"The Battles We Pick" Podcast Discussion
David Shorr is host of The Battles We Pick podcast and a longtime advocacy strategist. He has helped shape policy debates and...
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Community Foundation Policy Leadership Is Needed Now More Than Ever
Community Foundation Policy Leadership has never been more important. Across the country, our communities are more unequal, structurally challenged, and polarized than in our lifetimes. Our neighbors' sense of "community" was fraying before the pandemic, which only intensified their isolation - and the need to join together to overcome the hurdles we all face.
Community foundations are recognizing the importance of catalyzing their policy leadership potential - while also recognizing that improving public policy - while eminently within our power - is easier said than done. The Center for Community Foundation Policy Leadership helps us meet these needs, to strengthen our impacts for the our communities we serve.
Policy Leadership Strengthens Communities While Strengthening Community Foundations
Community foundations are powerful. We are proximate to the communities we serve, and strive to lead for community strength. Yet catalyzing our power into policy improvements is relatively new, and more complicated than grantmaking alone.
The Center for Community Foundation Policy Leadership helps community foundations of all sizes, and at all starting points, strengthen their policy leadership potential while also strengthening their organizations.
Our Services
One on One
Coaching for Policy Leadership
Successfully directing a community foundation's policy leadership is
different from directing its grantmaking.
Before, during, and after your organization's policy efforts, we'll help your leadership team understand the big picture elements, internally and externally, and how to identify the best next steps for community and organizational success.
Planning Your Path to
Effective Policy Leadership
and Organizational Strength
Leading your community toward a stronger future is within your community foundation's power.
Yet successfully doing so requires realistic assessments, attainable goals, and measurable results across departments.
We'll help your team see its interconnected capabilities, the external realities, and the smartest paths forward.
Enabling Co-Supportive Policy Work Across Departments
Effective policy leadership strengthens your entire community - while strengthening your entire organization.
We'll help ensure that all departments understand their role in your community foundation's policy leadership, and how to co-support each other for positive impacts that serve your community and your entire operation.
As importantly, we're ready, willing, and able to work alongside your team at every step along the way, to ensure they achieve your community foundation's policy leadership goals.
About the Founder
Stephen Saloom launched the Center for Community Foundation Policy Leadership in 2022, after nearly a decade in philanthropic advocacy leadership. Stephen was the inaugural Director of Advocacy & Capacity Building at Fairfield County’s Community Foundation after having directed advocacy efforts at the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Proteus Fund. He has written successful major policy grants for The National Domestic Worker's Alliance, New Virginia Majority, and others. Previously, while leading the Innocence Project's first decade of nationwide policy reform, he actively trained and partnered with state and local advocates across the country to secure over 100 reforms in 30+ states and at the federal level.
Stephen served as lead drafter for the CFLeads and the Council on Foundations 2023 Practice and Purpose of Policy Training for Community Foundation Leaders and as national moderator for the Policy & Advocacy Network discussions of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network, where he also created and lead advocacy workshops and conference presentations. He is currently Policy Advisor to Harris County (TX) Commissioner Rodney Ellis; a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Committee on Police Professionalism, Standards, Ethics and Image; has been elected to local office; and has served on various statewide policy commissions and task forces.
What Our Advocacy Colleagues Say
Phil Koch
VP of Policy & Community Impact,
The Pittsburgh Foundation
At The Pittsburgh Foundation, our new strategic plan identified public policy as a tool to increase our community impact. As we have learned from our community foundation colleagues across the country, this work is complicated! Fortunately, Stephen Saloom was close at hand to offer his strategic thinking. We connected with Stephen through the Policy & Advocacy Network of the Community Foundation Opportunity Network, as well as through their annual conference. Stephen understands the nuance of this work and has proven to be a helpful thought partner as we develop this new line of work. Having a seasoned veteran helping to think through these complexities has been extremely helpful to The Pittsburgh Foundation.
Cesar Aleman
Director, Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative
I had the pleasure of working with Stephen while he was Director of Advocacy and Capacity Building at Fairfield County's Community Foundation and supported the CT Urban Opportunity Collaborative. Stephen was instrumental in helping me think through the various components of our work as it pertains to policy and advocacy. Stephen brings years of experience and critical thought partnership and has a deep understanding of advocacy and policy work. I appreciated his take and our collaborations and conversations helped me clear a pathway for what our advocacy and policy work could look like. I enjoyed working with Stephen and found him to be flexible and a team player. I look forward to more opportunities to work with him in the future.
Rebecca Brown
Policy Director,
Innocence Project
I worked alongside Steve as we launched the Innocence Project's nationwide Policy Department for its first ten years.
Under Steve's leadership, we secured more than 100 state-based reforms working with state and local partners across the country.
Steve's speciality is helping folks work with grassroots groups and under the domes of statehouses to understand the fundamentals of reform advocacy in ways that worked across various local political situations.
Steve was a mentor to me and so many more, including our staff and those of a network of more than 50 innocence organizations across the nation.
Always kind, patient and humorous, Steve developed advocacy potential in a range of people, from seasoned advocates to non-advocates, teaching them how to effectively advocate for policy change in difficult ecosystems with multiple stakeholders, some of whom stood in staunch opposition to authentic reform. Steve always earned the respect and appreciation of teams he helped to develop and work with, because he was a trusted colleague and inspirational leader.
Altaf Rahamatulla
Program Officer for
Racial Justice
I've had the honor of working with Steve for over a decade. I've consistently been moved by his unyielding conviction for human rights and justice, unique ability to connect communities and people of different backgrounds, astute policy and political analysis, and bold vision for systemic change. He is a builder as well--he understands systems and can assess how to make them more effective. Above all, Steve leads with integrity, compassion, strategy, and courage.
Brandon Dudley
Chief of Staff to
County Commissioner &
State Senator
I’ve worked on many reform efforts with Stephen Saloom - county, state, and nationwide. He sees the big picture, yet knows that all politics are local, whatever the jurisdiction.
I've seen him guide internal and external teams through their unique political situations to reach their goals time and time again - and become stronger advocates by while doing so.
You'll be glad to work with him.
Upcoming Events
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do the best you can."
Arthur Ashe
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