely uncertain, we know one thing for sure - now is a time for those of us working towards justice and equity need to lean in, and not out. We applaud this decision by the MacArthur Foundation and hope to see more follow their lead. #philanthropy #foundationstrategy https://lnkd.in/dRVqZ_U3

Our team is thrilled to have joined our partners at The Commonwealth Fund for the?Financing Community Birthing Summit?in New York City on at the end of January. More than 50 philanthropic funders, private capital investors, and community leaders came together to explore and strategize about opportunities to unlock the full spectrum of financing solutions to support and sustain community birthing care. The space was brimming with rich discussions, learnings, and action-oriented visioning about the broader use of blended capital to support solutions like birth centers, midwifery-led and doula-supported care, and the platforms and services that support community-based and -informed care. Attendees dug deep into the details of #publicfinancing, #venturecapital, #debt and #equity financing, and #philanthropy to explore when, where, and how each are used today and how they can be better leveraged in the future, all with an eye for maintaining ownership within communities. We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with incredible leaders like Laurie Zephyrin, Tenesha Duncan from Orchid Capital Collective, Leseliey Welch, MBA, MPH and J F Gutfreund at Birth Center Equity, Christina Hollenback at Justice Capital, Avary Kent, and Pooja Mehta in the planning process, and are excited for what’s to come! Keep your eyes peeled for a report out coming soon ?? and send us a note if you couldn't make the event but are interested in learning more.

Check out our conversation and learnings on philanthropy's role in supporting the development and coordination of postpartum care networks across sectors. With our incredible partners Andrea Palmer, Jacquelyn Caglia, Wilna Paulemon, MPH, Raquel Mazon Jeffers, and Wendy McWeeny.

Our partners at The AAKOMA Project, Inc. just launched their second ever?State of Mental Health of Youth and Young Adults of Color?survey -?open today through Feb 5! Know any youth who fit the description below? Please share?this link?to the survey. It takes 20 min to complete and all participants are eligible to receive a gift card! Responses will be used to inform an update of AAKOMA's?State of Mental Health for Youth and Young Adults of Color?report, last published in 2022.

Over the last few years, we have worked closely with our partners at Merck (Carine Mathurin, Caitlin McConnico, MPH, Allison Goldberg and many more) to develop and launch their Solutions for Healthy Communities (SHC) grants program, which aims to improve access to healthcare for communities who have historically been underserved through innovative, community-led solutions around the globe. A powerful group of 36 organizations received $7M through the inaugural round of grant making in 2023. As of this week, the application for the second round of funding is live! The global program provides two years of funding to projects that foster increased health knowledge, enhance the capacity of healthcare workers, and strengthen health systems for lasting impact.? If you know of an organization that may be eligible for an SHC grant, please encourage them to visit Merck.com/SHC (U.S.) or MSD.com/SHC (outside the U.S.) to learn more and apply before February 28!

This year, we gathered as a full team in Mexico City for Afton Bloom’s annual retreat—a particularly special one as we celebrated?5?? years?of Afton Bloom! The retreat was a powerful opportunity to reflect on our evolution as a company and reaffirm our commitment to justice, equity, and creating meaningful change during such a critical time. From strategic sessions focused on our core focus areas and how we engage and contribute to the field, to exploring the vibrant culture and beauty of Mexico City, the experience was both inspiring and grounding. We’re incredibly grateful to our clients and to the field for the opportunity to continue this important work in community. And to the entire Afton Bloom team—thank you for making this company exceptional. Your dedication, passion, and alignment with our values are what make Afton Bloom thrive. Here’s to many more years of collaboration, impact, and growth!

