Make
Shift Happen
You’re invited.
We’re tackling the tough questions about how philanthropy must transform in service of gender, economic, and racial justice. Come explore with us what it means to work differently to support change as we try to lead with relationships, share power, and transform from the inside out.
We know firsthand how difficult this is. We’ve faced our own resistance, made countless mistakes, and continue to learn from movement leaders who generously challenge our assumptions.
Now, we’re embracing the vulnerability of honest reflection. Follow along with our ongoing series, Make Shift Happen–offering up stories, reflections, insights, lessons learned, and breakthroughs–as we work to transform philanthropy, starting with transforming ourselves.
Movement-Led Funds as Experiments in Regeneration
By Maria Nakae, Senior Director of Just Transition Investing, Justice Funders
What becomes possible when we shift power with integrated capital?
In Episode 10 of Make Shift Happen, I had the pleasure of talking with Tenesha Duncan, CEO and founder of Orchid Capital Collective, about the growing ecosystem of movement-led funds that are shifting the flow of capital and power while rewriting the rules of finance.
Building New Futures from the Grassroots
By Mia Reilly, Deputy Director, Tara Health Foundation
What needs to shift to move funders from listening to doing?
In Episode 9 of Make Shift Happen, I got to talk with Hannah Yi, Program Manager at the Levi Strauss Foundation, about how her lived experience directly informs her role as a funder of social movements. Even in her own proximity to the work, though, she remains grounded in an approach to grantmaking that centers and responds to those closest to the issues on the ground.
From Conflict to Confluence of Interest
By Rachel Robasciotti, Tara Health Foundation Board Member and Founder and Co-CEO of Adasina Social Capital
When we shift power to those most proximate to our work, we find confluence, not conflict, of interest.
We know people with direct experience are best positioned to make decisions about the issues they face, and that they’ll likely benefit from those decisions personally. This is where, as I say in my conversation with Nwamaka Agbo, founding CEO of Kataly Foundation and managing director of Kataly’s Restorative Economies Fund: “It gets messy.”
Shifting Power to Find Connection
By Ruth Shaber, MD, Founder and President, Tara Health Foundation
How shifting power can help us find belonging and community beyond our dollars
A key moment of Episode 6 in our Make Shift Happen Conversation series centers on Tara Health’s board governance. Rachel Robasciotti, a Tara Health Foundation Board Member and founder and co-CEO of Adasina Social Capital, shares a story about our work to restructure power within our organization—and what’s possible on the other side.
Sharing Wealth, Strengthening Community: From Extraction to Beloved Community
By Mia Reilly
“I want security in community because where I come from—that’s the only real security there is.”
This comes from Rachel Robasciotti, founder and Co-CEO of Adasina Social Capital and Tara Health Foundation Board Member, speaking with Nwamaka Agbo, founding CEO of Kataly Foundation and managing director of Kataly’s Restorative Economies Fund, in our latest episode of the Make Shift Happen Conversation Series.
Philanthropy: The Origin Story
By Elise Belusa, Executive Director
When we reckon with philanthropy’s origins, we open up to connection and transformation.
I’m honored to share the first release of our Make Shift Happen conversation series. It features Tenesha Duncan Bose, now founder and CEO of Orchid Capital Collective and former program officer here at Tara Health, in conversation with Maria Nakae, Senior Director of Just Transition Investing at Justice Funders. They dig into how the origins of philanthropy are fundamentally at odds with what movements for justice need from foundations holding vast amounts of money.
Shifting Power and Resources to Build the Democracy We’ve Never Had
By Elise Belusa, Executive Director
In this crumbling present, how do we hold onto vision? How do we nurture hope and find joy? At Tara Health, we’re examining what we can do with our power, influence, and institutional resources. Again and again, this reflection has led me to confront an uncomfortable truth about philanthropic structures: despite our best intentions, we know that private foundations are deeply undemocratic spaces.
In the Spaces Between: Moments of Change at Tara Health in 2024
By Elise Belusa, Executive Director
We believe real change happens when we create room for authentic relationships - both the challenging parts, the beautiful ones, and all the spaces in between. In this Annual Update, we’re sharing our full reflection on 2024 - an honest look at what it means to transform from the inside out.
Transformative Philanthropy
By Ruth Shaber, MD, Founder and President
In our latest blog post, our founder and president, Dr. Ruth Shaber, reflects on Tara Health’s early years — how we built mission-aligned portfolios, developed new tools for gender-lens investing, and leveraged every resource to create meaningful change.