EDGE Funders Alliance have appointed Sofia Arroyo Martin Del Campo and Arianne Shaffer as Co-Executive Directors to replace Mark Randazzo who will be retiring at the end of the July.

Sofia has been involved with philanthropy since 2007 when she joined Sacred Fire Foundation, first as Director of Grants and Partners, then as Communications Director and later as Executive Director. A first-generation alumni of EDGE’s Global Engagement Lab (GEL) and member of the North America Steering Committee, Sofia also serves as a Steering Committee member at Kindle Project and as a Board member for the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples.

Arianne, based in Toronto, has been leading the GEL since its inception, which she helped to create and shepherd while also leading the Indie Philanthropy Initiative (IPI). Her passion for philanthropy comes from a long line of justice-oriented work from interfaith dialogue to documentary filmmaking. Outside of her work at EDGE, Arianne will continue to head up the IPI and lead Flow Funding cohorts at Kindle Project where she previously served as the Program Director.

‘I have worked closely with Arianne and Sofia for several years, and I know they will be bringing to the Alliance new ideas and perspectives that we so much need in order to move philanthropy towards a more progressive and consistent edge,’ said board member Nicolas Krausz, program officer at the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation. ‘This transition will also have a positive impact across EDGE, including in Europe, as it will strengthen Tobias’ leadership of EDGE Europe. The European members will benefit from a fully committed colleague who has made our development possible and who will focus on the next strategic steps in this critical period for philanthropy in Europe.’

We are immensely excited by the new possibilities for EDGE under Sofia and Arianne’s leadership. Not only do they bring EDGE into deeper relationships with important movements and shifts in philanthropy, but they also will push EDGE to step into the human values that need to be centered in our work. Their vision for collaborative work – with Tobias Troll’s leadership in Europe, Martina Fin responsible for communications, and Samantha Harvey stewarding our funder organizing in the US – puts EDGE in a strong position for the future.

‘In a group of very strong candidates, Sofia and Arianne delighted the committee with a combination of experience, unique skills, and a vision for EDGE as community and organization,’ Martin Modlinger, Executive Director of the Renewable Freedom Foundation, member of the European Steering Group and hiring committee member, shared, ‘Their commitment to openness, diversity, and transformation, to the hard work of shaping and shifting philanthropy for systemic change, and to a politics of care and inclusion will greatly benefit EDGE and its members and foster the change we urgently need in this sector.’

Outgoing Executive Director Mark Randazzo said: ‘I am thrilled at this appointment! Sofia and Arianne bring enormous and complementary sets of skills, knowledge, and relationships to our work. They know EDGE intimately, and are committed to our mission: both have been core members of our network as leaders of philanthropic organizations and have worked closely with us as consultants and allies as well. They come with extensive and meaningful relationships forged over the years not only with donors, foundations, and allied funder networks, but also with social movement leaders and organizers in different parts of the world. They bring perspectives and experiences as younger (than me!) women of color, from outside the US, which will enrich our understanding of the collective challenges and opportunities we face.’