2024 was Afton Bloom’s fifth year in operation ?? Over the past four years, we have built our foundation, nourished close partnerships, and formed our incredible team. In year 5, we: ? ?? ?????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ?????? ???????????????????????????? work with clients – including at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Home Grown, Merck, Pritzker Family Foundations, and Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP) – through a mix of strategy development, advising, partnership, and capacity support. ? ?? ?????????????????????? ?????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ??????????????-?????????????? ???????????focused on abortion access, workforce development, climate and gender justice, and more. Some of these incredible organizations include Baltimore Abortion Fund, Linked Learning Alliance, The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, BSR Center for Business and Social Justice, and Wits RHI.?? ? ?? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????in the U.S. at state and national levels across our core issue areas. Highlights include designing a ?????????????????????????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ???? ??????????????, organizing and hosting the ?????????? ???????????????? ?????????????????? ?????????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ????+ ?????????????? to exchange knowledge on state level birth equity work, forming a ?????????????????????????? ???? ????+ ?????????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????? ???????????? ????????????, and building a ?????????????????????????? ?????????????????? ???? ???????????????????????? ????????????, ????????????, ?????? ?????????????? ?????????????? to inform funder strategic planning and coordination? - ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ?????????????? ???????? ?????????! ?? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????????????through skill-building workshops and discussions of tough questions we grapple alongside our partners – “How can national funders support movements?” or “How are funders and nonprofits operationalizing justice-oriented strategies?” We also came together to discuss critical topics like ???????????? ?????????? ?? , ?????? ?????? ?????????????????? ?? , and who could build the ???????? ?????????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????? ??. ? Next up, our team heads to Mexico city in January for our annual in-person retreat! We’ll build on our team learning, think about the impact of the 2024 election on our core issues, and discuss how to contribute to breaking down issue area silos. A sincere thank you to our incredible team, clients, and partners - and to everyone following along. We're excited to share more in 2025!

We were thrilled to join inseparable's inspiring #BuildingHope Strategy Summit last month as we continue to learn and galvanize funders across sectors around #youthmentalhealth. We especially appreciated the deep dives on youth leadership, workforce challenges, and care access and coverage. And as always, connecting with young leaders and colleagues we only knew previously through Zoom screens was a true highlight! Congratulations to inseparable on this wonderful event!

Our team is still buzzing from the State Exchange Convening on Birth Equity which took place earlier this week in Washington, DC. Over 80 funders from across 40+ states showed up to share their insights, learn from each other, and connect as colleagues and friends. The multi-day event was filled with lots of laughter, thoughtful discussion on critical issues, and most importantly - authentic and real conversations. We have so much we want to share, but for the sake of LinkedIn, here are a few of our team's major takeaways: ?? ???????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ???? ????????????????. There is real appetite and need for state level funders to connect with each other to talk openly about their work, what they're learning, what challenges they face, and how they can better support government and community to drive outcomes across their state. ???????????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???????????? ?????????? ????????????????. We heard again and again the shared interest in cross-state learning, particularly for states in similar regions or those in similar environmental and political contexts. We also heard about the interest in building state and regional funder collaboratives to continue learning from each other. ???????????? ?????????? ?????????????????????? ???? ?????????? ???????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????????????? ?????????? ???? ????????????. We heard from Shruti Jayaraman from Chicago Beyond about the importance of funding individual leaders holistically (e.g., funding a salary, benefits, work space, and more) and from Felicia Brown-Williams and Wesley Prater about the critical role their funder partnership plays in ensuring they can support the ecosystem of small community based organizations in Mississippi. ???????? ???????????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ????????????????, ???????????????????? ?????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ??????????, ???????? ???? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ?????? ????????????????-???????????? ???? ???????????? ???????????????????????????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????????-??????????. This can help to reimagine, push boundaries and redefine what philanthropic dollars can do. We are hugely grateful to our Planning Committee - Cambia Health Foundation, California Health Care Foundation, Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP), The Commonwealth Fund, FORE FOUNDATION, Irving Harris Foundation, Merck for Mothers, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Perigee Fund, Pritzker Family Foundations Children’s Initiative, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation - our partners at Boldly Go Philanthropy, and all the participants who were thoughtful and engaged throughout the event. Lastly, thank you to our guest speakers, Jennifer E. Moore, PhD, RN, FAAN, Michael Warren, First Lady of New Jersey, Tammy Murphy, Lisa Asare, Karrie Leonard, Tia Minor, Shelley Waters Boots and Betsy McNamara, CFRE who brought so much of our discussion to life.

Funders from over 40 states met in Washington, DC, this week to connect, share, and learn from each other during the first-ever State Exchange Convening. The two-day program focused on driving state-level action to improve birth outcomes nationwide and featured opportunities for discussion about: ? Building effective and equitable public-private partnerships ? Supporting thriving community-based organizations and leaders ? Ensuring inclusive state policy design and implementation processes ? Sustaining a coordinated, aligned, and collaborative state funding community Thank you again to the teams at Afton Bloom and Boldly Go Philanthropy for their incredible commitment to facilitating authentic, action-oriented conversations among all funders present. Special thanks also to our colleagues at the Cambia Health Foundation, California Health Care Foundation, Commonwealth Foundation, FORE FOUNDATION, Irving Harris Foundation, Merck for Mothers, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Perigee Fund, Pritzker Family Foundations, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the care they brought to every step of the planning process leading up to this inaugural event.