Past Programs
CBFN Work Group Meeting: Capacity Building Initiative
March 20, 2024 | 3PM - 4:30PM
The Capacity Building Initiative (CBI) will be meeting on March 20th from 3PM - 4:30PM via Zoom. This meeting will focus on 2024 program and budget updates. If you are interested in joining or potentially supporting CBI, please let Megan know (megan@chesbayfunders.org).
CBI is CBFN's pooled fund, administered by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, to build the capacity of nonprofits across the region through movement level investments, regional level investments, and individual organizational level investments.
CBFN Work Group Briefing - VA Climate & Clean Energy
February 20th at 9AM - 10:30AM
Please join CBFN’s Virginia Climate & Clean Energy Work Group for a briefing with NGO partners on solar siting in the Commonwealth. Partners will provide an update on the issue and share a proposed concept to work with climate, energy, land conservation, and water groups to better understand the barriers to meeting shared goals and figure out a pathway forward on shared policy objectives/strategies. Following the presentation, we will have a 30-minute funder-only debrief.
Please email megan@chesbayfunders.org for call-in details and/or questions on this program.
FALL RETREAT 2023
November 16/17, 2023 - Airlie, Warrenton, VA
We are really excited to announce our Fall Meeting from November 16-17!
This fall, our location at Airlie has a truly unique setting and is offering great opportunities to engage with colleagues and advocates!
The CBFN Fall retreat will provide a space for funders working across the network’s priority outcomes (see below) to be inspired, informed and to engage in generative discussion about how philanthropy can work collaboratively to advance lasting and value-added impact. We’ll be reminded of our focus on system change while providing ample time for practical, learning and sharing about the work we support and potential alignment around our shared priorities.
The proposed format would include invited speakers to share insights and aspirations related to the three broad CBFN priorities along with semi-structured funder only time for funders to share related opportunities, challenges or information to inform discussion about if/what there is for CBFN to do. Active engagement in these discussions is when CBFN is at its best!
CBFN PLASTIC WEBINAR
October 3, 2023 at 12-1.30 ET on Zoom
Answers to plastic pollution in the Chesapeake Bay
Plastic pollution in the Chesapeake Bay has been on the rise for decades. Plastic and microplastic concentrations in estuaries and the Bay itself show the extent of the plastic waste issue.
While there is rising consent on the need for action, a wide range of ideas and opinions enter the debate of what can be part of a real solution. More and more proposed solutions and new technologies enter the discussion and consumer markets, but can they deliver real relief for the Chesapeake Bay and its communities?
This webinar is shedding light away from the problems of plastic pollution towards possible solutions while evaluating if those ideas are the real deal.The purpose of the webinar will also be to provide a deeper understanding of the environmental justice aspects around plastic waste. Further we want to show ways out of the plastic crisis and inspire and encourage our funders by presenting possible answers.
Learn about new insights on the future of plastic remediation and join us for a lively discussion!
CBFN FIELD OUTING
September 28/29, 2023, at Harper’s Ferry Area, MD
Spaces are filling up so if you are able to join us for this rare and amazing field outing with your funder colleagues register ASAP!
We will explore the Harpers Ferry WV area over 2 days. A place of convergence, where the native lands if multiple tribes intersect and overlap, a place with views Thomas Jefferson declared made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean worthwhile, and where the civil war was ignited when John Brown tried to overtake the US Armory in a revolt against owning slaves. Harpers Ferry sits on a spit of steep land where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers join together, then flow through one of very few passes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Enjoy a moderate hike to the cliffy overlook and see three states, two rivers and countless mountains. Float the Potomac and Shenandoah and relive some of the area's history, flora and fauna, on a stretch of river just featured in Season 1, Episode 5 of National Geographic's show, the Extraordinary Birder, with our very own host Ashby Gap Adventures. Finish the evening with a wild edibles foraging hike with local botanist and native expert forager, who is also an experienced high end French Chef, and enjoy a meal where he incorporates the very items you found in the woods and fields into dinner. This is a rare treat.
We are partnering with Ashby Gap Adventures in the Harper’s Ferry area! You can expect an experience tailored to our abilities and interests. If you have any questions or would like to talk with us about any accommodations you might need please feel free to contact us anytime.
Informal Conservation among funders
Food Works Group is thrilled to be supporting the Chesapeake Bay Food and Ag Funders in defining its near-term actionable opportunities to
a) enhance and accelerate recent federal investments in regional food systems and climate-smart agriculture, and
b) explore how these programs can better align with the group's Bay-conservation priorities.
Through a series of six interactive workshops slated to take place between late September and March, our goal is to enable the group to co-create solutions alongside the region's food system stakeholders.
