Giving Compass' Take:
- The Zarrow Foundations spearheading a grantmaking response that addresses systemic racism by first granting total authority over funds to local BIPOC leaders and community members.
- How is the decision to shift authority critical in order to advance power-sharing in philanthropy? Where are there opportunities for you to share power in your giving?
- Read more about giving effectively in the fight against systemic racism.
What is Giving Compass?
We connect donors to learning resources and ways to support community-led solutions. Learn more about us.
The Trustees of the Zarrow Families Foundation have decided to commit the funds of the joint family foundation to positively impact Black Tulsans, Indigenous Persons, and People of Color. The Zarrow Families Foundation will now conduct its grantmaking through The Commemoration Fund, to honor the memory of the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. This new effort will be dedicated to, and overseen entirely by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
What is commonly referred to as “The Zarrow Foundations” is actually three foundations in Tulsa, Oklahoma - The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation, the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Family Foundation, and the Zarrow Families Foundation. The Zarrow Families Foundation was originally established as a corporate charitable giving vehicle that evolved into a fund where brothers Henry and Jack Zarrow could do collaborative grantmaking outside their well-known individual family foundations. Though these foundations have never identified as being in the business of antiracist grantmaking, they have a legacy of making brave decisions with their philanthropy.
The Commemoration Fund will provide approximately 5-7 years of support, likely totaling around $6 million. This summer, foundation staff are working with the Commemoration Fund Advisory Board to create a grantmaking process that is autonomous. Grant guidelines and qualifications for application will be determined by the Advisory Board. The first year of grantmaking will occur in 2021 to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
The important decision here is not to initiate grants for the cause, but to grant authority over those funds directly to Black Tulsans, Indigenous Persons, and People of Color. Because the makeup of the Foundation leadership is White, we understood the need to transform the decision-making process to be more equitable and come from members who best know the communities that the Commemoration Fund is meant to serve.
Read the full article about grantmaking response to systemic racism by Bill Major at Funders Together to End Homelessness.