As we close the values blog series sharing Trellis Foundation staff reflections on our values, it’s fitting that we end where our social sector begins: collaboration.

In Kristin’s introductory post, she pointed to the etymology of the word “philanthropy: love of humanity,” and in this blog, we’d like to elevate the origin of collaboration, which is literally “to work together,” and examine how collaboration is exercised in our daily interactions at the Foundation, internally and externally.

As co-authors of this blog and fellow gardeners, we see applicable lessons from gardening that can also teach us something about collaboration.

Progress takes time. As we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our grantee partners, we know that it can take years to fully realize the impact of an intervention. We sow seeds today, knowing it will take patience and perseverance to see results.

Over the next decade, a Texas live oak could grow 20 feet, but it happens gradually. This slow but steady growth mirrors our approach to grantmaking, which is deeply rooted in our commitment to transformational change. Our support for Texas Pathways is a prime example. Five years ago, the Trellis Foundation pledged $1 million to the Texas Success Center as part of a larger effort to launch a cohesive statewide reform strategy and increase the proportion of Texas holding a postsecondary degree or credential. The initial results have been positive, but there is still work to be done. The Foundation has promised to continue supporting the next phase of the work to redesign the student experience over the next five years.

This applies to our internal collaboration as well. Over the past 18 months, our staff has doubled – growing from four to eight professionals – and we are actively co-creating our team culture, policies, and practices that manifest our core beliefs and values. We know this will take time and require changes, but we’re dedicated to intentionally creating the time and space for hard conversations. These conversations are crucial to our growth and success, and we’re committed to helping one another make connections across our team and across the field of education grantmaking.

Progress takes time, and we are inspired by how wholly our team and partners accept and engage in the opportunity to explore more broadly how we can work and learn together to advance postsecondary educational attainment and success.

Every relationship is unique. In the garden, each species has its own requirements for light, water, and nutrients to bloom and fruit. With our financial and human resources, we try to offer the specific support needed to help partners—the true experts—grow and flourish.

The “5 T’s of charitable giving” is a commonly used framework in the context of philanthropy to describe different ways people can contribute to charitable causes: Time, Talent, Treasure, Ties, and Testimony. While partners, of course, look to the Foundation for grantmaking funds (Treasure) and our approach to grantmaking prioritizes cultivating and deepening relationships (Time), we also intentionally support grantees by connecting them with each other and technical assistance (Talent) and by lifting up their successes and lessons to education stakeholders that can help move the field forward (Testimony & Ties). By approaching each collaboration thoughtfully, we aim to empower our partners and contribute to meaningful change for Texas students.

Sustainability requires stewardship. The connection between stewardship and gardening is deeply rooted in the idea of caring for and nurturing a healthy and sustainable environment.  Equally, this concept applies to collaboration in philanthropy, where inherent is the vision among various stakeholders to align strategies to tackle pressing social issues, create systems-change efforts, and deliver far more value and sustainability than one could hope to achieve by working alone.

Across Trellis Foundation, we collaboratively take on the role of responsible stewardship as a catalyst to advance our mission.  Our board provides steady, strategic agency and direction in managing the Foundation’s resources with a sense of accountability to the community we intend to serve. Our staff genuinely flex, experiment, and nurture approaches to help seed and sustain conditions we can influence as funders needed to support thriving nonprofits and communities. We stand humbly grounded as part of a larger ecosystem of partners, which motivates us to put our collective care into meaningful action.

Collaboration is at the heart of our sector and extends to the internal daily interactions of Trellis Foundation’s team: staff and board of directors. Together, we strive to put the people we are here to serve at the center of our work.

We’ll be the first to acknowledge that collaboration – whether it be with internal or external partners and collaborators – is hard, messy, imperfect, and an iterative process, but what we learned is that collaboration fosters more vibrant connectivity, creativity, and compassion, and a dedication to ensuring every student in Texas has the opportunity and tools to succeed.

Erica Villarreal Ekwurzel joined Trellis Foundation in 2023 with more than two decades in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, most recently as founder and principal of CivicAIM. This philanthropic advisory firm strengthened foundation governance, grantmaking, and social impact in Texas and beyond. She also served as a frontline fundraiser connecting resources to opportunities and a foundation program officer at an education-focused Central Texas family foundation. Erica has earned professional designations of Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) from The American College of Financial Services; 21/64 Certified Philanthropy Trainer & Facilitator; and Certified Fund Raising Executive. She also serves as the Secretary to Trellis Foundation board of directors and on the nonprofit boards of Austin Together, Austin Ed Fund, and The New Philanthropist’s Legacy Leadership Circle. Erica is a graduate of Austin College and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her master’s degree in public affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management and philanthropic studies.

Mia Ibarra joined the Trellis Foundation in 2023 with more than 14 years of experience in nonprofit, government, and philanthropic service. Before Trellis, she was an advocate and campaign manager at Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities), a statewide public policy nonprofit. Her previous higher education background includes the Udall Foundation, where she managed the competitive undergraduate Udall Scholarship program. Mia holds a bachelor’s degree from The Evergreen State College and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.