Fast Forward

"My life has been focused on a deep belief that education is a liberating force in human development," says Dr. Eric Jolly, new president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. In this episode, MCF president, Trista Harris sits down with Jolly for a conversation about his transition from decades spent working in academia and the non-profit sector to the world of foundations. He talks about the unique role community foundations play in philanthropy, the outpouring of support he's received from the sector, where Minnesota Philanthropy Partners is as they celebrate 75 years and where they're headed in the next 75.

Terri Ann Lowenthal is a nationally recognized expert on the census and a consultant specializing in the census, the federal statistical system and the use of data for policy purposes. Lowenthal is currently part of The Census Project, a nonpartisan collaborative of census stakeholders supporting the census and other vital Census Bureau programs. Go to censusprojectblog.org for her writing on the subject. In this interview, Lowenthal talks about the importance of the census and the American Community Survey and gives examples of how the collected data is used. She talks frankly about how and why certain legislators and politicians are trying to disrupt data collection and the census overall.

Molly de Aguiar directs the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation's media grants, while also managing the foundation's communications initiatives. She's working at the intersection of grantmaking, communications, media and community building. In this interview, she talks about tools and the ways grantmakers can tell their own stories as well as the stories of their grantees. Go to www.grdodge.org to see more.

Akhtar Badshah is the founder and chief catalyst of Catalytic Innovators Group. He led Microsoft's global community investment and employee program for 10 years. Badshah spoke at the 2015 Minnesota Council on Foundations Annual Conference. In this interview, he talks about impact investing, mission-driven corporate giving, and the importance of putting a face and name to the communities grantmakers serve.

MCF President Trista Harris sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with Paul Williams, president and CEO of Project for Pride in Living. Topics they discuss include the need for grantmakers to view communities as assets, the importance of scale in making a real impact, and his wish for philanthropy to create greater leverage with government.

Trista sits down for a wide-ranging talk with Paul Williams, president and CEO of Project for Pride in Living. Topics they discuss include the need for grantmakers viewing communities as assets, the importance of scale in making a real impact, and Paul's wish for philanthropy to create greater leverage with government.