Kinship Earth Background
Seeded by generosity.
Kinship Earth Flow Fund emerged from trusted relationships built over more than forty years. This legacy began when Marion Rockefeller Weber provided Susan Davis Moora with a flow funding grant, which Susan used in 2009 to clean up a toxic waste site in Ecuador and to support members of her KINS Innovation Networks.
In 2021, Kinship Earth was established to reinvigorate Susan’s networks and to cultivate collaboration aimed at addressing the global challenges of today. Following a comprehensive retrospective analysis, the leadership of Kinship Earth decided to make Flow Funding, and scaling up this approach to philanthropy, its primary focus (renaming the organization to Kinship Earth Flow Fund). In October 2024, Kinship Earth Flow Fund deployed its first round of Flow Funding grants, and established its inaugural Flow Funder Community of Practice.
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HISTORY OF KINS INNOVATION NETWORKS
Learn about KINS Innovation Networks founded by Susan Davis Moora. Ranging from women’s business networking, to sustainable investment circles, to solar advocacy and more, these groups of heart-centered changemakers work with the strategy of generosity.
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SUSAN DAVIS MOORA, CHAIRWOMAN EMERITUS
Susan dedicated her life to transforming the global economy from fear and greed to generosity and love. Her vision, integrity, and tireless leadership have inspired thousands.
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KINSHIP EARTH CONNECTIONS EVENT SERIES
To rekindle Susan’s network of visionary leaders and changemakers, Kinship Earth hosted a series of online engagement and networking events that featured presentations from key influencers in our community.
Our Story
The Kinship Earth Flow Fund's origins trace back to Susan Davis Moora, known as the "Godmother of Social Investing."
Over four decades ago, Susan conceived the KINS Innovation Networks and the KINS Method. KINS stands for Key Influencer Network Strategy, which Susan developed to cultivate self-organized, collaborative, and action-oriented networks of leaders who were driven to make a difference. With this model, she united industry leaders who, together, pooled their knowledge and resources to forward movements and social impact initiatives, including sustainable land use, toxic waste site cleanup, growing food organically, social investing, corporate social responsibility, the economic empowerment of women, micro-enterprise, and the adoption of solar energy.
These networks blossomed, showcasing the impact of generosity and conscious collaboration.
In the late 1980s, Susan's journey intersected with Stephen Gomes, Ph.D., who, inspired by her ethos, chose to transition from corporate endeavors to dedicating his energies to planetary regeneration and the ethos of generosity that Susan lived by.
Years later in 2021 when thinking back on the enduring value of Susan's work, Stephen proposed to Susan the idea of revitalizing the KINS Innovation Networks, and using her KINS methodology to foster collaboration amongst alumni around identifying solutions to the challenges the world faces today.
Wholeheartedly embracing this vision, Susan, her husband Walter Moora, and Stephen, breathed life into Kinship Earth with a mission to cultivate a world where generosity, interconnectedness, and reverence for nature guide our actions towards a more regenerative and equitable future for all.
Lauren Archer joined the team as Executive Director and she brought together the network’s alumni - spotlighting their impactful work as a part of a resource center of educational videos and events.
In early 2024, after reconnecting with alumni, featuring their work, and exploring the many pathways to forwarding Kinship Earth’s mission, the leadership team and board decided to embrace “Flow Funding” as its new direction and philanthropic approach.
In October 2024, Kinship Earth Flow Fund deployed its first round of Flow Funding grants, trusting grassroots change-makers to distribute the funds within their communities to make a positive impact. To foster shared learning and mutual support, the organization established its inaugural Flow Funder Community of Practice. At the conclusion of their one-year term, these Flow Funders will be invited to contribute to the selection process for the next cohort, ensuring continuity and growth of this impactful initiative. You can learn more below.
Syd Harvey Griffith was onboarded in January of 2024 as the new Executive Director, with Lauren offering support as a communications consultant. Syd is applying her experience and passion for community organizing, education, and fundraising for social justice and environmental initiatives towards honoring Susan Davis Moora and Marion Rockefeller Weber legacies, and furthering their initiatives and approaches to giving.