About the Civic and Community Engagement Collaborative at Philanthropy Southwest
Harness the Power of Philanthropy for Transformative Change
Philanthropy Southwest is excited to announce the launch of the next phase of the Civic and Community Engagement Collaborative in partnership with Houston Endowment. This collaborative is 100% virtual, offering 1-hour webinars throughout the year designed to equip participants with the tools, resources, and connections necessary to engage meaningfully with their communities and foster collaboration across sectors to address pressing social challenges. We hope you will join us for this important work to empower foundations and grantmakers to take on leadership roles in building stronger, more resilient communities. Please contact Brittany Huber, Senior Director of Learning, at bhuber@philanthropysouthwest.org if you have any questions.
What To Expect
Philanthropy plays a vital role in driving positive change by uniting the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The Civic & Community Engagement Collaborative (CCE) is designed to empower philanthropic organizations in the southwestern U.S. to become catalysts for transformative impact. Each webinar in the Collaborative series will feature southwest funders in dialogue with nationally recognized organizations, sharing successes, strategies, and lessons learned from their partnerships to strengthen civic engagement and bring communities together across the region.
Participation Benefits
- Education and Awareness: Learn from national and regional experts in civic and community engagement.
- Tools and Resources: Learn how to leverage the new Civic and Community Engagement Toolkit to advance your funding efforts around civic participation, social cohesion, placemaking and systems-level advocacy. Check out the full tool kit here.
- Collective Action: Work alongside PSW members and partners to advance meaningful support and investments in civic and community engagement.
Participation Information
- Cost: $0 for PSW members; $45 per session for non-members
- Modality: 100% virtual; 1 hour webinars offered through the year
2026 Sessions
August 2026
Navigating Federal Change: A Closer Look at Legal Representation and Community Response for Unaccompanied Children
Watch the Recording
April 2026
Better Together: Activating Cross-Sector Partnerships Within Your Community
Watch the Recording
February 2026
The Role of Free and Local Press
Watch the Recording
2025 Sessions
November 2025
Conversations that Build Common Ground
The Civic & Community Engagement Toolkit
Now available to PSW members
PSW members, with leadership from CoSpero Consulting and partnership from Houston Endowment, met monthly to delve into the topic of CCE among funders in our region, culminating in a new resource available to PSW members. This toolkit offers a comprehensive set of assessments, tools, and resources designed to help philanthropic organizations strengthen their civic and community engagement efforts.
Organized around four key pillars, the toolkit is tailored to meet the unique needs of diverse philanthropic entities. Whether your focus is increasing civic involvement, fostering unity, creating thriving communities, or addressing systemic issues, this toolkit will be an invaluable resource on your journey.
Explore the key pillars:
- Civic Participation: Efforts to involve more people in shaping public policies, social issues, or governance structures for the betterment of society
- Social Cohesion: Initiatives promoting communication, decision-making, leadership, and information sharing to build trust and unity.
- Place-Making: Designing a positive environment for community well-being and prosperity, especially benefiting marginalized groups.
- Systems Level Advocacy: Targeted efforts to address root causes of social issues through structural changes within institutions, policies, or practices
Check out the full tool kit here.