Giving Compass' Take:

• Afia Amobeaa-Sakyi and Brendan McCormick describe why focusing on racial equity is essential for foundations to accomplish their goals.

• Why is focusing on racial equity even in question for foundations? How are you focusing on racial equity in your grantmaking?

• Learn more about what it means to focus on racial equity in the philanthropic sector.

Exponent Philanthropy is on a journey to understand, embrace, and champion equity, and we are embedding it in our programmatic and research efforts. Much of our 2020 Foundation Operations and Management Report centered around exploring how racial equity relates to good grantmaking and governance practices.

We asked foundations to rate the relevance of racial equity to their mission, and more than a third (34%) said it was “very relevant.”

Interestingly, foundations with at least two people of color on their boards and foundations with all female or nonbinary board members considered racial equity significantly more relevant to their foundation mission than did boards without. Foundations with all white or all male boards can still engage in racial equity work, but bringing more diverse perspectives onto the board is the best way for a foundation to advance conversations around racial equity, and make the work more central to their mission.

The foundations rating racial equity “very relevant” to their mission were more likely to carry out each of the grantmaking practices above as compared to foundations rating it “not relevant” or “somewhat relevant.”

Though philanthropy is still dominated by people who identify as white, an important lesson to keep in mind here is that those who are engaging in racial equity work and working to bring more diverse perspectives into the field are the foundations more likely to be engaging in other types of philanthropic best practices.

As the philanthropic sector aims to build trust, strengthen relationships, and address the systemic power imbalances in our society, trusting nonprofits and the people they serve is crucial. Regardless of a foundation’s funding priorities, it can make the world a more equitable place for all of us.

Read the full article about focusing on racial equity by Afia Amobeaa-Sakyi and Brendan McCormick at Exponent Philanthropy.