Faith & Philanthropy, an exploratory joint grantmaking initiative that aims to shape “a philanthropic landscape that embraces the transformative potential of spirituality and faith to address the pressing challenges of our time,” recently released a Spiritual Imagination report featuring twelve grantees rooted in various spiritual traditions that are leveraging faith and spirituality for social impact.

Meet E.N. West, Lead Organizer for the Faith Land Initiative at The Church Council of Greater Washington. An innovative community organizer, E is building bridges between communities in Seattle to help use church property assets to address community needs. In listening to churches, E and their colleagues spotted an opportunity to support white faith communities discerning what to do with congregational land by connecting them with the needs and vision of Black faith communities and other groups wrestling with issues of displacement from their communities. As a result, religious assets are now being stewarded to address the challenge of affordable housing and advance economic and racial justice.

In this one-hour webinar we will ask how faith communities can foster cogenerational innovation to create a better world and hear real-world examples of cogeneration in action within and across faith communities. Throughout the conversation, you'll hear from a panel of older and younger leaders and get a chance to ask questions. 

Meet Nikhil Mandalaparthy, Deputy Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, and a committed advocate for pluralism and human rights. All over the world, we’ve seen how when religion and nationalism intertwine, it can drive hate, violence, and injustice. Inspired by his own faith, other traditions, and bhakti poets, Nikhil works to foster inclusive expressions of Hindu identity.

Meet Nikole Lim, Founder of Freely in Hope, which works to end the cycle of sexual violence through the leadership and advocacy of survivors. Nikole is a filmmaker, storyteller, and dedicated advocate. Her innovative work centers the leadership of sexual violence survivors in Kenya and Zambia, highlighting the power of survivors to lead us to a violence-free world.

Meet Sandy Hong, Assistant Director at Glean Network and Steering Committee Member of KQTx. Sandy is a wise and skilled innovator and community-builder who we’ve had the privilege to get to know through an innoFaith partnership with Glean Network.

Meet Vipin Thekk, Senior Director at Ashoka and amazingly curious, spiritual, reflective, and energetic human. From Krishna to Integral Theory to evolution to the Bodhisattva vow, buckle up for this one, folks. We can always count on Vipin to take us on a stimulating ride through head, heart, and spirit.

Many faith traditions have long been rooted in a relationship with the Earth—particularly indigenous traditions, but also others, such as Jainism. And some early advocates of the environment and animal welfare were inspired by faith—such as Francis of Assisi and Buddhist emperor Ashoka. Yet the concept of ecotheology has developed largely within the last half century or so as the world has had to come to terms with the ecological destruction wrought by human society. Ecotheology looks at the relationship between religion and nature and seeks to find solutions to the current environmental crisis.