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Wealthy Donors of Color Largely Ignored by Philanthropy, Study Says

By  Julian Wyllie
November 13, 2018

Wealthy donors of color are nearly invisible in the world of philanthropy, a “spectral presence” whose “priorities, interests, and experiences are invisible in discussions of high-net-worth philanthropy,” according to a new report.

White donors still have the most money to give, in large part because of big disparities in inherited wealth, the report states. More than 8 million white Americans have a net worth of more than $1 million, compared with 620,000 Asians, 515,000 Hispanics, and 185,000 African-Americans.

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Wealthy donors of color are nearly invisible in the world of philanthropy, a “spectral presence” whose “priorities, interests, and experiences are invisible in discussions of high-net-worth philanthropy,” according to a new report.

White donors still have the most money to give, in large part because of big disparities in inherited wealth, the report states. More than 8 million white Americans have a net worth of more than $1 million, compared with 620,000 Asians, 515,000 Hispanics, and 185,000 African-Americans.

But those disparities are changing as the nation becomes increasingly diverse and as nonwhite people become more upwardly mobile. “High-net-worth donors of color constitute a substantial and growing community of philanthropists,” the report states.

The findings are from “The Apparitional Donor: Understanding and Engaging High Net-Worth Donors of Color.” The report is from Faces of Giving, a nonprofit, and the Vaid Group, a social-strategy firm.

African-Americans are “far behind, not because of the accumulation of debt during the course of a black person’s life cycle; we’re far behind because we don’t start out with an inheritance,” said William Darity, professor of public policy and African and African-American studies and economics at Duke University, who was quoted in the study.

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The report classified high net worth as having investable assets of more than $1 million. Researchers interviewed 103 donors nationwide.

Growing in Number

Donors of color with an annual income of $500,000 were noted as future philanthropists and growing in number. They may also be the first in their families and communities to enter the top 1 percent and become medium- to high-profile givers.

Other findings from the report said high-net-worth donors of color may be ignored because only a few of them serve on foundation boards or lead a foundation. One way to combat this, the report said, is to increase outreach and oversight by adding high-net-worth donors of color to those networks.

The report also found that wealthy, diverse donors represent an opportunity for fundraisers for particular causes.

“High-net-worth donors of color may represent new resources for social- and racial-justice initiatives and for specific challenges affecting communities of color.”

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The study added: “Many report not having been asked to engage in this kind of giving, further indication that the opportunity is real.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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