As foundations strive to create a more equitable world, they must not overlook the importance of disability inclusion in philanthropy. Individuals with disabilities make up about 26% of the U.S. population. Yet, they’re consistently underrepresented on foundation boards and staff. Our 2023 Foundation Operations and Management Report found that just 12% of foundations had at least one board member who identified as having a disability, and only 3% of foundations had a full-time CEO who identified as having a disability.

Disability Inclusion Strategies

As a result of this underrepresentation, few foundations have implemented any strategy to promote disability inclusion.

A mere 5% of foundations implemented any type of strategy to promote disability inclusion. The most common strategies were surveying grantees to learn about their disability inclusive work (4%) and connecting with academia focused on disability rights and justice (4%).

Disability Inclusive Philanthropy

As you work toward making your philanthropy more inclusive, keep these points in mind:

  • As philanthropists, we envision societies and communities that value and support people of all abilities and provide equal opportunities and equitable outcomes.
  • We should include people with disabilities in all aspects of society—including the programs we support with our grantmaking.
  • Disability inclusive grantmaking respects the diversity that disability brings and appreciates that it is an everyday part of the human experience.

Adding a disability lens to your grantmaking can enhance the good work you already do.

6 Steps To Build a More Inclusive Workplace

So, what can foundations do to promote disability inclusion?

Keri Gray, a disability inclusion advocate and consultant, and the speaker in our upcoming disability inclusion workshops, highlights six steps employers can take to build a more inclusive workplace:

  1. Include disability in your diversity statements.
  2. Have a basic plan for employee accommodation requests.
  3. Add a note on your career site that explains how potential employees can request accommodations for an interview or the application process.
  4. Stories are powerful. Encourage colleagues to share their experiences with disability and ableism.
  5. Set a goal for growing your company’s disability engagement.
  6. Build partnerships with disability-led organizations.

Read the full article about disability inclusion in philanthropy by Afia Amobeaa-Sakyi and Brendan McCormick at Exponent Philanthropy.