Workshop 1
SEPTEMBER 27 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm ET
Format: Virtual, Facilitated Panel and Q+A
Topic: USDA RFBC Funds and Funded Awards
Structure:
Hear directly from USDA officials about local/regional food system funding with focus on
a) the future of RFBC, RFSI, and related investments, as well as
b) the intersection of conservation and regional agriculture goals
Hear directly from awarded Northeast and Southeast Regional Food Business Centers on plans for funding
Q+A followed by facilitated funder-only discussion
Outcome: Give CBFN members more context on how funds will be deployed in the region and where gaps remain and as well as where they are expected to emerge.
New Choose Clean Water Coalition (CCWC) Strategic Plan and discussion about 2025 and possible new regional Bay Agreement
10/6/2022, 2:00pm – 3:30pm - Zoom meeting
Join this program to learn about CCWC’s exciting new strategic plan and their evolving work and role around water, equity and intersections with climate as an integral component of the region’s environmental movement infrastructure. This will also include an update on communications plans regarding the pending 2025 Bay Clean Up deadline and an open discussion and sharing of experience related to the potential negotiation of a renewed Bay Agreement.
Racial Equity in Practice: Environmental Justice Journalism initiative and a Funder Only Conversation about Next Steps on CBFN’s Racial Equity Initiative
9/22/2022, 1:00pm – 2:30pm - Zoom meeting
As we continue our collective and individual DEIJ journeys, we want to start the dialogue around actionable next steps. We will begin with lessons learned from the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI) and conclude with a funder-only discussion about other potential next steps for our collaborative work on racial equity.
EJJI is a relatively new organization operating within the Chesapeake Bay region. Working to give a voice to frontline communities, EJJI provides students with opportunities to share their lived experiences while developing their journalism skills. By leveraging networks, including relationships with the Bay Journal, community schools and colleges, and established organizations like the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, EJJI facilitates workforce development in the process of systems change.
This workshop will include a brief film, an intro to EJJI's work, students speaking about their work experience, and an opportunity for Q and A. We will conclude with a brief funders-only session.
Agriculture, the Bay and CBFN – 2025 and Beyond
9/19/2022, 1:00pm – 3:00pm - Zoom meeting
If you had to pick a single sector or issue that impacts so many things CBFN funders are passionate about, it would be Agriculture. Whether you align yourself with water quality, climate, land conservation, food access, civic engagement it’s likely you are supporting something where landowners, farmers, supply chains and the agricultural economy are a factor. When it comes to achieving the regional Chesapeake Bay restoration goals, Agriculture continues to pose the greatest challenges but also opportunities for progress. CBFN has a good track record of collaborative work in the Ag sector to build on but the times and the opportunities demand we do more. As part of our network Strategic Assessment, Local Concepts will facilitate this workshop focused on the following:
To demystify and develop a shared understanding of systems change with an emphasis on equity in the context of Agriculture
Uncover and map CBFN funder priorities
Identify gaps/opportunities and leverage points for systems change
Identify impacts on Chesapeake Bay water quality
Brainstorm ideas for how CBFN can best organize and support work on Agriculture in the region
Stay tuned for information about a possible Part 2 on September 28, also from 1 - 3 p.m.
Impact Investing in Agriculture, Climate and Food: An Overview and Discussion about a Potential Learning Cohort
9/14/2022, 1:00pm – 2:30pm - Zoom meeting
No matter where your organization might be or want to be on the spectrum of impact investing, this program will be relevant and a great opportunity for funders to learn and share their experience with each other.
Toniic, a community of funders and asset holders seeking deeper net impact across a spectrum of capital, will provide an overview of the many types and approaches grant makers can use to leverage capital for good. We will then hold a funder-only discussion to assess interest in a funder learning cohort specific to our region and/or the many opportunities emerging in the agriculture, climate, and food sectors.
The Chesapeake Bay Funders Network is hosting this program in partnership with Maryland Philanthropy Network and Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers and encourages funders with an interest in impact investing, agriculture, climate, or food system work to join and add to the discussion.
SPRING 2022 FIELD DAY AND RETREAT
JUNE 2-3, 2022 - BALTIMORE, MD
Whether motivated by the urgency of the climate crisis, the looming 2025 Chesapeake Bay Agreement deadline, or the ongoing food security and supply chain resilience challenges, the need to engage with our region’s farmers and the agricultural economy continues to be a top priority. Funders in our network are increasingly curious about and embracing new ideas, strategies, and partners working toward equitable, regenerative and resilient regional food systems, and have conveyed a thirst for continued learning, relationship building and collaboration within and across in the food and agriculture sector.
In response, CBFN will be coordinating two Food and Agriculture Field Days, the first on June 2, 2022 as part of our Spring Retreat in Baltimore and the second will be in Fall 2022 in a rural, Agricultural area (exact date and location TBD). They will highlight different but very connected aspects of food and agriculture in our region, intersections with issues of water, climate, community power building, health, and wellness and more. We will hear and learn about the work and related issues directly from the perspective of on the ground leaders, farmers and groups who support them with opportunities to discuss broader lessons and connections throughout the region.
