As 2024 comes to a close, I reflect on a year of joyful endings and new beginnings. This year, we said farewell to our first Magic Cabinet cohort members, welcomed nine fiscally-sponsored organizations to three new cohorts, and expanded our grantmaking to support Native communities.
In 2024, we also embarked on a strategic planning process to determine the priorities that will shape our work in the years ahead. We’re excited to continue refining our grantmaking approach and engaging with aligned funders to shift philanthropy toward community-driven solutions.
Although much has changed, our focus remains the same: we’re reshaping the philanthropic sector, so nonprofits are better positioned to serve their communities. Now, more than ever, it’s vital that we focus our energy and resources where they can make the most impact. For Magic Cabinet, this means doubling down on our grantmaking and leveraging our learnings through new collaborative philanthropic practices.
Past, present, and future, we’re committed to meeting the moment and ceding power where it belongs—in the hands of leaders who know their communities best.
Warm gratitude,
Christina Engel
CEO, Magic Cabinet
Magic Cabinet in the News
#ICYMI – Check out these highlights from our year, including a podcast, a news feature, and a new partnership.
Grantmaking at a Glance
Magic Cabinet’s grantmaking has increased significantly since our inception, growing 10% year over year in the number of grants awarded, with a 6% increase in amounts awarded year over year. In 2024, we also expanded our grantmaking to include two new partnerships and our first fiscally-sponsored cohorts. The charts below offer a snapshot of our grantmaking this year, including our partnerships with Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, Decolonizing Wealth, Liga de Ciudades de Puerto Rico, Sembrando Sentido, and Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat (Ecosistema).
Explore the capacity-building journey of Magic Cabinet’s Cohorts. Visit each Cohort’s unique page to learn more about the impact of their innovative projects.
New Horizons: Reflecting on Five Years in a Magic Cabinet Cohort
As our first Magic Cabinet cohorts adjourned this year, we asked the leaders of each nonprofit to reflect on their experience and what’s to come for their organizations.
At Magic Cabinet, we envision a philanthropic sector that generously invests in nonprofits to better serve their communities. For us, this means fostering mutual trust and centering community wisdom so our partners can focus on achieving their mission their way. Below, we highlight a few transformative stories from our cohorts this year.
Connecting with Our Community
Celebrations were in order this year as we adjourned our first cohorts in the Bay Area and welcomed our first fiscally sponsored cohorts in the Puget Sound. We also took our model on the road, connecting with nonprofits and funders at conferences including Philanthropy Northwest, Filantropía Puerto Rico, and Native Americans in Philanthropy and through partnerships with Northern California Grantmakers, Solano Community Foundation, and Communities of Opportunity.
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