Racial Equity Resources for Philanthropy - The Philanthropic Initiative

In this moment, when the centuries-long work for racial equity is center stage, the challenges and opportunities for philanthropy are immense. As individuals and as a society, there is much we need to do. The urgency to come together to demand equity in every thread of the fabric of our society has perhaps never been stronger. We created this resource center to share a variety of resources, tools, articles, thought pieces, and more to help funders on this journey.

But first, what are we talking about? We found this Racial Equity Tools Glossary to be a helpful place to start. Words matter, especially in this context. According to Racial Equity Tools, “Words and their multiple uses reflect the tremendous diversity that characterizes our society. Indeed, universally agreed upon language on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding, particularly when using the most common terms. In this way, the quality of dialogue and discourse on race can be enhanced.”

There are many valuable resources to help funders support and accelerate efforts to create a more just and equitable society. We hope the tools, guides, resources, and more listed below will be helpful to individual donors, families, foundations, companies, and others in the field of philanthropy. We know this list is not exhaustive and will continue to expand. If you know of other resources that we should consider adding to this page, please contact Jennifer Montone.

Resource Hubs

A Call to Funders to Fund the Struggle Against Anti-Black Racism (Funders for LGBTQ Issues)
Anti-Racism Resource Guide (Tasha K)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: resources intended to provide guidance on incorporating a DEI focus into your programming and teams (Lever for Change)
Equity in Philanthropy: a website intended to serve as a platform to share resources related to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in grantmaking practice and in philanthropy more broadly
Equity and Racial Justice Philanthropy Resources (Arabella Advisors)
List of recommended resources for supporting the Black Lives Matter movement (Lecture in Progress)
Putting Racism on the Table: a learning and action series for philanthropy (Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers)
Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: resources for advancing equity within your organization and through the grants you make (National Center for Family Philanthropy)
Racial Equity Resource Guide: a comprehensive and interactive racial equity resource guide that includes practical resources including articles, organizations, research, books, media strategies, and training curricula aimed at helping organizations and individuals working to achieve racial healing and equity in their communities (W.K. Kellogg Foundation)

Articles, Blogs & Opinion Pieces

America’s ‘Two Deadly Viruses’–Racism And Covid-19—Go Viral Among Outraged Twitter Users by Lisette Voytko (Forbes)
A Call for Creative Catalytic Philanthropy (Exponent Philanthropy)
COVID-19, Racism, and Philanthropy by David Maurrasse (Grantcraft by Candid)
The Curb-Cut Effect, by Angela Glover Blackwell (SSIR)
Dear Philanthropy: These Are the Fires of Anti-Black Racism by Will Cordery (NPQ)
Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance by Edgar Villanueva
Eliminating Implicit Bias in Grantmaking Practice (National Center for Family Philanthropy)
Have nonprofit and philanthropy become the “white moderate” that Dr. King warned us about? by Vu Le (Nonprofit AF)
How Philanthropy Can Help Achieve Racial Justice: a conversation with Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, by Jasmine Aguilera (TIME 100 Talks series)
It Should Appall Us That Equity Is A New Framework For Leadership. But It Is. by Katya Fels Smyth (Forbes)
Overcoming the Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding, by Cheryl Dorsey, Peter Kim, Cora Daniels, Lyell Sakaue, and Britt Savage (SSIR)
Philanthropists Bench Women of Color, the M.V.P.s of Social Change by Vanessa Daniel (The New York Times)
The Racial Funding Gap Can’t Continue in the Pandemic, by Cheryl Dorsey, Jeff Bradach, and Peter Kim (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Seeing and Naming Racism in Nonprofit and Public Organizations (Laurin Mayeno Consulting)
Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Matter (Independent Sector)
You Can’t Fund Equity Without Sweat Equity, by the Quixote Foundation (National Center for Family Philanthropy)
You do not need to be Black to know that Black Lives Matter (The Communications Network)

Guides, Reports & Tools

A Checklist of Potential Actions: Incorporating DEI in Your Grant-Making Process (Equity in Philanthropy)
Advancing the Mission: Tools for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (The Annie E. Casey Foundation)
Catalytic Change: Lessons Learned from the Racial Justice Grantmaking Assessment, by Lori Villarosa, Maggie Potapchuk, Rinku Sen, and Soya Jung (Issuelab by Candid)
Choir Book: A Framework for Social Justice Philanthropy: a guide to support funders and philanthropic organizations in aligning grantmaking practices with social justice values (Justice Funders)
Divest/Invest: this website is a toolkit for grantmakers, donors, and funder affinity groups, to help funders in confronting mass criminalization (Funders for Justice)
From Words to Action: A Practical Philanthropic Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (GrantCraft)
Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide, by Rinku Sen and Lori Villarosa (Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity)
Implicit Bias and Native Americans: Philanthropy’s Hidden Minority by Crystal Echo Hawk (National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy)
Racial Equity and Philanthropy: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table, by Cheryl Dorsey, Jeff Bradach, and Peter Kim (The Bridgespan Group)
Vision and Voice: The Role of Leadership and Dialogue in Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Philanthropy Northwest)

Funder Networks & Organizations to Follow

ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities: ABFE is a membership-based philanthropic organization that advocates for responsive and transformative investments in Black communities. Partnering with foundations, nonprofits and individuals, ABFE provides its members with professional development and technical assistance resources that further the philanthropic sector’s connection and responsiveness to issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.
CHANGE Philanthropy: CHANGE Philanthropy (formerly known as Joint Affinity Groups) was founded in 1993 to unify identity-focused philanthropic affinity groups into an empowered coalition. CHANGE Philanthropy’s seven core partners are working to integrate diversity, inclusion, and social justice into philanthropic practice, transforming the sector’s culture to be one that embraces equity.
D5: In 2007, 50 foundations and allied leaders began the Diversity in Philanthropy Project (DPP), a time-limited campaign to expand diversity in the field. D5 was the culmination of this effort. D5 was a five-year coalition to advance philanthropy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. As our constituencies become increasingly diverse, we need to understand and reflect their rich variety of perspectives in order to achieve greater impact.
Funders for Justice: A national network of funders increasing resources to grassroots organizations addressing the intersection of racial justice, gender justice, community safety, and policing.
Funders for LGBTQ Issues: A network of more than 75 foundations, corporations, and funding institutions that collectively award more than $1 billion annually, including approximately $100 million specifically devoted to LGBTQ issues.
Justice Funders: Justice Funders is the home of Bay Area Justice Funders Network while also 1) offering professional and leadership development programs, 2) providing coaching and consulting for organizational transformation; and 3) designing, piloting and scaling innovative collaborations that advance social justice movements. By engaging in these multiple areas of programming, Justice Funders is ushering a Just Transition within the field of philanthropy to take a proactive role in building the world we need.
Neighborhood Funders Group: A network of national and local grantmakers throughout the U.S. that brings together funders to learn, connect, and mobilize resources with an intersectional and place-based focus.
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE): PRE aims to increase the amount and effectiveness of resources aimed at combating institutional and structural racism in communities through capacity building, education, and convening of grantmakers and grantseekers.
Racial Equity in Philanthropy Fund: a collaborative effort of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation and builds on each institution’s efforts in the philanthropic sector (Borealis Philanthropy)