In January 2026, the Sisters of Charity Foundation began our new strategic plan, shifting our focus to systems change in three areas: economic mobility, housing security and health care. As President Donna Waites wrote at the time, “As the social and economic challenges facing our neighbors persist, our Foundation feels a moral and strategic responsibility to evolve.”
We are now halfway through the first year of the three-year plan, and we are sharing our progress. If we had to sum up this initial phase in one word, it would definitely be “learning.”
Crosscutting Strategies
We have three cross-cutting strategies that weave equity, lived experience, collaboration and learning across all aspects of our work.
As we continue to elevate these themes in our external work, we are also taking time to ensure our team is centered in these tenets. Our staff is reflecting on our own lived experiences and how they shape our worldviews. We’re using the workbook Heart: A Journey Toward Cultural Humility by Dr. James L. McKnight to guide those discussions. We have also begun our Board and staff group read of Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock, MD and will meet to discuss the book later this year.
GOAL 1: Leverage various forms of capital to support systems-level work
In philanthropy, we talk about the five forms of capital we can use to drive change: Social, Moral, Intellectual, Reputational, and Financial (or SMIRF). One of our first major lifts was reimagining our grantmaking (our Financial capital) and aligning it with the new strategic plan. We are excited to have awarded five Systems Change Grants and eight Community Engagement Grants and shared feedback with applicants that did not receive funding.
At the same time, we have been intentionally planning how to employ our other capital — our SMIR — to support systems change across South Carolina. When you see us facilitating introductions between organizations, signing a letter of support, or sharing research, that’s our SMIR at work.
GOAL 2: Advance state and local policies addressing poverty
We have been working to develop a community-informed advocacy plan that will guide how we influence policy, particularly at the state level. To help us get there, we are partnering with the experts at E3 Management. The E3M team hosted six listening sessions, talking to systems-change leaders in our three focus areas to discern where SCFSC can play a role in the advocacy landscape.
We have also been supporting other organizations’ advocacy capacity development through our Health Care Systems Change Initiative. The five organizations in the cohort met in person for the first time in May. We are thrilled to be partnering with Rozalynn Goodwin to facilitate this learning cohort, drawing on her expertise in healthcare policy and advocacy.
GOAL 3: Promote systemic solutions through narrative change and partnerships
We have been steadily shifting our communications to focus on systems change. We know that shifting the narrative is critical, allowing more individuals to recognize that poverty is a systemic issue, not an individual one. Stay tuned in 2027, when we will even more concerted effort around this goal.
GOAL 4: Maintain organizational effectiveness and continuous learning
Shifting to systems change means we have both the opportunity and responsibility to delve deeper into our focus areas. This year, we launched a Board of Trustees learning series, where we have invited national funders and other systems-change experts to speak to our Board and staff about systems-change philanthropy and what they’ve learned doing this work.
Our staff has also been diving deep into economic mobility, housing security, and health care — attending events and webinars, compiling resources, reading widely, and connecting with experts. Our goal is to ensure everyone on our team has a working knowledge of our core focus areas, with dedicated “go-to” internal experts for each topic.
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Throughout the life of our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan, we will share periodic updates in the spirit of transparency and collaboration. To stay up-to-date on everything the Foundation is doing, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
