Social Innovation Forum
Kayla Wiggin of The Devonshire Foundation and Christine Dixon of Someone Else’s Child participating in a small group conversation at Rooted in Trust in September 2024.
When you attend a Social Innovation Forum (SIF) event, you’re bound to recognize a couple of faces. Sure, a smiling SIF staff member handing you a nametag, but also, the thoughtful and dedicated community of nonprofit leaders and funders who keep coming back to learn, share, and connect. One such funder is Kayla Wiggin, Grants Manager at The Devonshire Foundation (TDF).
An impactful funder and thoughtful partner, Wiggin sees the value of SIF’s programming and generously shares her time by participating in events. When we reached out to learn more about what keeps her coming back, we had a wide-ranging conversation about how her event participation has impacted her practices as a funder.
Convene
Wiggin began her journey with SIF back in 2011 as a Fellow with Root Cause, supporting SIF’s Showcase, our largest annual event, where a cohort of Innovators present on their nonprofit organizations. Reflecting on her career pathway in philanthropy, Wiggin stated, “I feel like I’ve grown up professionally with SIF.” She described changing organizations a few times since then, but “...everywhere I’ve worked has kept me in touch with SIF. I stayed in some shape or form, going to SIF events for the past decade. I’m a frequent flyer!”
SIF hosts many events throughout the year, so picking a favorite event was a challenge for Wiggin. She described the most impactful event type as ones “with a short, thought-provoking program where you hear from nonprofits and/or funders and have a chance to discuss what you heard and then network.” She gave a special shout-out to the interactive table discussions at Lunch & Learn, as well as events with funder and nonprofit leader participation, such as Rooted in Trust and Strengthening Our Sector. Reflecting further, she described SIF events as an excellent opportunity “to meet new people, to hold space for what is going on in the sector, and to have great conversations.”
As Wiggin described what she’s enjoyed about SIF events, she identified some elements that she views as particularly valuable, including:
- Current topics in philanthropic and nonprofit spaces
- Opportunities to be in community to discuss pressing issues in the sector
- Engaging networking opportunities
- Fantastic speakers on relevant content
- Spending time with The Devonshire Foundation’s grantee partners who also attend many SIF events
Coming together, especially now, is critical. Wiggin described a TDF convening of grantees, held just after the election, and how their former grantee partner speakers encouraged the program to shift from evergreen topics (fundraising, board development, and growth plans) to more timely content (wellbeing, managing board expectations, and sustaining staff morale). The Devonshire Foundation team listened closely to nonprofit leaders who were saying: “We need to address what’s going on and how people are feeling right now and how to move forward.” By incorporating that feedback into a new direction, Wiggin explains: “it ended up being a really meaningful time to come together as a community. We received good feedback and are committed to continuing to offer convenings for our grantee partners" In SIF’s Funder Learning program, we often discuss how to form trusting relationships between funders and nonprofit leaders, such as those on display in Devonshire’s example. Because the former grantee partners truly trusted the Devonshire team, they were able to give candid feedback on the program, which they knew would be taken seriously. The nonprofit leaders and funders’ transparent exchange led to a more thoughtful and responsive gathering.
Kayla Wiggin seated among fellow social change leaders at Rooted in Trust in September 2024.
Connect
Coming together brings folks into the room, but what happens once you’re there? Wiggin encourages fellow funders to “Start by going to things. Show up, try to meet at least one person and have coffee with them after. Who knows what that could lead to!” She described attending the recent SIF event Strengthening Our Sector and meeting Madeleine Steczynski, Executive Director of ZUMIX (2006 Social Innovator). Although ZUMIX isn’t a TDF grantee, Wiggin said that they had “an awesome conversation and it was very non-transactional. Sometimes when you meet new organizations it can feel like a pitch moment to a funder. We just had a really great conversation about what’s going on right now in the philanthropic and nonprofit space given the impact of the federal administration’s executive orders and budget cuts. She had a lot of creative ideas of how to fundraise and tap into different revenue sources. It was just a lovely conversation and I always find that SIF events create opportunities to foster new connections.”
At a different event, Rooted in Trust, Wiggin described sitting at a table with staff from the Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition (2022 Social Innovator). She had been grappling with site visit best practices as a funder, such as how not to be too imposing on the nonprofit, and explained that the conversation with staff from Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition really shifted her perspective: “we had a conversation at the breakout table with two funders and two Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition team members and they were saying, ‘We love site visits! We love for you to come and to bring your staff and board because it’s a chance for us to showcase our work and have a conversation.’ I found that validating because I think if you show up, you’ve done the work and really understand the organization, then you can use the time to ask thoughtful questions and see the work they’re doing and the community they are serving. Seeing things in person gives you a greater perspective and deeper appreciation of the work.”
Participating in SIF programs has supported Wiggin in building connections with nonprofit leaders, but also with other funders. When asked what is currently giving her hope, Wiggin responded: “I think for a long time funders have not been great at collaborating with each other. I am finding recently that funders are wanting to connect more. As the nonprofit and philanthropic sector is changing, it’s important to work together as funders and share more openly about what we’re funding, how we’re funding, where we can fund things together. That’s exciting to see!”
We’re so grateful to Kayla Wiggin for sharing her time and experiences with us. Her reflections demonstrate how showing up and connecting with new people can lead to powerful learning. If you’d like to join an impactful SIF event in the future, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about upcoming events. If you’re interested in learning more about SIF’s Funder Learning program, you can contact Carina Traub, Funder Learning Manager.