Giving Compass' Take:

• This 360 Magazine article profiles RespectAbility founder Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, who puts organizations on the spot if they fall short on equality for people with disabilities.

• How can we do more to uphold the civil rights of this forgotten minority? 

• Here's how we can help those with disabilities access the outdoors on college campuses.

A microphone in Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi’s hands is a powerful weapon. At venues across the country, Mizrahi has used her strong, clear voice to ask foundation leaders variations of one simple question: Why aren’t people with disabilities included?

As large foundations have placed more muscle behind programs that promote equity in terms of race, wealth, gender identity, and sexual orientation, Mizrahi believes people with disabilities have been overlooked.

During question-and-answer sessions at major foundation gatherings, she is the first with her hand up, ready to put foundation leaders on the spot. Why isn’t a foundation’s website accessible to the blind? she’ll ask. Or why isn’t data on disabled voters included on a conference speaker’s chart of voting patterns among residents of rural areas, African-Americans, and young people?

The reason for the neglect, she says, is that disability groups have too often come to foundations looking for charity. That strategy is rooted in the idea that donors should take pity on people who are blind, have dwarfism, or are intellectually challenged, she says, rather than treating discrimination against them as a violation of their civil rights.

Read the full article about giving a voice for people with disabilities by Alex Daniels at 360 Magazine.