Links

• State of the Work 2013
  Published by the D5 Coalition, May 2013
  D5's latest State of the Work report features lessons learned from executives at the American Express Foundation, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and others; draws on the successes and challenges of philanthropic leaders to create a more diverse sector in 2012; and offers actions to inspire leaders to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2013.
• D5
  D5 is a five-year coalition of 18 infrastructure organizations (with connections to thousands of grantmakers) who have come together to grow philanthropy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion. The D5 homepage includes information about the coalition partners, a Q&A with the D5 Leadership Team, a timeline of the coalition's goals over the next 5 years, and practical tools and resources.
• Population-Focused Funds Directory
  Population-focused funds are giving vehicles that are created, led, and supported by members of a racial, ethnic, or cultural community to address critical issues within that community. This directory (a work-in-progress) is a step in the D5 Coalition’s effort to raise the visibility of diverse donors and population-focused funds from around the United States.
• CMF: Transforming MI Philanthropy Through Diversity and Inclusion
  The Council of Michigan Foundations' six-year initiative (2008-2013) is designed to increase the effectiveness of organized philanthropy in Michigan.
• Council on Foundations: Diversity & Inclusive Practices
  CoF's dedicated webpage for diversity initiatives, including its recently published report on how foundations choose their leaders and what those leaders say about the process.
• Frameworks & Approaches, Understanding Racial Inequities in Policies, Programs & Grantmaking [PDF]
  This diagram is one of the tools in Funders for LGBTQ Issues' Racial Equity Online Toolkit. It compares four frameworks that can be used when attempting to explore and understand racial disparities and inequities.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The RBF Diversity Statement
  The Rockefeller Brothers Fund's official statement on its practices and policies regarding diversity.
• Forty Years of LGBTQ Philanthropy: 1970-2010
  Published by Funders for LGBTQ Issues, January 2012
  PDF, 1.17 MB
  Published on the occasion of Funders for LGBTQ Issues' 30th anniversary, this report documents the first 40 years of U.S. foundation support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities. Among the report's findings: in total, 799 U.S. foundations have invested more than $771 million and nearly 36,000 grants in LGBTQ issues from 1970 to 2010, with the Arcus Foundation as the largest single foundation donor by dollar amount (the Ford and Tides foundations are also in the top ten).
• Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy by and for Communities of Color
  Published by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, with support from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, January 2012
  This report explores current shifts within the philanthropic sector, with some of the most significant growth stemming from identity-based philanthropy—a growing movement to spark philanthropic giving from a community on behalf of a community, where “community” is defined by race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. It showcases key learnings, best practices, and successful models to promote and enhance philanthropy and giving among communities of color, and also reveals how communities of color have intensified their charitable giving.
• Foundation Funding for Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and for Latin America
  Published by the Foundation Center and Hispanics in Philanthropy,
  December 2011
  PDF, 2.4 MB
  According to this report, which documents trends in giving based on grants awarded by over 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations, over the past decade, U.S. foundation support benefiting Hispanics and Latinos has held steady, comprising about one percent of total foundation funding, even as the Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown significantly over the same period.
• The Diversity of Grantmaking: Learning from our Grantees
  July 13, 2011
  Hope A. Lyons, Director of Grants Management for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, shares details about RBF's year-long pilot project to gather data on diversity, equity, and inclusion in their grantmaking.
• Foundation defends structural racism initiative
  Source: The St. Louis American, May 12, 2011
  Recently, leaders of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation were faced with accusations that their $75 million initiative to address structural racism in America was unnecessary. They answered their critics during a forum on race and racism hosted by the Hudson Institute.
• Foundation Funding for Native American Issues and Peoples
  Published by the Foundation Center, April 2011
  PDF, 2.3 MB
  According to this report from Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) and the Foundation Center, over the past decade U.S. foundation support explicitly benefiting Native Americans declined from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of total foundation giving, and total grant dollars targeting Native Americans dropped 30.8 percent in the latest year, compared to a 12.4 percent overall downturn in foundation giving.
• Diversity & Inclusion Action Kit
  Published by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, April 2011
  PDF, 1 MB
  The 2011 Action Kit, designed around the Diversity Framework, MCF's groundbreaking guidelines that frame the discussion of grantmakers' diversity practices around the four roles they play in a civil society, is intended to help foundations identify what steps they can take to advance diversity and inclusion.
• Giving Forum Spring 2011—Diversity in Philanthropy: A Portrait of Minnesota
  Published by the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF), April 2011
  This issue of MCF's quarterly newspaper features their highly anticipated five-year research study “Working Towards Diversity and Inclusion” and focuses on perceptions, realities, and best practices of Minnesota grantmakers. Research findings and grantmaker interviews reveal where the sector has been, is now, and wants to be, and how grantmakers envision reaching their and the community’s goals.
