Articles by

Trabian Shorters

  • Article

    Better together

    Published March 1, 2014 by

    Trabian Shorters (above left) is founding CEO of BMe Community and former vice president of communities at Knight Foundation. The following is cross-posted from The Miami Herald. Photo credit: Flickr user Knight Foundation. President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative to improve opportunities for boys and men of color is in step with our times. Three years ago, I sat with George Soros and an eclectic group of black leaders in a small New York hotel room, courtesy of Shawn Dove of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement. Soros explained why being a Hungarian Jew who lived through the Holocaust helps him to see dangerous patterns that threaten democratic society. DOWNLOAD "A Statement from the Executives Alliance on the New White House Initiative, My Brother's Keeper" (PDF format) from Executives' Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color "An Initiative to Advance Achievement of and Opportunity For Boys and Young Men of Color: Philanthropic Statement of Support" (PDF format) Over the past five years, Soros has pledged about $80 million of his own money to support a healthier America by helping black males out of the dangerous patterns that threaten them. In August 2011, his friend Michael Bloomberg announced a similar $127 million public-private initiative in New York, which included $30 million from Soros. Bloomberg and Soros were the boldest but certainly not the only philanthropists to take this position. In April 2013, five foundation leaders convened their peers on this subject: Bob Ross, president of The California Endowment; Ken Zimmerman, director of U.S. programs for the Open Society Foundations; Alberto Ibargüen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and Emmett Carson, president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. By the end of the day more than two dozen foundation heads had signed a pledge to create more opportunities for boys and men of color.
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    Knight Foundation’s Communities Program strategy

    Published October 1, 2012 by

    Knight Foundation’s Communities Program engages people and institutions in the transformational issues and opportunities of their time. To do this, we take a long-term view of communities. We consider the local narrative, spot important long-term trends and opportunities, then invest in the people and institutions whom we believe can make the difference. We do this with a constant eye on impact and innovation. Our efforts concentrate in eight communities where we have offices and work in partnership with community foundations for 18 others. The eight resident communities and related opportunities are in: ·      Akron – Attracting and engaging the talent from within Akron and without as it continues to transform its economy; ·      Charlotte – Engaging major institutional leaders and community members in transforming schools in the Project Leadership and Investment for Transformation (LIFT) zone;
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    Announcing the 2011 Knight Community Information Challenge Winners

    Published September 20, 2011 by

    Knight Community Information Challenge Winners from Knight Foundation on Vimeo. We’re excited to share with you the newest winners of the Knight Community Information Challenge, receiving a combined $2.26 million in matching grants for news and information projects. As traditional media continue to struggle, community and place-based foundations have an increasingly important role to play in helping groups provide local news and information. And they’ve stepped up to the challenge over the last four years, along the way strengthening their leadership and making an impact on issues facing the environment, children, urban planning and so many more. Community and place-based foundations spent $58 million on news and information projects last year, according to a recent survey – and 38 percent of those who answered so they expect that investment to increase in coming years.
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    Flip the script: Amplifying the good work of black men and boys

    Published August 1, 2011 by

    Knight Foundation is proud to launch BME today in partnership with Open Society Foundations’ Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Context Partners and the people of Detroit and Philadelphia. BME (pronounced “Be Me”) will engage thousands of people in recognizing the black men and boys who take initiative to improve their communities. We will also award grant money for several of the local projects that these men and boys propose to us. But what’s this all about? We believe in communities where black men and boys lead in solutions, participate in decision making and are fully engaged in all issues and opportunities affecting their communities. So we want to first recognize and thank those who do. Then, we want to build upon their efforts to make our communities better. To put it in context, allow me to tell this very personal story.