Giving Compass' Take:
- At FeedbackLabs, Satonya Fair digs into why crises hit harder for nonprofits led by women or centered around serving non-White communities.
- How can we work harder to meet the needs of nonprofits serving historically marginalized communities? What are you doing to hold yourself accountable in prioritizing diversity and equity in your giving?
- Read about how you can follow the lead of Black women-led organizations in the face of crisis.
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The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s latest research report, Persevering Through Crisis: The State of Nonprofits, provides further evidence of the devastating impact of 2020 on nonprofits — and how the crises of the past year hit some nonprofits much harder than others. While many nonprofits reported that their foundation funders were flexible, responsive, and communicative, this was not the experience for a great number of nonprofits that are led by women, that serve certain marginalized communities, and organizations for which both are true.
Consider these findings:
- Compared to organizations led by men, woman-led nonprofits (68 percent of survey respondents) were less likely to hear from their foundation funders about future funding or allowing the goals of their existing grants to shift.
- Among nonprofits who primarily serve Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, or Native American communities, most reported that no foundations provided new funding in 2020.
- Moreover, compared to organizations that do not serve those four communities, these nonprofits report that fewer foundations lifted up the individual voices of their organization – or the people and communities they serve – to inform public discourse.
As a woman leading an organization in a field where the majority of organizations are also led by women, it feels devastating and defeating to read those findings. Why isn’t philanthropy showing up fully and equitably to meet the profound needs of nonprofits – needs which have never been more acute?
For PEAK, a nonprofit and philanthropy-supporting organization centered on equity, we found the challenges of racial unrest, pandemic politicization, and a never-more-contentious election season as overwhelming as the pandemic’s health and economic impacts. Amidst all this, our membership community of 6,000 grants professionals needed solutions – true support for the work of swiftly and equitably delivering responsive, flexible resources to nonprofits facing urgent demands.
Read the full article about why crises hit harder for foundations centered around equity by Satonya Fair at FeedbackLabs.