Recent research confirms that having a diverse work force increases innovation, creativity, and effective decision making. Yet while the demographics of our nation shift rapidly toward greater diversity, philanthropy has been slow to adapt.
Two years ago, 92 percent of foundation chief executives and presidents and 83 percent of other executive staff members identified as Caucasian — figures unchanged from five years earlier, according to D5 Coalition’s 2016 State of the Work report. In an April 11 column for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the coalition’s co-chairs wrote that philanthropy remains on a par with country clubs when it comes to exclusivity.
To create a deeper and more lasting impact, philanthropy must reflect the communities we serve. Bringing more diverse perspectives into the conversation can also spur more creativity and innovation in our funding approaches. But being invited into the room is only the beginning; having a voice at the table is where inclusion becomes real.
Philanthropy Northwest, a regional network of private, community, and corporate grant makers, has been working with several foundations on a project to bring diverse talent into the field, and to provide support so those voices are heard in conversations about equity and building stronger communities.
Our Momentum Fellowship, launched in the fall of 2015, is designed to create a pathway for individuals from communities of color to pursue leadership careers in philanthropy.
On-the-Job Learning
Over the course of several months, Philanthropy Northwest recruited and placed nine Momentum Fellows with six grant makers: the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust, the Northwest Health Foundation, the Oregon Community Foundation, the Pride Foundation, and the Rasmuson Foundation. Each fellow was placed in a full-time role for 18 to 24 months, mostly working on foundation programs and sometimes rotating among different departments.
Complementing this on-the-job learning, Philanthropy Northwest designed a program providing professional development, coaching, and networking opportunities to support the fellows in their current roles and future careers. We adapted some elements from other programs aimed at expanding the pathway for people of color in philanthropy, including:
-
The Ron McKinley Philanthropy Fellowship, a program of the Minnesota Council on Foundations and the Bush Foundation that recruits leaders from underrepresented communities with at least five years of professional experience and a commitment to a career in Minnesota. The fellows are employed by the council and placed in jobs at participating foundations for three years.
-
The San Francisco Foundation’s Multicultural Fellowship Program, which has hired young professionals of color to work full time for two years in the grant maker’s program areas of arts and culture, community development, community health, education, and the environment.
- The Proteus Fund Diversity Fellowship, which placed nearly 30 talented young professionals of color at New England foundations between 2007 and 2015.
- The Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways, a 12-month pipeline program that prepared candidates from diverse backgrounds to compete for positions as philanthropic leaders. From 2010 to 2013, the council worked with individuals already employed at foundations and other grant-making organizations who sought to advance their careers in philanthropy.
Observations After the First Year
As our Momentum Fellowship approaches the end of its pilot year, we are excited by its potential. Our fellows have shared their perspectives on their work on our blog, and they’ve been invited to relate their experiences through media interviews and speaking engagements at conferences.
We recognize that fellowship programs alone cannot lead to long-term change in foundation behavior or practices. We cannot expect fellows to represent people of color as a whole or to single-handedly educate their colleagues about equity. Foundations must take on the difficult work of assessing their own values and identifying how they can advance diversity both internally and through their programs.
As we discuss in our own research on this topic, leadership from the top is critical for organizational change, and fellows need strong support from supervisors and executives to advance new efforts or spark conversations about race and inclusion.
But fellowship programs can do several important things.
First, they offer a mechanism for professionals from diverse communities to enter the field in the first place.
Second, by hosting a fellow, foundations begin to explore their own pathways to greater inclusivity — whether they’ve been trying without success to diversify their staffs or are just starting the conversation with trustees and others.
We are eager to continue learning and sharing our experience with others. For now, we celebrate this first class of fellows and applaud what they are already doing as we begin the work of recruiting our second round of fellows and foundations.
Sindhu Knotz is a partner with the Giving Practice, Philanthropy Northwest’s national consulting team. Shin Yu Pai is Philanthropy Northwest’s special-initiatives manager.
