4 Years After George Floyd, Giving To Racial Equity Faces Challenges
By David Bowermaster
Published in Forbes
May 24, 2024
PRE recognizes that there are a broad range of effective programs and practices to address racial inequities. There is an increasing level of sophistication within the racial justice field and much more awareness of which approaches meet which needs best.
Whether we are talking about ways to engage communities or ways to engage foundation staff and boards, PRE understands the importance of meeting people where they are on their own continua of learning and comfort level in addressing what can often be difficult and controversial issues. We also recognize that peer learning and support can be critical when facing these challenges, and we work to provide the space and tools that will allow this to happen.
Systemic inequities, a global pandemic, and violence from both state and private actors have created the perfect storm. Black, Asian, Indigenous, migrant, Roma and racialised communities around the world have responded to the present moment with determination, hope and in concert, fighting not just to survive the public health and economic crises, but rising en masse in solidarity protests following the leadership of young Black activists in the U.S.
There has been significant work in the nonprofit & philanthropic communities since Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens was produced by PRE & GrantCraft more than 13 years ago.
Movements have grown in their intersectionality, their sophistication and reach and many nonprofits and organizers have been actively contributing to their gains as well as being pushed themselves. Many funders and philanthropic infrastructure organizations have taken on the language and principles of racial equity in their changing practices. Yet so much work remains, so many inequities continue to be exacerbated even among those seeking to do the right thing in a changing world.
In recognition of the complexity of these shifts and the evolution of the work, PRE has published Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide, to help foundation leaders understand what it means to move from racial equity to racial justice funding strategies, co-written by PRE Senior Fellow Rinku Sen & Executive Director Lori Villarosa. It also addresses how to align operational practices to both reduce racial inequity and advance racial justice, with a chapter on selecting the right tools and consultants written by Maggie Potapchuk.
The guide centers what racial justice activists want funders to know and includes experienced funders’ stories and how-to tips on advancing foundation practices to achieve racial justice. This includes responding to resistance; resourcing in ways that builds power, tackles anti-Black racism and white supremacy; correcting the course of some problematic trends; and more.
Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens can be downloaded for free here.
By David Bowermaster
Published in Forbes
May 24, 2024
By Lori Villarosa , Ben Francisco Maulbeck, and Gihan Perera
Originally published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Feb 6, 2024
By Sendolo Diaminah , Scot Nakagawa , Sean Thomas-Breitfeld , Rinku Sen , and Lori Villarosa
The Forge
April 20,2023
By Lori Villarosa, Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan, Tynesha McHarris and Fernanda Lopes
Alliance Magazine
May 24, 2022
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