Brittany Ward on Bringing Trust-Based Philanthropy Home

June 2026 — Moving the Needle // Woods Fund Chicago

June is widely recognized as Philanthropy Month. It’s usually a time when philanthropists talk about generosity, impact, and dedication to community. But this month, for me, symbolizes something more personal: the one-year anniversary of my role as Grants Manager at Woods Fund Chicago and my first year in philanthropy.

As I reflect on the field, my time at the foundation, and all I continue to learn, I find myself sitting with questions about philanthropy itself. Do our institutions truly represent the values and missions we claim to? How do the parts of our society built by white supremacy, elitism, and classism show up in our relationships with partners and one another? What would it look like for every foundation to be rooted in the same principles and practices we search for in applications? And can we? Is the system set up to allow us to?

As a grants manager, I think about these questions often, and how they can manifest in our internal work as much as our public face.

My own path to grants management at Woods Fund Chicago was shaped by many experiences. I grew up with a selfless, caring, and ambitious single mother who would never let her situation determine her or her children’s path. I moved through the world as an African American girl, then woman, who — based on color — some people saw as an ally, a threat, a perpetrator, or someone to disregard. I was trained at an early age by my loved ones and society to understand what was considered an acceptable way for me to exist in the world, because my color would play a role in how others perceived me and what I experienced.

I became a nonprofit worker to be a listener to my community’s stories and a source of support for the people who need it and for the people whose paths are limited because of how the world perceives their identity.

In that space, I found myself in roles where I was inspired and touched by the ways lives were being impacted. But I also found myself, like so many nonprofit professionals, wearing many hats, holding pieces together, and showing up however was needed. I knew my work was essential and valuable. But faced with speaking about it in comparison to my peers raising millions of dollars, it felt less than.

"I also found myself, like so many nonprofit professionals, wearing many hats, holding pieces together, and showing up however was needed."

I walked into my role at Woods Fund Chicago expecting to play a similar role: wearing many hats and having my contribution be less public because it was just what helped make the “important” work possible. But after starting, I experienced something different. Something new.

Across the sector, the role of a grants manager is often seen as purely administrative. In reality, this role is central to every part of grantmaking. We help hold the systems, timelines, data, communication, and relationships that make the work possible. In recognition of that centrality, Woods Fund arranged for me to work under Deborah Clark, Woods Fund’s former Director of Grants Management, for six months before she retired.

Deborah trained me, connected me to other people in philanthropy, advocated for me, and was always a question away. She did not just teach me the technical parts of the work. She helped me understand the responsibility, contributions, community, and history that come with it. She passed along institutional knowledge that does not always live in a handbook or database. That time mattered. It gave me space to learn, ask questions, build confidence, and understand not only how Woods Fund Chicago does its work, but why.

"That time mattered. It gave me space to learn, ask questions, build confidence, and understand not only how Woods Fund Chicago does its work, but why."

I saw this same thoughtful approach reinforced again at a regional PEAK Grantmaking conference I attended in 2025. For the first time in my career, I was surrounded by speakers and peers naming the value of my position out loud. I was in community with other grants managers who understood the role, the systems, the problem solving, and the many hats we wear to keep the work moving. In my career, I had often been the only person in that category, surrounded by people who could not fully understand everything it took to keep the world, or at least my department, spinning. My community had mostly been myself.

At PEAK, I felt a sense of pride, responsibility, and collective charge. But it was Deborah who made sure I did not have to figure this role out alone. That kind of support gave me permission to walk into rooms differently. It helped me take up space, own what I bring to my team and my role, and recognize that grants managers are not just keeping systems moving: we’re helping shape the future of philanthropy.

"Grants managers are not just keeping systems moving: we’re helping shape the future of philanthropy."

I’m still learning and growing in this role. I’m building my community, understanding and exploring how I want to show up, and thinking deeply about what I want to stand for in philanthropy.

I once attended an event where another grants manager asked me, “Have you ever dealt with someone not respecting you because of your role? How do you deal with it?”

My goal in philanthropy is to contribute to a future where no one has to ask that question.

So, during Philanthropy Month, I'm thinking about what it means for trust-based philanthropy to be lived, not just funded. For me, that means valuing the people and roles that make grantmaking possible, from the president of the foundation and the grants manager to the building custodian and communications professional. It means investing in thoughtful transitions, the upliftment of positions, transparent teaching, community building, mentorship, and professional development. It means making grants managers equal partners in the work. And it means being willing to examine our own systems with the same honesty we ask of the field.

—

Brittany Ward is the Grants and Administrative Manager at Woods Fund Chicago. Her past roles span operations work at local healthcare organizations and nonprofits focused on experiential learning access for students on Chicago’s South and West Sides.

Marguerite Casey Foundation Plans to Give at Least $50M Annually

Why We’re Reading It: The Marguerite Casey Foundation is a leader in calls to increase foundation payouts. This spring, they announced a commitment of $50 million/year for the next ten years — 50% over their average annual giving in the last decade. The piece features foundation leadership detailing their thinking on their own increase, and a call to action for the sector. “If it is our job to be charitable organizations, then we should act charitably, right?” says CEO Carmen Rojas. “Either we are charitable organizations, or we are investment firms that do 5% charity work.”

Chronicle of Philanthropy // Read now

Chicago Community Leaders on Building Intersectional Solidarity Across the City

Why We’re Listening: In honor of May’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, In the Loop hosted a conversation on intersectionality with leaders from three justice organizations across the city, including grantee partners Hana Center and Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation. The fifteen-minute segment has no wasted moments — it covers concrete tactics (Hana Center’s intergenerational Peoples Academy) and broader, long-held reminders. Listen for a grounding conversation from committed organizers in a moment that needs all of us.

WBEZ // Listen now

As Censorship Expands, Autonomous Libraries Are Springing Up to Fill the Gaps

Why We’re Reading It: We talk a lot in this newsletter about the diverse ways to plug in and the critical role of basebuilding. The anarchist libraries highlighted in this piece from Truthout offer stories of ordinary people seeing a gap and building a piece of the world they want to live in. The piece also highlights some of the ways Chicago’s public libraries were able to step up to support their communities amid ICE attacks this past fall, and some of the ways they were constrained in that support. An autonomous library in Su Casa, a former Catholic Worker house on Chicago’s West Side, is featured. “People need to be able to meet, share ideas, strategize, plan, learn from history, in conversation with elders,” organizer Lulu says. “That can happen here.”

Truthout // Read now

Activists Press For Permanent Gun Violence Reduction Department After Mass Shooting Wounds 14

Why We’re Reading It: Grantee partner Live Free Illinois is leading a coalition of anti-violence advocates to enshrine gun violence prevention in city infrastructure. While gun violence is down broadly in Chicago, the most recent calls and coverage come after a weekend of heightened shooting numbers and profound loss, including a mass shooting on the South Side. “Every time there's a new mayor, every time there's a new deputy mayor of public safety, the strategy changes,” Executive Director Rev. Ciera Bates told Axios. “We're trying to put something concrete in place, so this can become a long-term solution."

Block Club Chicago // Read now