About Us
Our Approach
Our grantmaking philosophy is supported by five grant-making pillars we’ve honed over the past 15 years. Together, they open a new approach to philanthropy that works more effectively for nonprofits and donors alike.
Listen First
Nonprofit leaders are experts in their fields and have a unique understanding of the communities they serve. Give them the tools they’re asking for and their organizations will flourish.
Focus on Capacity
An effective nonprofit is more than its programs. Help them grow stronger from the inside to accomplish their mission with an internal structure that will make an impact well into the future.
Long-Term Grants Only
Innovation takes time. Remain committed to funding a nonprofit’s grants for multiple years so that a process can be built and perfected with enough time to tackle new challenges.
Commit to a Community
Focus on one community at a time by listening to their cross-generational challenges. Then approach solutions from different angles to create a web of thriving services.
Collaborative Cohorts
Nonprofits have wisdom to share. Find nonprofits with mutually supporting missions and have them meet regularly to present grant proposals to one another for tangible feedback.
Our Mission
Magic Cabinet champions communities’ work by partnering with nonprofits and other philanthropists to achieve the nonprofits’ missions. We do this by providing long-term capacity-building grants, access to peer networks, and advocating for the broader adoption of collaborative, trust-based philanthropic practice.
Our Vision
In this piece, Magic Cabinet CEO Christina Engel shares how philanthropy can shift away from hierarchal giving models toward more innovative and responsive funding grounded in community insights and priorities.
As our first Magic Cabinet cohorts adjourn after five years together, cohort members share lessons learned, surprising moments, capacity-building projects, and what's on the horizon for their organizations.
Amber Banks of Decolonizing Wealth Project shares insight on the organization's reparative philanthropy model and recent expansion into the Global South.