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To White Leaders of Philanthropy: Do It Differently This Time

By  Kishshana Palmer and 
Ajuah Helton
July 20, 2020

This is an urgent moment. People are rising up against a racist criminal-justice system that routinely brutalizes and murders Black people. A global pandemic is disproportionally killing this same population, which lacks access to adequate health care and other critical resources. Nonprofits, in the meantime, are jumping into action while grant makers bump into each other, determined to respond quickly to the moment.

But before continuing on this well-worn road, philanthropy leaders should consider this: In a moment that calls for an urgent response, what urgency looks like in the dominant culture does not mirror how it shows up for marginalized communities and people of color. When white-led institutions impose their definition of action during moments like these, it can be an obstacle to the actual work needed to create systemic reform.

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This is an urgent moment. People are rising up against a racist criminal-justice system that routinely brutalizes and murders Black people. A global pandemic is disproportionally killing this same population, which lacks access to adequate health care and other critical resources. Nonprofits, in the meantime, are jumping into action while grant makers bump into each other, determined to respond quickly to the moment.

But before continuing on this well-worn road, philanthropy leaders should consider this: In a moment that calls for an urgent response, what urgency looks like in the dominant culture does not mirror how it shows up for marginalized communities and people of color. When white-led institutions impose their definition of action during moments like these, it can be an obstacle to the actual work needed to create systemic reform.

The pandemic revealed what many professionals of color, especially Black professionals, experience day in and day out. Scholars of critical race theory have illuminated the ways Western culture is built on norms devised by white people and how that dominant-culture approach plays out in the workplace. It includes the pursuit of perfection that stifles the ability to make mistakes and grow; the fetishization of PowerPoint decks, memos, and reports — and the elevation of those who can produce them immediately. Power holders hurriedly make decisions in closed rooms without diverse voices or inclusive processes in what they describe as the “interest of time.”

The exigency of this moment has exacerbated all these tendencies in foundation leaders and those who work throughout their organizations. Philanthropists recognize that the situation is urgent and that people need services now. They have the resources, so they want to see big ideas put in place quickly. Yet, this drive for magic-bullet solutions launched at breakneck speed can actually impede sustainable solutions built in concert with the most knowledgeable nonprofit professionals.

A Chance to Make Different Choices

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Foundation leaders need to take a breath and recognize that now is their opportunity to stop perpetuating a dominant culture committed to urgent action. Before jumping on that next Zoom call and excitedly extolling the need to move swiftly to “take advantage of this emerging, fast-moving opportunity,” they need to stop. People are dying from the virus, from the police, and from societal norms that routinely stifle our ability to breathe.

This is an opportunity to make different choices about which organizations merit investment, about how the foundation is run, and about how to give employees outside the dominant culture an influential voice in decision making and leadership. Here’s what philanthropic leaders need to do:

Invest at the bottom, and help community-based organizations build. We know it’s not glorified or sexy, but it is a cultural shift. It is trusting that grantee organizations, especially those led by Black and brown people, know what they need to accelerate their missions and how it needs to happen.

Avoid pushing grantees and foundation staff to undertake bad practices. Is it really necessary right now to see a shiny new PowerPoint deck or hear a comprehensive presentation about how the foundation’s investment is working out? Is it possible that a request for performative reporting on a quick turnaround project is creating false urgency to respond? Such pressure causes reflexive actions and often leaves crucial voices out of decision making. It does not help activate an organization’s mission or assist staff members in pivoting to respond to the needs of the day. It does not raise the kind of money that will bolster an institution’s ability to thrive or retain qualified, highly educated employees of color, particularly Black employees, who do this work with fervor.

Wait to act. We all instinctively want to do something. But doing something doesn’t mean doing any random thing. It is a time to take stock of priorities; to understand how urgency will affect the most marginalized employees on foundation staffs and in grantee organizations. That doesn’t mean grant makers should do nothing. We’ve all dealt with funding decisions that drag on six months or more without an update: selective urgency, selective silence. We are painfully aware of this silence.

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Act in coalition. The more that white foundation leaders are compelled to act (with the privilege of economic, social, or positional power), the more they should seek the person of color who is already doing the work. Gather the colleagues of color closest to those who are directly served by the organization’s grant making, and listen to what they believe would have the greatest impact.

Do — and then share. Under the pressure to respond to this moment and every moment before it, try not to confuse saying something with doing something. Instead of making a decision and announcing it, consider taking action and then describing how it went. In other words: Do and then share.

This is the work. This is an opportunity to be introspective and to recognize that the power wielded by philanthropic leaders might not be a badge, but instead title, wealth, and network. So, let’s most definitely act, but differently: humbly, inclusively, and in ways that also preserve and restore. This is an urgent moment. Let’s not miss it.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Diversity, Equity, and InclusionExecutive Leadership
Kishshana Palmer
Kishshana Palmer, a management and leadership expert, is founder of the Rooted Collaborative, an organization for fundraisers of color, and author of “Hey, I’m New Here.”
Ajuah Helton
Ajuah Helton is national director of KIPP Through College at the KIPP Foundation.

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