Welcoming Renee Fazzari as Funder Node Lead
“I am thrilled to join the fabulous Illuminate team to nurture the Funder Node, which will be a dedicated space for funders to engage in the type of deep inquiry and learning that practitioners have experienced in other Illuminate nodes. I look forward to bringing my 14 years experience as a grantmaker who supported frontline grassroots leaders through a Trust-Based Philanthropy approach to the design of this unique space.”
Renee Fazzari (she/her/hers) is an independent consultant working to bring a culture of learning, innovation, and responsiveness to philanthropy. She is a leader with experience on both sides of the giving equation, spending more than a decade with the General Service Foundation, where she managed grantmaking to advance coordinated civic engagement, social justice, and transformative leadership development. Most recently, she was the Director of Strategic Partnerships for The Center for Cultural Power where she helped build a start-up cultural organizing institution, raising more than $20million in 2.5 years and managing partnerships with more than 50 foundations.
Renee has led experiments and collaborative funding processes with the Funders Committee on Civic Participation, State Infrastructure Funders Table, Solidaire, and a network of Colorado funders to disrupt the cycle of underinvestment in leaders of color. Her consulting practice supports organizations working for justice and climate resilience to connect with resources - including funding, capacity building, and network approaches.
As Funder Node Lead, Renee is collaborating with the Learning Weaving team to shape a space for funders investing in systems change initiatives and frameworks to engage in deep inquiry, learning, candid conversation, and relationship building. The Funder node will be a participatory series where grantmakers absorb the guidance and wisdom of systems change leaders, with a spotlight on those practicing in the Global South, Indigenous and frontline communities, and others practicing holistic systems approaches that may not always be recognized as “systems change”. The Funder Node will be a place that supports the self, the community, and the field by helping funders examine their own practices and roles in the systems change efforts they aim to advance.
