Diversity In Philanthropy

Project News: Briefing #1

Dear Diversity in Philanthropy Project Stakeholders

Thank you for your continuing interest in the work of the Diversity in Philanthropy Project (DPP)!

This note is to update you on several important developments in and around philanthropy that have taken shape since we initially launched our site in the Fall. It is also intended specifically to update you on some of our Project's important recent activities.

In fact, our sector has been engaged in an increasingly significant conversation about how best to achieve greater benefits and effectiveness through expanded diversity and inclusivity efforts.

DPP and Recent Legislative Developments

During 2007, state legislation was considered in California that would for the first time in our nation's history require foundations of various kinds with assets exceeding $250 million to report on diversity in appointments, grant making and contracting. Last week, that legislative proposal passed in the state house and is now being considered in the state senate. Comparable legislative interventions are being discussed in New York State and in the U.S. Congress.

While our work will not involve us in efforts to take a position on this growing legislative agenda, it will continue to lift up exemplary efforts in the field that draw on voluntary leadership initiatives. We will also try to provide a balanced forum for field leadership exchange (and even debate) on the merits of proposed regulatory measures related to diversity and inclusivity in philanthropy.

Emerging Field Leadership Initiatives

Even in advance of the aforementioned moves to legislate on the issues materialized, the past several years have seen the development of important voluntary initiatives of private grantmakers to address diversity and inclusivity concerns more effectively. Since 2006, in fact, our Project has assembled various important leadership groups to encourage expanded initiative, coordination and collaboration along these lines.

For example, our national advisory board of leading foundation trustees and CEOs, as well as philanthropic network executives has helped to inform various important conversations and field leadership decisions. It has also helped to shape one of the most robust exchanges on the issues ever assembled - at the 2007 Council on Foundations Annual Conference.

That historic set of conversations, which took place last May in Seattle, WA (click here for video comments and highlights) set in motion a number of important subsequent discussions and initiatives that have involved leaders of many leading regional associations of grantmakers, grantmaker support organizations and field advocacy groups. The Diversity in Philanthropy Project has sought to support all of these efforts in various ways.

Data & Research Efforts

One of the key areas in which our work has begun to shape improvement has been data and research on the relationships between diversity, effectiveness and philanthropic sector decision making. To advance consensus and action in this area, DPP has helped to assemble a blue ribbon data and research working group whose members include some of the nation's leading nonprofit sector researchers and observers. Such leaders include the principals of organizations like the Council on Foundations' Research and Inclusive Practices Departments, The Foundation Center's Research Department, the Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector Research Project, Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, ARNOVA and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. The working group is assembling to help inform long term priorities and a funding agenda for diversity-focused data and research improvements in the private grantmaking sector.

This work in turn has helped to inspire significant allied conversations including a September 2007 researcher/practitioner roundtable in Colorado Springs on Diversity in Philanthropy research and funding issues. (See The Foundation Center website: http://www.foundationcenter.org for forthcoming additional information on this important conference.) Our work in this area has also inspired several regional associations to partner at our encouragement with The Foundation Center and various university-based entities in order to increase field capacity to track and report more reliably on various aspects of foundation diversity performance. Northern California Grantmakers (http://www.ncg.org), the Council of Michigan Foundations (http://www.michiganfoundations.org) and the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (http://www.nyrag.org) are among leading entities in the field that have pursued this course of action.

Partnerships & Learning Circles

In addition to the above-referenced developments, DPP has been instrumental in forging important partnerships and encouraging learning circles in dialogue with other leading diversity in philanthropy stakeholder groups. For example, in partnership with the Council on Foundations and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, DPP has recently assembled nearly a dozen leading philanthropy anchor organizations to explore collaborative opportunities to address the issues. Participating groups in this dialogue so far have included among others the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Independent Sector, Change Action Partners, the Race & Equity Funders Group and the National Rural Funders Collaborative.

In addition, our efforts have encouraged dialogues and alliances involving other important field stakeholder groups including Philanthropy Northwest, Common Vision - a collaborative funding initiative of Funders for Lesbian & Gay Issues (see http://www.lgbtfunders.org), and the Diversity-Focused Funders Project (a consortium of leading executives of women's foundations, LGBT funds and community grantmaking organizations focused on various community of color populations).

Finally, the Council of Michigan Foundations (http://www.michiganfoundations.org) has undertaken a significant five-year diversity initiative that DPP has been commissioned to help support in its conceptualization and start up. This work will seek to advance a comprehensive set of practical and policy advancements on diversity issues drawing not only on improved field research, but also leadership learning circles and a knowledge center that will lift up and make more accessible to Michigan funders a highly targeted and vetted array of diversity promotion tools and resources. We think this substantial regional program will have tremendous influence in encouraging comparable efforts in other key regions of the national grantmaking field.

Each of these efforts involves conversations about promoting expanded field alignment in support of increased diversity and inclusivity; each also involves planning and advocacy efforts intended to support increased private foundation investments in diversity promotion as a matter of improving philanthropic effectiveness.

New Leadership Capacity

Finally, the past several months have seen other important developments that we are pleased to share with you. These include new senior staff appointments at the Council on Foundations that reflect that institution's renewed readiness to lead in this area. First, last Summer, the Council appointed Renee Branch to serve as its first ever Director of Diversity and Inclusive Practices. Then in the Fall the Council followed up with another major appointment of significance to our work when it named Kristin Lindsey to serve as its chief operating officer. Both of these women of African American heritage add significant capacity and expertise to the Council's work generally, but especially in relation to diversity and effectiveness in philanthropy concerns.