Description

Since 2016 when our foundation first embarked on our exploration of the role and power of networks in building a just and vibrant New York City, the Network Weaver community has served as a teacher and a touchstone for us. We have now reached a critical juncture in our relationship with the Sterling Network NYC in which we as a foundation have decided that we should no longer host the network. So we feel compelled to share our rationale and our learnings here, both as part of our foundation commitment to transparency and as part of our commitment to this shared learning community which has supported us. 

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Our process for reaching this conclusion was humbling and complex but ultimately, we hope, the right decision.  As a core part of our reflection, we asked: What must we understand, acknowledge, and share about these learnings to honor the contributions of the Network and its 56 Fellows over the last five years? How can we continuously strengthen our accountability as grantmakers? And what insights might we offer to the field as other funders and groups consider networks as a strategy? This is the focus and intent of Sterling Network NYC: A Bold Experiment in Relationships, Power & Imagining Leadership Otherwise,  which we are deeply grateful to Judy Pryor-Ramirez for designing and authoring, and to the Sterling Network Fellows for their candid contributions.

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