The Asset Funders Network thrives on the practice of working together, where success isn't the only measure of achievement. It's about the journey of doing, learning, and passing on knowledge to others. With each passing year, we evolve, expand, and innovate, guided by the belief that the real value lies in our collective journey of discovery and action.
Rev. Cory Anderson
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
At the end of the day, AFN is trying to answer the question: What is philanthropy's role, and how should philanthropy lean in and engage? That leads to the other mainstay, which is a through thread for AFN, and that is the action. We are about the action. It's not enough to know, learn, talk about, or convene. It is also very much about the action. That in and of itself makes AFN different from other funder tables.
Abby Hughes Holsclaw
AFN Senior Director
Thank you for all you've done to keep the hope of assets for all Americans alive. It's the right dream, and I look forward to the years ahead, the future breakthroughs, and seeing more Americans have a real chance at building wealth.
Lisa Mensah
Oregon Community Foundation
AFN's strength resides in its insistence on understanding root causes and its agility in crafting adaptable strategies to what's possible and imaginable. Through continual refinement of this practice, our present-day vision and strategies diverge significantly from those of a decade or two ago.
Joe Antolin
AFN President and CEO
There's no one solution. The fact that I can sit down at the table with foundations who come at it from a very different point of view, and we find common ground in wanting to help, is maybe the most significant thing that AFN does.
Beadsie Woo
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
AFN's growth and evolution are anchored by our core principle of fostering connections and sharing of ideas among program officers with similar interests. Our commitment remains twofold: enhancing the effectiveness of grantmakers and driving innovation within the field.
This important new brief from AFN explores opportunities for leaders in philanthropy, financial services, housing, policy, and other sectors to engage with small, independent landlords to enhance the impact of their strategies to support asset building, housing affordability, small businesses, and racial economic justice.
Asset Funders Network’s new primer focuses on Heirs’ property, property that has passed down to multiple family members via inheritance, often across multiple generations. This primer reviews the major issues associated with heirs’ property and the disproportionate impacts it has on Black families and other communities of color, exacerbating the racial wealth gap.
Meet our members! AFN’s greatest asset is our members—a diverse network of national, regional, and community-based foundations, financial institutions, and grantmakers—investing in advancing equitable wealth building and economic mobility. Check back each month and meet your peers!
What steps can we take to “fund at the source,” so that we are not perpetuating White supremacy by writing checks to larger, White-led nonprofits instead of smaller, less resourced organizations led by people of color?