A Multigenerational Story: Opening a Door, Walking Through Together
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Grace & Tony Stayner
This story is part of the Architects of Impact series, highlighting stories of innovation that demonstrate how our Community is mobilizing to ensure a world that works for all people and the planet.
“Lean into what sparks curiosity, even if something is confusing and you don’t have the experience—just lean into it.” – Grace Stayner
When Tony Stayner first joined Forward Global in 2013, he was looking for community—smart, grounded peers who cared about impact and could help him move from solo grantmaking to more strategic, collective action.
Tony is driven by what makes sense. From climate solutions to water and sanitation, he is taking on some of the world’s biggest challenges. Leading the Excelsior Foundation and on the board of Water.org, Tony works in the space beyond traditional giving. It just wasn’t easy to find others with an appetite for such ambitious work—and the risk.
At Forward Global, he found all of that and more. “It’s great to be able to think with a group of people who are grounded in best practices and understand the world, and share leads and approaches,” he says.
What Tony didn’t expect was that, just a few years later, his daughter Grace would walk through the same door and start shaping a philanthropic path uniquely her own.
“A lot of parents want to see their kids get involved,” Tony says. “But the reality is, this is a really busy time in their lives—they’re trying to find their place in the world, deep in their careers. We just tried to open the door, talk about it, and when the time came, Grace engaged.”
Grace, now finishing her MBA at Stanford University and preparing to join a private equity firm, recalls feeling overwhelmed at the outset. She was new to philanthropy and had grown up with an idea of who a “philanthropist” was—and she didn’t feel like she fit in yet. “I knew this work mattered, but I felt unequipped. Where do you even start with giving? Who do you talk to?” It was Forward Global’s culture of candor and curiosity that pulled her in.
“To be part of the community, you don’t need to know anything. You just need to bring energy—and people will help you turn it into something amazing,” she says.
Her entry point to Forward Global was our Family Table program, where she and Tony could explore family dynamics in a virtual room with others navigating family dynamics in philanthropy. At first, Grace felt vulnerable. She hadn’t thought about what her legacy as a funder would be—let alone what first steps she would take in social impact work. But with time and perseverance, she found her place with our Community.
“If you ask those questions early and go to enough gatherings, you get comfortable with those big questions,” she says. “No one else is asking those questions of us; I never even asked myself. Everyone is so candid and open about failures, and I feel a sense of 100% trust and safety.”
What sealed the deal for Grace was going on a Forward Global Journey to Brazil with Tony—part travel, part deep-dive into impact, all alongside local leaders. “I thought, why not go to Brazil with my dad and see what this is all about?” she says. “What sold me wasn’t just the trip—it was the dinner table conversations, seeing how other families think about governance, values, action. It all started to click.”
That trip catalyzed a series of shared yet independent experiences. In Brazil, Grace felt called to support trans leadership in gender equity work after meeting a group of local advocates. Tony gravitated toward conservation efforts led by Indigenous youth. They collaborated on some grants, debated others, and respected where their interests diverged. Together, they invested in Amazonia Impact Ventures—something they traced directly to their time in the rainforest. “It was incredibly collaborative,” says Tony. “There’s a freshness in Grace’s perspective. I’ve learned from her as much as she’s learned from me.”
Grace’s first significant grant was made to Fundo Agbara in Brazil, an NGO whose mission is “to fight for human dignity, racial and gender equality by fostering access to economic rights to all black women in Brazil.” She made it through a DAF her dad seeded but left entirely up to her to steward. “You’re sitting there with a bunch of experts,” she says, “talking about what amount unlocks what impact, and how people think about giving. I’d only ever given $100 a year to the Humane Society. This was the first time I could ask questions and learn in a safe space.”
Following another climate-focused Global Journey together to Madagascar in 2024, the Stayners made a grant to INDRI, which hosts a digital platform that connects stakeholders involved in environmental protection, reforestation, and sustainable development.
Today, Grace is preparing to launch a career in finance with impact at the core. Her dream is to start her own impact fund, bringing her financial training and Forward Global lens into the investing world. “I want this to be part of my work now,” she says.
Meanwhile, Tony continues to evolve his own approach through the Excelsior Impact Fund, which supports high-impact, low-return investments focused on climate resilience, water infrastructure, and catalytic models like development impact bonds. “Perfect can’t be the enemy of good,” he says. “I’m always trying to up the game—find the next innovation, the next bold bet.”
For both Stayners, the work is deeply personal—but never solitary. “It’s the people,” Tony says. “There’s a fun, warm, human feeling at every [Forward Global] event. People who care, who want to solve problems.”
Grace says, “My dad taught me that there are always people around. This is a community where people will help you turn ideas into something amazing.”
“And it’s a total bonus to get to do it with Grace,” says Tony.