Field Day Description: Experience Baltimore’s Food Sovereignty Movement
From farm to table to a vibrant urban agriculture system, Baltimore is a place where innovation, community entrepreneurship, power building and policy are beginning to demonstrate how communities, farmers and businesses can organize and develop locally owned, managed and successful solutions to addressing long standing food security, access to safe public green spaces, and economic development challenges. This field day will include a blend of stories from farmers, community leaders, funders, policy makers, researchers and others while touring and experiencing local farms, parks and businesses. Connections with green infrastructure equity and access, land ownership, regional food aggregation and distribution, values aligned small business development, community organizing and more will surface in stories throughout the day.
View the (tentative) agenda HERE.
Register HERE.
Important lodging information: The Hotel Indigo is able to offer CBFN participants a discounted nightly rate. Please mention that you are with the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network event when reserving a room.
Important travel information: Overnight parking is available at the Hotel Indigo in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood. CBFN has reserved a 15 passenger van for transportation to and from sites, but participants are also welcome to use their own vehicles. Parking is available at all locations but may have associated fees.
Questions? Please contact Caroline Selle at caroline@chesbayfunders.org
A Racial Equity Training Series to Catalyze Change at the Speed of Trust in the Chesapeake Bay Region
FEBRUARY - JULY, 2022
Given the reality of the watershed’s history as well as the broader history and present sociopolitical context of the country, the partnership group hopes to leverage a robust and extended learning series to build relationships among funders and advocates to advance racial equity in the Chesapeake Bay’s environmental and water movements.
The objectives for this series include three categories: 1) relationship- and trust- building, 2) internalizing and applying a systemic racial equity analysis, and 3) exploring philanthropic system shifting interventions. While this training series is not a strategic planning process, TSAL will facilitate a design-thinking activity with all participants near the conclusion of the series to help participants undertake action planning within their own organizations and, hopefully, in collaboration with each other.
To learn more about this series, please contact Caroline Selle at caroline@chesbayfunders.org.Advancing Equity and Resilience Through Water Infrastructure Investment
April 20, 2022, 10:30-12:00 P.m. EST
The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network would like to invite you to a presentation and discussion on how underserved communities can access federal infrastructure funds for water systems. Learn from six water experts about the policy reforms, technical assistance, creativity, and additional resources necessary to ensure federal funds are more easily accessed by the communities that need it most. We'll close with a discussion around how philanthropy can support these efforts.
About this topic: Water systems need to invest nearly $1 trillion dollars to repair and replace infrastructure over the next 25 years. Though there are several federal programs to help finance these investments, underserved communities struggle to access funds. With the new influx in federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), there is even more urgency around ensuring the communities with the greatest need have access to these programs.
Presenters will cover opportunities via IIJA for the largest federal programs that invest in water systems--the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) program. Less than 10% of drinking water systems have received assistance in the past decade. We’ll discuss the policy reforms and technical assistance necessary to seize the opportunity to ensure a more equitable and sustainable allocation of funds, creative uses of SRFs to finance more natural infrastructure projects, EPIC's Funding Navigator team to provide technical assistance, and the feasibility of a technical assistance grant fund and pre-development loan fund to address barriers to applying.
Hear from Willie Morgan at SERCAP, Jen Cotting at Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland, Ellen Kohler of the Water Center at Penn, Tim Male and Katy Hansen of EPIC, and Margaret Bowman, an independent consultant.
March Campfire Chat: Social Impact Investing
March 23, 2022, 9-10 A.m. EST
Social impact investing is an important tactic in social and environmental change, but not something we’ve talked much about within CBFN. How can private foundations and grant makers impact their issues and communities through their investments, support for small businesses, and other forms of engagement in the private sector? Join the next Campfire Chat to hear from your colleagues on if or how they might be thinking about this within their organizations. This event is for all funders interested in exploring the topic.
Nourish DC Fund: An Update
january 26, 2021, 12-1 p.m. EST
Alison Powers from Capital Impact Partners/Nourish DC Fund will share these updates with a discussion to follow. This is meant to be an informal conversation so please feel free to bring your lunch and chat.
The first quarter of Nourish DC: A focus on an overview of the catalytic grant process and application pool.
Received 185 applications from a wide array of food sectors: How can we use these applications to better understand the state of the DC food ecosystem?
Informative feedback from community members through emails, outreach, and office hours
5-7 grant applications funded - how can the funder community can play a role in helping to bridge this gap?The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments invites you to a discussion on the new (permanent!) FARM committee, which is focused on improving the region’s food security and developing a fund devoted to supporting this work.
FARM Committee Discussion
December 3, 2021, 1-2 p.m. EST
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments invites you to a discussion on the new (permanent!) FARM committee, which is focused on improving the region’s food security and developing a fund devoted to supporting this work. RSVP here.
Confirmed Speakers:
DC Councilmember Mary Cheh (COG FARM Committee Chair)
City of Fairfax, VA Councilmember Jon Stehle (COG FARM Vice Chair)
Discussion Topics:
Thumbnail overview of FARM Committee history and priorities
Value that policymakers see and anticipate from lasting, cross-sector and regional collaboration on food and farm issues
Select state and local investments in food security in FY22 (and beyond) that could interest funders
Initial thoughts on strengthening local and regional partnership to fund food system equity, innovation, and resilience.
