Giving Compass' Take:

• White foundation leaders can make a targeted effort to promote racial justice within philanthropy by advancing the work of grassroots organizations and hiring more people of color. 

• One suggestion for how to go about enhancing racial justice is funding grassroots organizing. How would that help the cause?

• Read about organizations that are successfully using a racial equity lens to go about their work. 

Since last summer, a movement has been brewing in response to the police killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and many others. People across the country have taken to the streets, demanding changes in policies that contribute to government-sanctioned violence against African- Americans and Latinos.

People of color are leading this movement, as they should be, but they shouldn’t be expected to move this agenda forward by themselves.  White people working in philanthropy are an important source of funding for nonprofits helping to organize on-the-ground efforts across the country, but it is essential that they take an active role, too.

Here are five simple steps that white leaders can take to promote racial justice:

  • Become educated about the issues. 
  • Link racial justice to your foundation’s mission.
  • Hire and promote blacks, Hispanics, and other people of color for staff and trustee positions.
  • Take a stand. 
  • Provide unrestricted long-term support to grass-roots organizing groups.

Read the full article about promoting racial justice by Aaron Dorfman at Neighborhood Funders Group