• Foundations Must Conquer Myths in Order to Lead on Diversity Issues
  Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 3, 2011 (subscription required)
  An op-ed by Stephen Heintz, President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; Robert Ross, M.D., President & CEO of The California Endowment; and Sterling Speirn, President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
• Grantmaking to Communities of Color in Oregon
  Published by the Foundation Center, December 2010
  PDF, 4.4 MB
  This groundbreaking report, prepared by the Foundation Center for the regional association Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, uses the most comprehensive database ever assembled on Oregon foundation giving. It examines the extent to which grantmaking by Oregon's 779 foundations reached the state's communities of color in 2008, providing important baseline data about foundation giving in the context of the state's changing demographics.
• The RBF Diversity Report
  Published by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, December 2010
  PDF, 183 KB
  In early 2008, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) launched a foundation-wide project to assess and improve diversity within its operations and grantmaking. A Diversity Working Group consisting of staff members from across the Fund was created to explore diversity and inclusion at RBF, with an initial goal of determining whether the Fund might embark on specific initiatives or strategies to strengthen its commitment. Through engagement in the Diversity Project’s discussions and workshops, RBF staff and trustees have learned that ongoing evaluation of diversity and inclusion is crucial to fulfilling the RBF’s mission.
• Financial reform bill calls for diversity
  Source: The Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2010
  Each of the 30 federal financial agencies and departments are now required to establish an office to boost hiring of and contracting opportunities for minorities and women.
• New Fla. Law Makes It Harder for Foundations to Live Up to Values
  Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy, June 11, 2010
  Foundations should oppose Florida's effort to restrict reporting about diversity efforts, writes Emmett D. Carson, Chief Executive Officer of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
• New Florida Law, Resolutions Promote & Protect State's Philanthropy
  The Florida Philanthropic Network reports that Governor Charlie Crist signed a new law on May 27, 2010, that "will help private foundations to honor donor intent and will prevent state or local governments from placing reporting requirements on grantmakers and charities that many consider onerous."
• Structural Racism Still Abounds and We're Fighting It
  Source: The Wall Street Journal, May 27, 2010
  Sterling Speirn, the President and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, responds to a WSJ op-ed on the foundation's $75 million in grants to address racial disparities.
• Kellogg Foundation awards $75 million to fight racial disparities in U.S.
  Source: The Washington Post, Tuesday, May 11, 2010
  The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded $75 million in grants to civic groups working to eliminate racial disparities in communities across the country—the largest sum the foundation has ever targeted at a single goal.
• Diversity Metrics Forum: Developing Standards for the Collection of Data on Diversity in Philanthropy
  Published by the Foundation Center, April 2010
  PDF, 273 KB
  This report summarizes the discussions that took place at the Diversity Metrics Forum, which brought together 47 foundation leaders, researchers, and representatives of philanthropic infrastructure organizations to discuss strategies for systematically collecting data on diversity in philanthropy.
• Energy Democracy: Community Scale Green Energy Solutions
  Published by the Center for Social Inclusion, April 2010
  This report argues that addressing the question of race is key to building a stronger and "greener" American economy and concludes that community-owned or controlled renewable energy and small-scale electricity production strengthens communities of color and provides benefits to the nation at large. Energy Democracy outlines key inequities and solutions in U.S. energy policy, identifies policy areas that must be addressed to encourage innovation in local energy production, and provides a blueprint to explore a better way to secure energy needs while building equity and wealth community by community.
• Ten Ways for Family Foundations to Consider Diversity and Inclusive Practices
  Published by the Council on Foundations, February 2010
  PDF, 335 KB
  This guide is designed to help foundations think about how more diverse and inclusive practices might advance their mission by making their work more effective and more reflective of the communities they serve. By highlighting 10 ways family foundations can approach diversity, CoF seeks to spark ideas and launch further dialogue.
• Board Diversity: An Imperative
  In this Nov. 12th, 2009 post on RE: Philanthropy, the Council on Foundations blog, John Morning, a Trustee of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Trustee Emeritus of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, offers his personal view on the importance of and need for diverse boards in philanthropy.
• Benchmarking Diversity: A First Look at New York City Foundations and Nonprofits
  Published by Philanthropy New York and the Foundation Center, October 2009
  PDF, 2.17 MB
  This report examines the racial, gender, sexuality, and disability staff demographics of participating New York City-area foundations and nonprofits. It also looks at grantmaking policies and data collection around diversity and inclusion, examines the institutional capacities of nonprofit organizations, and looks at the range of ways that nonprofits define themselves as “minority-led.”
• Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership 2009 Baseline Report
  Published by the Council on Foundations, October 2009
  PDF, 1.4 MB
  This CoF study describes how foundations choose their leaders and what those leaders say about the process. Based on the appointments of 440 CEOs and executive directors from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2008, Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership contributes to the field’s knowledge of hiring practices and the professional backgrounds of foundation and grantmaking executives.
• Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership: Conversation on Diversity and Inclusive Practices
  Published by the Council on Foundations, PDF, 259 KB
  On October 22, 2009, more than 50 foundation executives, trustees, human resources officers, search firm consultants, and representatives from organizations that support philanthropy convened at CoF's invitation to examine the findings of Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership: Baseline Report and consider issues of diversity and inclusion in philanthropic leadership.
• How Foundations Can Do the Most to Advance the Needs of Minorities
  Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy, September 17, 2009
  An article on diversity in philanthropy by Robert K. Ross, Chief Executive of the California Endowment and Chair of the Diversity in Philanthropy Advisory Board.
• Diversity in Action: Strategies With Impact [PDF, 1.66 MB]
  Published by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Council on Foundations, in collaboration with the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, August 2009
  Funders: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
  The third in a series of reports examining the state of diversity in philanthropy, Diversity in Action features the reflections of foundation CEOs and trustees (including Kimberly B. Davis, Managing Director of Global Philanthropy and President of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation) on the impact of a broad array of diversity and inclusiveness efforts. They address many of the issues foundation leaders face every day, including how to ensure that grant resources have the most impact possible.
• Building Diversity: A Survey of California Foundation Demographics, Policies and Practices
  Published by the Foundation Center, August 2009
  PDF, 3.2 MB
  This report finds that people of color make up more than 40 percent of the staff of independent California foundations surveyed; 57 percent of those foundations are tracking the demographic composition of the populations served by their grantmaking; and nearly one quarter of chief executives hired since 2001 have been people of color. This is the second study commissioned by Northern California Grantmakers, Southern California Grantmakers, and San Diego Grantmakers to provide an overview of diversity in philanthropy in the state (the first was 2008's Embracing Diversity: Foundation Giving Benefiting California's Communities of Color).
• Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact
  Published by National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, March 2009
  This report puts forth a set of measurable guidelines to help foundations and other institutional grantmakers operate ethically and maximize the impact of their dollars.
• Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Self-Test for Grantmakers
  Developed in conjunction with the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy's report, Criteria for Philanthropy at its Best, this self-test allows grantmakers to quickly assess their foundation’s likely performance against the criteria and the benchmarks set forth in NCRP's report.
• Calif. Foundations Pledge $30 Million to Help Minorities
  Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy, December 29, 2008
  A group of nine California foundations, known collectively as the Foundation Coalition, have pledged to distribute at least $30 million during the next two to three years to aid needy members of minority groups, a move that is meant to quell critics who argue that the grantmakers fail to provide adequate assistance to racial and ethnic minorities.
• Diversity & Inclusion: Lessons from the Field [PDF, 1.2 MB]
  Published by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Council on Foundations, December 2008
  Funders: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
  The second in a series of reports examining the state of diversity in philanthropy, Diversity & Inclusion captures reflections on the subject from chief executives and trustees at some of the nation’s leading foundations and corporate giving programs (including Victor De Luca, President of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation).
• Embracing Diversity: Foundation Giving Benefiting California’s Communities of Color
  Published by the Foundation Center, June 2008
  PDF, 2 MB
  In 2007, California’s regional associations of grantmakers (Northern California Grantmakers, Southern California Grantmakers, and San Diego Grantmakers) collaborated with the Foundation Center to study grantmaking to communities of color in their state. Embracing Diversity compiles the results from their examination of the giving trends of 50 of the largest independent foundations in California.
• The State of Research on Diversity in Philanthropy: From the First Annual Researcher/Practitioner Forum
  Published by the Foundation Center, May 2008
  PDF, 379KB
  Summarizes discussions among researchers and grantmakers at the September 2007 forum on the diversity issues grantmakers face, researchers' responses to grantmakers' agendas, areas in which research is most needed, and research priorities and strategies.
• Philanthropy in a Changing Society: Achieving Effectiveness through Diversity [PDF, 2 MB]
  Published by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, April 2008
  Funders: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
  This report comprehensively examines the major approaches to foundation diversity over the past 25 years. This is the first in a series of three publications examining the state of diversity in philanthropy.