Agriculture Fall Field Program
November 3, 2021
Location: Culpeper, Virginia
This program will feature farmers, funders, business leaders, policy makers and others engaged in building an economically stronger, more regenerative and crisis resilient supply of local food, specifically beef, in VA. The program will bring to life the ways this work is connected with issues of climate, food security, clean water, land conservation, local economic development, racial equity and more. The field tour may visit farms and businesses and engage leaders from the agriculture, investment, soil health/climate, food insecurity and related sectors in discussion about philanthropy’s role in shifting the food economy toward a regenerative, equitable and economically viable system.
Anacostia River Corridor Fall Field Program
November 4, 2021
Location: Anacostia River Corridor, Washington, DC
This program will feature leaders and organizations engaged in a wide range of programs and initiatives that are helping build community resilience, restore and re-activate the Anacostia river and adjacent open spaces, advance food justice and improve public health in Wards 7 and 8 in Washington, DC. The field program will include a community center building a Resilience Hub, a bike tour along Anacostia, an interactive experience in Anacostia Park and opportunities to hear first hand how a new wellness project in Oxon Run Park engages with community partners preserving green space, advancing food justice, watershed restoration, youth empowerment, creative placemaking and more. The program will include a blend of short presentations, interactive activities, informal discussion and networking and some adventure, all intended to bring to life the issues important in this region and how groups on the ground are able to get things done while addressing a range of social and environmental challenges.
Local Land Use Protections in Virginia's Taylorsville Basin, an Advocacy Case Study
August 24, 2021 9:30am-11:00am
Local land use decisions have significant impacts on the lives of residents and the environment including: quality of life; equitable access to services; quantity, quality and affordability of housing stocks; pollution of our air and waters; disproportionate impacts from pollution; exacerbation or solutions to climate change; and more. These locality-based decisions ultimately determine if and how our communities grow and thrive and involve layers of decisions, such as: long term comprehensive planning; local zoning ordinances; climate action planning; transit and pedestrian infrastructure; approval and design specifications for general and individual developments; affordable housing; general safety and welfare; budgetary spending on priorities; etc.
To better understand advocacy approaches to impact local land use decision making and how to support them, the Virginia Climate & Energy Funders Work Group at the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network is exploring successful case studies to inform future strategy. We will be joined by advocates who worked for nearly a decade to protect the Taylorsville Basin from the threats of fracking. Their strategy was multi-layered, starting with locality by locality research, education and organizing. It resulted in five localities voting to protect themselves against fracking, best-in-the-nation fracking disclosure regulations, and a regional ban on fracking. The structure, approach and lessons learned from their effort can inform future efforts to advance current climate priorities in Virginia and beyond.
We hope you will join in this program and others to follow as the VA Climate & Energy Funders Work Group engages further in holistic and intersectional climate solutions that embrace local, community led and supported advocacy.
SPEAKERS
Megan Gallagher (Hillsdale Fund & Agua Fund)
Bryan Hofmann (Friends of the Rappahannock)
Albert Pollard (former Virginia Delegate & independent consultant)
To register for this program click here. You will receive confirmation from Zoom with connection information.
CBFN Campfire Chat
Sharing trends and shifts in our grant-making and donor priorities
September 15, 2021 | 8:30am-9:30am
As the year after 2020, otherwise known as 2021 continues, anecdotal information about how environmental funders in the region may have begun to implement small changes or perhaps major shifts in their grant-making is emerging. It’s likely not a surprise that we are learning of these changes from long standing, Conservation group grantees who report declining support or who sense uncertainty in the funding landscape. Are these reports likely to continue? Are they indications of a trend or just a coincidence? Are COVID-19, Racial Equity and Climate factors in the changes? Any funder is welcome and encouraged to join this funder only conversation to explore those questions and to share what you are hearing from your grantees and if or how your priorities and grant-making has or will change in the near term.
A Conversation with PA Environmental Advocates
May 12, 11:00a-12:00p ET
Join us for a conversation with PA Environmental Advocates to debrief the May 11 program and discuss implications on State and Federal opportunities to increase conservation funding and advance climate and environmental policy in Pennsylvania in the coming years. Funders will have an opportunity to share thoughts and questions regarding the May 11 program and hear from PA Environmental Advocates about the current and potential future landscape for environmental legislation in Pennsylvania. CBFN is convening this meeting and any interested funder is welcome to join.
Speakers include:
Josh McNeil, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania
Ezra Thrush, PennFuture
Joanne Kilgour, Ohio River Valley Institute
Click here to register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Virginia Climate & Energy Work Group
Funder Briefing - Virginia’s Clean Car Standard
Thursday, April 15, 2021
11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Eastern)
Join Virginia advocates for a debrief and discussion on the recently passed Clean Car Standards in the 2021 General Assembly Session. Advocates spent the last year gearing up for this important policy change in the Commonwealth to reduce vehicle pollution and successfully executed their education efforts and advocacy campaign through House Bill 1965, introduced by Delegate Lamont Bagby. Hear about the policy itself, the coalition coordination, lessons learned from the field, and next steps.
