This year at the Maddox Fund, I’ve found myself returning to an image offered by futurist and pathfinder Mia Birdsong: seeds planted in toxic soil. What does it mean to cultivate hope when the ground beneath us feels depleted, stripped by years of systemic injustice, environmental degradation, and philanthropic practices that too often extract more than they restore?
What we have learned again and again from our grantee partners is this: in even the most desolate landscapes, healing is possible. Like native plants that remediate poisoned ground, our partners are doing the slow, steady work of restoration. They are transforming harmful conditions into ecosystems where justice can take root and hope can grow.
In a philanthropic landscape marked by volatility, scarcity, and shifting priorities, we chose a different path. This year, the Grant Committee made the intentional decision not to consider new proposals. Instead, we deepened our investment in the organizations already in partnership with us. In an unstable environment for nonprofits, we saw this as a practice of sustainability—a way of nourishing the roots rather than constantly seeking new growth. This is what trust looks like in practice.
Our North Stars, guiding us toward a world in which people and planet flourish together in regenerative systems free from oppression and threat, remained at the center of every discussion. Our funding areas of youth and the natural environment also held steady. And in the spirit of transparency, we continue to make five years of past grantmaking decisions available on our website.
We believe transparency is a necessary condition for cultivating authentic relationships. So that data can become knowledge that transforms our actions, we offer this analysis of our 2025 grants to date:
At Maddox, we believe that liberation is only as permanent as our practice. We are committed to continuing the internal work required to ensure that equity, justice, and liberation are not just values we name but truths we live.
As we look to the horizon, we’re excited to announce that we will release a refreshed Request for Proposals (RFP) in the first quarter of 2026. This new RFP will reflect lessons learned from our current partners, emerging needs in the field, and our refined grantmaking priorities. What will not change is our unwavering commitment to our North Stars and to the communities who inspire us every day with their courage and creativity.
To our partners: thank you for being the ones who transform poisoned soil into sacred ground. Thank you for teaching us what it means to hold fast to hope.
Let us keep planting, even when the ground feels unsteady.
Jen Bailey is the Executive Director of the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund, bringing her deep experience in community-based leadership, philanthropy, and movement-building to the organization.
Jen is the Founder of Faith Matters Network, a national Womanist-led organization accompanying spiritually-grounded leaders on their journey to heal themselves and their communities. Since its inception, Faith Matters Network has served over 25,000 leaders through its programs and initiatives. She is Co-Founder of The People’s Supper, a global initiative that has hosted over 2,000 gatherings in 135 communities to foster conversation and collective healing across lines of difference.
Committed to advancing social change through philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, Jen serves on the boards of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Fetzer Institute, and The Healing Trust, where she is the Board Chair.
An Ashoka Fellow, New Pluralist Field Builder, Aspen Ideas Scholar, On Being Fellow, and Truman Scholar, Jen holds degrees from Tufts University and Vanderbilt University Divinity School, where she was awarded the Wilbur F. Tillett Prize for accomplishments in the study of theology. Her work has been featured by On Being with Krista Tippett, CBS This Morning, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more. She is also the author of To My Beloveds: Letters on Faith, Race, Loss, and Radical Hope (Chalice Press, 2021).
