Frances Sykes on Exponent Philanthropy: How small foundations can support grantees and leave a lasting legacy

“Listen to the grantees. They are the experts, we aren’t the experts.” In our role as a funder, listening to our grantees and the communities we serve throughout South Jersey, Jersey City and The Bronx has always been a cornerstone of our work. This approach has become all the more important as funders across the country respond to the fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When we listen, we can appropriately adjust and take action in the best interest of our grantees and the working, low-income families they work with. Throughout this journey, we have done our best to keep ourselves and our grantees nimble with the understanding that we will emerge from this pandemic together, even if philanthropy does not look like what it looked like before.

Listen to President and CEO, Frances Sykes’s discussion with Exponent Philanthropy about how the Foundation pivoted in the face of COVID-19, and what the future looks like for other small foundations.