We will be joined by:
Albert Pollard, Energy Foundation
Kim Jemaine, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Lena Lewis, The Nature Conservancy
Brian Jenkins, Energy Foundation
CBFN Campfire Chat: Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice
Friday, March 26th at 9AM
Please join CBFN members for a shared-learning discussion about how we are advancing DEIJ within our organizations and amongst our grantees.
CBFN Campfire Chats are informal conversations for our members to support and connect with one another on whatever issues and topics are front of mind. We hope that these unstructured and relaxed calls will have the same jovial feel of being around a campfire with friends, while allowing us to listen, learn, and share with one another.
Coastal Resilience and Communities Webinar
Monday, February 8, 2021
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Coastal communities in the Chesapeake Bay are increasingly dealing with flooding, erosion, and sea level rise. How are rural communities along the Bay addressing these challenges? And what tools are available to help them make climate resilient decisions over the short and long term? During the webinar, funders will learn about programs and resources in Maryland and Virginia to help coastal communities address their vulnerabilities and adapt to climate challenges.
Speakers:
Elizabeth Armistead Andrews, William and Mary Law School Virginia Coastal Policy Center
Jim Bass, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
Heath Kelsey, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences
Moderator: Stuart Clarke, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences
CBFN Campfire Chat: Funder Interventions with Grantees
Thursday, January 28th at 9AM
CBFN Campfire Chats are informal conversations for our members to support and connect with one another on whatever issues and topics are front of mind. We hope that these unstructured and relaxed calls will have the same jovial feel of being around a campfire with friends, while allowing us to listen, learn, and share with one another.
Our first Campfire Chat will be an opportunity to share and learn how members have dealt with grantee issues (e.g. PR issues, HR issues). Whether you have experiences dealing with challenging issues with grantees, are currently dealing with an issue, or just want to learn more for if it happens - this call is for you!
Virginia Climate & Energy Work Group
December 17th 2:00PM-4:00PM
Please join the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network’s VA Climate & Energy Work Group for its year-end meeting. This program will look back on accomplishments from the past year and discuss priorities for 2021.
If you are interested in participating, please reach out to Emily Francis (emily@newdominionsolutions.com) for the call-in information.
Urban Waters Work Group Annual Meeting
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Registration is now open for the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network’s Urban Waters Work Group Meeting! The meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 9 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm.
The meeting will give us an opportunity to learn more about and discuss current issues affecting the Chesapeake Bay, including water equity and utilities and election impacts on urban water issues. There will also be time for funder updates.
We hope this meeting will provide some timely insights and updates while providing space for funders to connect and discuss issues in their work. Please join us!
Agenda Overview:
Afternoon, Wednesday, December 9
Panel: Water Equity and Utilities in the Chesapeake Bay
Funder Updates and Discussion
Panel: Election Impacts On Urban Water Issues In The Chesapeake Bay
Urban Waters Work Group Webinar
Communities, Climate Resilience and COVID
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | 2:00PM – 3:15PM
Urban communities in the Chesapeake Bay continue to address a variety of climate challenges during the corona virus pandemic, including sea level rise, flooding, and sewage backups in basements. How are cities managing these issues during the pandemic? And how are organizations moving forward with projects and programs that engage community members? During this webinar, funders will hear how organizations in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and the Hampton Roads area are working to maintain momentum in addressing climate challenges while their communities are facing unique health, economic and social problems.
Speakers:
Jenn Aiosa, Executive Director, Blue Water Baltimore
Malik Lang, Executive Director, FH Faunteroy Community Enrichment Center
Skip Stiles, Executive Director, Wetland Watch
Moderator: Jason Donofrio, External Relations Officer, The Ocean Foundation
VIRTUAL FALL CONVENING
mONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST
Morning Session, 10:00AM to 12:00PM
State of Network-Funder Only: This session will include important updates, discussion and decisions about CBFN leadership, priorities and future collaboration actions. In addition to hearing from work group leads, we will also be voting on new leadership, reviewing results from our first annual member survey, and discussing our commitment to racial equity and how that translates in words and actions of the network.
Afternoon Session, 1:00PM to 3:00PM
Understanding Movement Building for Funders: As our individual and collaborative support for civic engagement, coalition building, grassroots community organizing and power building continues to evolve the need to better understand how the many moving pieces add up to a powerful and effective movement is critical. More so, we need to increase our knowledge as funders about how we can provide support that helps movements build and mobilize power over time. This program will provide an overview of what movement building looks like and how philanthropy can support it.
