PhilanthroPunks: Why today’s philanthropy calls for an old-school DIY punk attitude

Jenny Toomey is the former director of the Ford Foundation’s Catalyst Fund, a $50 million, three-year investment to build the field of Public Interest Technology, and previously led efforts to expand access, transparency, innovation, and participation in the internet. Prior to Ford, Jenny co-founded the independent record label Simple Machines, and was a punk rock musician and composer performing on 12 albums, dozens of compilation records and singles, and a musical.

Sam Caplan is the Vice President of Social Impact at Submittable, a platform that foundations, governments, nonprofits, and other changemakers use to launch, manage, and measure impactful granting and CSR programs. Inspired by the amazing work performed by practitioners of all stripes, Sam strives to help them achieve their missions through better, more effective software.

Sam formerly served as founder of New Spark Strategy, Chief Information Officer at the Walton Family Foundation, and head of technology at the Walmart Foundation. He consults, advises, and writes on social impact technology, strategy, and innovation.

Connect with or follow Sam on Linkedin, listen to his podcast Impact Audio, and subscribe to his bi-weekly newsletter The Review.

John Mohr is the Chief Information Officer at the MacArthur Foundation. He oversees Foundation-wide technology services and planning and is responsible for developing a strong and sustainable information technology infrastructure. 

Prior to joining the MacArthur Foundation in 2012, John was the Director of Academic Systems at the University of Chicago. The 20 enterprise applications he supported serve student, academic, and campus activities. He planned initiatives across the academic and student IT areas. In previous roles at the university, John was the Director of the Web Services department where he led the redesign of the university's website. He also led the Project Management office and the implementation of the Alumni Development system. Prior to that, John led IT teams at early stage technology companies in Seattle, Washington. He was a key member of the leadership teams and had responsibility for technical operations, product development, strategic planning, and key relationships with technology partners and investors.

Before joining the Chronicle in 2013, Alex covered Congress and national politics for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He covered the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns and reported extensively about Walmart Stores for the Little Rock paper. Alex was an American Political Science Association congressional fellow and also completed Paul Miller Washington Reporting and International Reporting Project fellowships.

As VP of Influence, Aleda leads Candid’s thought leadership, strategic coalitions, and campaigns to increase Candid’s collective impact and support a stronger social sector. She directs the Influence teams, including Communications and Brand Awareness, Development, Partnerships, and Partnership Operations. In close collaboration with the CEO and executive team, Aleda is responsible for creating and executing Candid’s influence strategy, defining how Candid shows up in the world—what we say, how we say it, and who we partner with.

Aleda is passionate about making connections, solving problems, advocating for resources, and shifting power structures. She began her career in advocacy as a program assistant at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 2004, later served as sales and membership coordinator for Institutional Investor, and worked with North Star Planning and Evaluation Consultants as a researcher. Aleda joined Candid via the Foundation Center in 2013 as a development associate, and with the evolvement of her strong leadership skills, advanced to development manager, director, senior director of development, and associate vice president of development.