Dear John,
How will philanthropy respond?
That is the question everyone asks me â in response to the racial equality protests, the pandemic, the recession, and so much more that affects every foundation and nonprofit across the country.
Weâre keeping a close eye on the answers, including news we posted this morning that the Ford Foundation recruited a group of grant makers to make an unprecedented move to borrow more than $1 billion so they can increase the amount they distribute to nonprofits over the next two years.
As we put the spotlight on the work organizations are undertaking in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other Black Americans at the hands of police, I want to be sure you have easy access to some coverage that can provide useful insights:
- Sharon Bush, head of Grand Victoria Foundation, wrote one of many opinion articles we have published in recent days on philanthropy and race. Sharon outlines how white leaders can be true advocates for change, and is candid about what is not helpful now. We first met Sharon when Jim Rendon wrote about her and the more than 20 women of color who head philanthropies in the Chicago metropolitan area. How those foundations achieved leadership diversity is worth re-reading today.
- Alex Daniels wrote yesterday about the surge in interest from donors as the Movement for Black Lives seeks to raise $50 million and about the more than 60 Black foundation executives who issued an agenda for how they hoped all of philanthropy would join forces to do all they can to transform the lives of Black Americans.
- Eden Stiffman interviewed Kerrien Suarez, executive director of Equity in the Center, a group that trains nonprofits on diversity and inclusion, who said the real test for nonprofits and foundations was not putting out statements but what comes now: What will they do to make Black employees feel as valued as white workers?
- Leslie Lenkowsky and Suzanne Garment, two scholars of philanthropy, suggest the well-meaning but failed response to 1960s civil unrest by foundations and nonprofits offers important lessons for how to succeed today.
And in our resource center, we have several collections of articles, including:
How Foundations Can Foster Diversity and Inclusion
How to Build a Diverse Nonprofit Staff
How to Diversify Your Nonprofit's Board
Navigating Economic Diversity in the Nonprofit World
Weâre also continuing to assemble data that makes clear whether progress has been made â or not. Weâll be updating a study we did last summer of the race and gender of the leaders of Americaâs biggest nonprofits and foundations. And weâre looking carefully at who we quote in our news and opinion pages â data we will soon release to the public and use to measure our own progress every year in diversifying the voices that appear in the Chronicle and in our webinars and forums.
Also coming soon: a free forum where youâll hear directly from co-founders of the Donors of Color Network and the former head of the Food Bank of New York City so you can get better insights on where nonprofits fall short in recruiting a diverse pool of donors. Ahead of that session, catch up on the cover story that featured them.
We hope youâll let us know what other tools, insights, data, and articles would help you most as you ask yourself: how should philanthropy respond?
Stay strong, and thank you for all the work you do every day to make society better.
Stacy Palmer
Editor
Chronicle of Philanthropy
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