Sharing Hope, Deepening Connections, Aligning Action: A Just Future for People and Nature
September 7th - 9th – Chesapeake Program on September 8th
Blue Sky Funders Forum invites you to virtually convene with funders and networks across the country and also in the Chesapeake Region. Together, we will learn, network, and collaborate around opportunities to advance safe, meaningful outdoor experiences for all, and to rebuild healthier communities. As we work to address systemic injustices in community health, education, and the environment, creating more equitable and welcoming access to the outdoors for all people will be an important step. Now, more than ever, everyone deserves the right to safely spend time outside and to experience the many benefits that nature provides.
This program is for funders interested in environmental education and equitable access to open space and nature in the Chesapeake region. CBFN is hosting a program on September 8th specific to the Chesapeake Region which will focus on the following topics:
1. Impacts on the field of Environmental Education and needs and opportunities to help the field survive, adapt and perhaps thrive in this new
2. The increased recognition of the public health benefits of access of parks and open space and needs and opportunities to address long standing inequities, under-funding and related challenges to park and nature access and usage.
For more information, please contact Jamie Baxter (jamie@chesbayfunders.org)
VA Climate & Energy Funders Work Group
Tuesday, September 1st 1:00PM to 3:00PM
Join Work Group members to review the results of a scan of groups working on transportation, transit and land use and discuss next steps to support the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Transportation sector.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Emily Francis, New Dominion Solutions (emily@newdominionsolutions.com)
Squeezing the Most We Can from the 2018 Farm Bill
Thursday, August 20th at 2:00PM
The Conservation Title of the Farm Bill remains one of the most important mechanisms in delivering technical and financial assistance to the region’s agricultural producers and advancing Bay restoration goals for the ag sector. Still, a lack of knowledge and interest in available programs, persistent program and partnership challenges, and broader ag sector trends have limited Bay partners’ utilization of Farm Bill funding for maximum impact.
Through this informal conversation with Alyssa Charney, staff to Sen. Bob Casey (PA) on agriculture and conservation issues, CBFN members will discuss opportunities for private funding to help leverage more out of the current Farm Bill, especially competitive national programs like the Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Discussions may also touch on promising policy opportunities and legislative and advocacy strategies for future Farm Bill reform.
Chesapeake Bay Funders Network's Virtual Spring Convening
Understanding Rural Attitudes Toward the Environment and Conservation in America
Wednesday, June 3rd at 10AM
In February 2020, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University released the report "Understanding Rural Attitudes Toward the Environment and Conservation in America." The report studied why rural voters and their representatives often oppose environmental regulations; what accounts for the apparent rural/urban divide on attitudes toward environmental policy; and are there alternative policies, communications strategies, or ways to engage rural voters and constituencies that might bridge the urban/rural dive on the environment. We will be joined by Robert Bonnie, lead author of the report, to learn more about the report, his findings, and discuss the relevance to our work in the Chesapeake. Following the presentation on the report, we will host a local NGO panel to reflect on our work in the Chesapeake and the applicability of the report's findings to the on-the-ground work in the region. This program will be open to funders and NGO partners. We encourage you to read the report in advance of the program.
Speaker: Robert Bonnie, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University
NGO Panel Speakers: Josh Hastings, Lower Shore Land Trust, Adam Wells, Appalachian Voices, Kate Wofford, Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley
Funder Only Discussion - Civic Engagement and Power Building in the Chesapeake Bay
Wednesday, June 3rd at 2PM
Join CBFN members and partners in a discussion of civic engagement and power building efforts in the region and how we can strengthen this work in the face of these uncertain times. Potential topics for discussion include but aren’t limited to:
Debrief morning program, discuss application to our work and funder roles moving forward
Near term funding gaps in adaptation of voter outreach, engagement and election protections before the November 2020.
Discussion about status and next steps for long term power building efforts in PA and VA
Others TBD
COVID-19 Impacts on Local Agriculture and Opportunities for Conservation
Thursday, June 4th at 10AM
The foundation for any successful conservation initiative is an economically viable farm and robust and effective state and federal cost share and technical assistance programs. The current pandemic is impacting all these essential factors in a variety of ways. This program will provide a federal policy overview and perspectives on the impacts at the State and farm level and set the stage for funder only discussion about additional programs and potential funder collaboration in our region.
Speakers Include:
Ken Smith, Cool Lawn Dairy Farm, with Matt Coyle, Piedmont Environmental Council
Steve McHenry, MD Agriculture and Resource Based Industry Corp. (MARBICO)
MD Delegate Lorig Charkoudian
Ferd Hoefner, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Traci Bruckner, Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders
A Conversation with Sara Wyant, President, Agri-Pulse
Thursday June 4th 2:00pm – 3:00PM
Sara is the President of Agri-Pulse Communications which produces the Agri-Pulse publication known as the most trusted farm and policy source in Washington, D.C., providing a balanced perspective on a wide variety of issues including the farm bill, nutrition, trade, food safety, environment, biotechnology, organic, conservation, and crop insurance. They provide breaking news and analysis on the latest regulatory and legislative topics impacting the profitability of farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and the food industry. Sara will share her recent farm conservation story, provide her assessment of the impacts of this crisis on farms and food supply chains, if/how current and upcoming policy discussions might impact conservation and local food and agriculture resilience and join discussion about the role of funders with farms and agriculture at this time.
