New Report Examines Philanthropy's Progress, Challenges on Diversity

The nation's philanthropy field has made some progress in becoming more diverse but still faces many important challenges in addressing diversity issues, according to a new research study. The staffs and boards of foundations are not keeping pace with ethnic and racial changes in the United States, and they frequently ignore class, disability and sexual orientation altogether. This resistance to change may impede the field's ability to effectively respond to the needs of the communities they serve, the report cautions.

The report, "The Meaning and Impact of Board and Staff Diversity in the Philanthropic Field," was prepared for the Joint Affinity Groups (JAG), a national coalition of grantmaker associations, and is the result of a multi-stage research project that combined surveys, interviews and focus groups to reach more than 600 grantmakers nationwide. The report asserts that grantmakers could make a better impact on society if their staffs and boards were more diverse and if their institutional culture and practices shifted as well.

"This report opens a new chapter in the study of foundation diversity because it examines the whole picture rather than focusing on an individual disparity," said Emmett D. Carson, president and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation, who wrote the report's foreword. "Foundations have a great opportunity to increase their responsiveness and accountability to the communities they serve by consciously focusing their efforts on enhancing board and staff diversity."

The research project was implemented by JAG, study director Aileen Shaw of the National Network of Grantmakers and a team of three investigators: Dr. Lynn Burbridge of Rutgers University, the late University of Minnesota professor Dr. William Díaz and Dr. Teresa Odendahl. With grants from the Ford Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the collaborative set out to quantify changes in foundation staffing and answer such questions as:

• How well represented are different identity groups in the field?
• How do members of diverse groups fare in their career advancement?
• How do different types of foundations address inclusiveness?
• What are examples of practices that lead to successful implementation of staff and board diversity?

The report shows that philanthropy has evolved over the past 20 years from a field dominated by white men to one where women are the majority and a fifth of staff are people of color. However, foundation boards have not changed significantly in their diversity, according to the report, and other barriers persist in field based on disability, ethnicity and race, gender and sexual orientation, including:

• Women of color continue to face significant barriers. They earn less and give smaller grants than their colleagues and are less likely to move into senior staff and CEO positions and to be involved in governance and hiring.

• Men of color have made proportionately significant gains but hold a small percentage of CEO positions.

• White women are the most highly represented "identity group" in the field. Nevertheless, women in the sample earned less and gave fewer grants than men.

• Gay men and lesbians tend to earn less than heterosexuals and experience less mobility into top positions. This is particularly true for lesbians.

Other findings from the report:

• Diversity is not widely understood and is primarily equated with ethnicity and race. Many funders do not perceive disability or sexual orientation as diversity issues at all.

• Executives and senior management are central to any commitment to diversify.

• Hiring diverse staff does not guarantee diverse and inclusive grantmaking.

The report provides a number of recommendations for grantmakers to help them address diversity issues in their organizations. Among the report's recommendations:

• Foundation culture must change for diversity to succeed. Changes can include diversifying staff or board, recruitment of multicultural decision-makers outside the foundation's economic and social circles, and changing employment benefits as a signal of the foundation's commitment to inclusiveness.
• Develop written materials that communicate diversity objectives. Statements and organizational policies that reflect the centrality of diversity formalize institutional commitment and establish a standard of accountability.
• Inform boards and trustees about the values of diversity and provide training to staff -- particularly managers.
• Establish clearly defined goals and responsibilities and improve communication at the outset of any diversity initiative.
• Diversify any single aspect of a foundation's program or structure to cause a ripple effect throughout the organization.
• Expect consequences and adjust as necessary.

The study concludes that the primary lesson of this research is the importance of keeping board and staff diversity squarely on the philanthropic agenda. At a time when the field is engaged in an active dialogue on accountability and responsiveness to communities, the study urges grantmakers to attend to their staff and board diversity in order to offer a more credible outreach to diverse communities.

The Joint Affinity Groups seeks to engage the field of philanthropy to reach its full potential through practices that support diversity, inclusiveness and accountability to communities. The nine JAG partners that sponsored this study are: Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, Association of Black Foundation Executives, Disability Funders Network, Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Native Americans in Philanthropy, National Network of Grantmakers, Women & Philanthropy and the Women's Funding Network.

More Information

• "The Meaning and Impact of Board and Staff Diversity in the Philanthropic Field"
  A copy of the full JAG report is available for download on MCF's Web site. Paper copies are not currently available.
     
• MCF Diversity Resources
  Visit MCF's Diversity Resources for tools and information to help grantmakers address diversity issues in their work and their organizations.
      
• For more information about JAG or to inquire about the study, e-mail JAG coordinating consultant Leila Minerva at lminerva@earthlink.net.

top