Small But Mighty Arts founder Erica Hawthorne-Manon on the power of nontraditional funding and the importance of support for arts leaders of color.

The Philadelphia Ecosystem Collaboration Fund's inaugural six grants are going to projects such as the creation of a Media Justice Fellowship for returning citizens and an after-school newsroom for Camden teens.

The new year starts off with philanthropic giving to support child home visit programs, kid’s literacy initiatives, services for people experiencing homelessness and more.

The grant funding will support causes such as youth tech education, childhood cancer research and reentry initiatives.

Plus, in the second edition of the column keeping tabs on philanthropic and corporate giving: Local Lyft riders donated a quarter-mil to causes through the app’s Round Up & Donate program.

In this first edition of a new column tracking philanthropic and corporate giving, read about local funds supporting college access programs, youth diversion advocacy, solar energy training and more. (There's a donated house in there, too.)

The group has gained 50 members and raised $30,000 since its February launch. There's still time to join and to apply for the inaugural grants.

Totaling $1,165,000, all grants were given to programs that improve maternal and child health, particularly for children living in poverty.

The facility would "provide more services to our young people and also, where appropriate, offer more opportunities for diversion out of the system."

The city just got another $4 million from the MacArthur Foundation to advance its criminal justice reform work, in addition to $3.6 million received in early 2016.