Funder Only Discussion - Agriculture and Rural Communities
Thursday, June 4th at 3PM
This will provide an opportunity for funders to debrief the previous programs, share additional perspectives on impacts as well as emerging opportunities related to agriculture and food systems. CBFN will also seek feedback and guidance on topics for future programs as well as possible funder collaboration to direct next steps.
Virginia Climate & Energy Work Group
Thursday, May 28th at 12Noon
Please join the Virginia Climate & Energy Work Group for a continued discussion on transportation and climate strategy in the Commonwealth.
Chesapeake Bay Regional Soil Health Webinar Series
Overview of Emerging State and Regional Soil Health Initiatives: Overview of soil health initiatives and activities in PA, MD, DE, and VA
Date/Time: Thursday, April 30th at 3:00PM
Measuring Soil Health: Panelists will discuss opportunities and challenges associated with soil testing to monitor soil health and changes over time.
Date/Time: Thursday, May 28th at 3:00PM
Regional Soil Health Field Trials: Field trials are a time-tested approach to building local knowledge around conservation practices. Panelists will give an overview of regional field trials focusing on soil health in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Date/Time: Thursday, June 25th at 3:00PM
Expanding Soil Health Through Farmer-to-Farmer Mentoring: Farmer-led outreach and education efforts are major components of our emerging initiatives. Panelists successfully using this approach will discuss best practices, and opportunities to enhance and expand farmer-led education, outreach, ESM and technical assistance for soil health.
Date/Time: Thursday, July 30th at 3:00PM
State of Soil Health Policy: Our emerging initiatives are largely focused on education, outreach, and implementation of soil health practices and systems. Federal, state, and local policy remains an important element in these efforts. This panel will provide an overview of existing/emerging policies to set the table for a discussion about opportunities to advance soil health implementation through policy and advocacy efforts at the in-person meeting.
Date/Time: Thursday, September 24th at 3:00PM
Seizing Market Opportunities to Support Soil Health: Opportunities are emerging now for state and local soil health efforts to capitalize on corporate and market-driven sustainability efforts. Panelists will include Ecosystem Services Markets Consortium, among other potential efforts, to provide an overview of work to date.
Date/Time: Thursday, October 29th at 3:00PM
Civic Engagement & COVID-19 - Part II
April 30th at 2:00PM
Join the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network for a discussion with frontline organizers and strategists on civic engagement efforts leading up to the 2020 election.
Funder Only Discussion - Non-Profit Sustainability Concerns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
April 24th at 2:00PM
Please join the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network on April 24th at 2PM for a discussion of nonprofit sustainability concerns on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
We know many of you have been having conversations with grantees and partners about the immediate and potential long term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on their organizations and respective programs. While the impacts appear to vary, it is becoming more clear that there may be greater need in the long term to help the nonprofits serving rural communities weather a slumping economy.
We hope you will join us for a conversation to surface the unique challenges for nonprofits serving rural communities and ways we might be able to respond to emergent needs to strengthen the nonprofit sector in the long-term.
Capacity Building Initiative Workgroup Meeting
April 22nd from 1pm to 3:30pm
The next meeting of CBFN’s Capacity Building Initiative will take place on April 22nd at 1PM. Workgroup members will review responses to the contractor RFP, discuss lessons learned from CBI III, and discuss/plan for CBI IV.
Conversation with NGO Leaders on the Impact of COVID-19 in the Chesapeake
April 17th at 11:00AM
CBFN members are invited to join a conversation with NGO leaders from selected environmental non-profits engaged with the Choose Clean Water Coalition and VA Conservation Network working across land, water, climate and environmental justice issues about the short and long term impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on our collective efforts.
While the impacts appear to vary, it is becoming clear that there may be a greater need in the long term to help the movement weather a slumping economy while also keeping our collective shoulders to this important work. This conversation, which may be the first of a many, will also help inform our discussion at the April 22nd CBFN Capacity Building Initiative meeting about the ways funders can respond to emerging needs among our environmental grantees.
Urban Waters Work Group Webinar and Discussion
Addressing Urban Water Issues through Climate Resilience
Wednesday, April 8, 2020, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
CBFN’s new Urban Waters Work Group is a reframed and refocused version of the prior CBFN Stormwater Work Group. Based on funder feedback, the new Urban Waters Work Group will learn about and explore opportunities to collaborate on urban water issues affecting communities in the Chesapeake Bay, prioritizing:
Climate resilience and adaptation, especially in response to flooding,
Water Equity (just and fair access to safe, clean affordable water-related services), and
Stormwater and green infrastructure.
This first Urban Waters Work Group webinar will be more of a discussion on what climate resilience and adaptation means in the context of the Chesapeake Bay region and the role that funders can play. Jason Donofrio with the Ocean Foundation and CBFN Urban Water Work Group Chair will do a brief presentation on Addressing Urban Water Issues through Climate Resilience and then there will be time for funder conversation to explore funder activity and possible next steps.
Speakers:
Jason Donofrio, the Ocean Foundation
Funders participating in the CBFN Urban Waters Work Group
Webinar: How Redistricting Impacts Environmental Justice
In partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Health & Environmental Funders Network, the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation and the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities we hope you will join us for the following discussion.
When: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
from 11:00AM-12:00PM PT / 2:00-3:00PM ET
Register for the webinar here.
Building on CEFG’s democracy workshops, please join us to learn about redistricting. This once-a-decade opportunity will shape how our communities are represented for the decade ahead. The extent to which communities are fairly represented in Congress and in their state legislatures profoundly influences policies and resources that address climate change and protect the environment. Efforts are underway in a number of key states to ensure the creation of fairer maps and push back against partisan and racial gerrymanders.
Join Bill Roberts and Cathy Duvall to talk about the challenges created by gerrymandering on climate and energy policy and to hear an overview of the emerging redistricting work and how to engage.
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Moderator:
John Mitterholzer, Senior Program Officer, Environment, The George Gund Foundation
John is the Foundation’s senior program officer for the environment. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2008, he was a program officer at The Cleveland Foundation. John is the former chair of the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, the current co-chair of the Climate and Energy Funders Group and an active member of the Environmental Grantmakers Association.
Speakers:
Bill Roberts, Principle, Corridor Partners
Bill has over 30 years of experience in politics, advocacy, and philanthropy. Bill has held leadership positions at Atlantic Philanthropies (director of U.S. advocacy) and the Beldon Fund (president). In advocacy and policy, Bill held senior positions on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and at the Environmental Defense Fund. Bill also has a range of political experience, including service as board chair of the League of Conservation Voters from 1999 to 2011.
Cathy Duvall, Founder, Democracy Ascent Advisors
Cathy is the founder of a consulting firm focused on strategic outreach and engagement to create a more functional democracy. Currently, her primary work is with the Fair Representation in Redistricting Project at New Venture Fund where her focus is to build a collaborative funding space around redistricting issues, strengthen community coalitions, and provide strategic advice to state redistricting efforts. Duvall comes to this work after serving for 10 years as the strategic outreach director at the Sierra Club where she focused on national policy changes around environmental justice, workers’ rights, and democracy issues, and oversaw the youth organizing and political programs. A recognized leader in the DC nonprofit community, she has been named two years running as "one of the top 100 most influential people in Washington DC" by Washington Life Magazine and is honored to have received the Heather Booth award for her individual contributions to community organizing.
Impact of COVID-19 Response on Civic Engagement Efforts in PA, MD and VA
March 30th at 2:00PM – 3:00PM
Please join the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network for a discussion with advocates on the anticipated short-term and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on civic engagement activities leading up to and beyond the 2020 Election in November. We will discuss current and planned community organizing, 2020 US Census, voter mobilization efforts, and anticipated challenges and changes to civic engagement tactics and strategy generally. Given the fast changing and unprecedented impacts of COVID-19 on our daily lives, we intend for this to be an open discussion format to discuss as a group current and anticipated challenges and how funders might be able to NGOs during this time.
Virtual Member Hangouts
As the circumstances involving the COVID-19 pandemic continue to develop and as we are all are likely engaged in discussions regarding if or how funders could respond to support our grantees, the communities we love and each other, we are hosting a series of “in the kitchen”, open format calls for CBFN members.
The purpose is to provide a space for members to share if or how their operations, processes, deadlines etc. will adapt to this new norm, learn how this may be impacting grantees and/or the issues they are working on, and to hear from each other about emerging opportunities to support pressing needs in communities throughout the region.
We can build the agenda based on what you want to discuss. Feel free to share topics with us via email beforehand or bring them with you to the conversation if you are able to join.
Our next calls are scheduled for:
Thursday, March 26th at 3:30PM
Thursday, April 2nd at 3:30PM
VA Climate & Energy Workgroup Webinar
March 23, 2020 12:30PM to 1:30PM
CBFN Webinar: Chesapeake Accountability Project
February 6th, 10am-11:30am
As part of the Edmund A. Stanley Jr. Heroic Future Initiative, the Town Creek Foundation awarded $3,580,000 to the Chesapeake Accountability Project (CAP) Enforcement Campaign - a multi-year coordinated campaign to reduce Bay pollution attributable to weak permitting and lack of enforcement, which by one estimate, could represent as much as 4.6 million pounds of nitrogen pollution. Their work will result in significant, measurable improvements to local and downstream water quality as well as states' permitting programs.
CAP is comprised of the Chesapeake Legal Alliance, Center for Progressive Reform, Environmental Action Center, Environmental Integrity Project, Choose Clean Water Coalition, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.