On Tuesday, August 21, Grantmakers in the Arts will host “Real and Not Real: The history of racialization in the United States,” a webinar by Race Forward, which will serve as foundational for future GIA Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy workshops.
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The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) addressed recently the question, "What does it mean for funders to build power?," as more grantmakers deepen journeys to embed values of equity, diversity, and inclusion into their work.
Borealis Philanthropy launched the Racial Equity in Philanthropy (REP) Fund, a funding effort of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The inaugural round of grants totaling $14 million over three years will support 19 philanthropy-serving organizations committed to advancing racial equity within the sector through research, learning opportunities, and the dissemination of best practices, according to Philanthropy News Digest.
Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions recently launched a leadership fellowship for CEOs of progressive philanthropic institutions. The fellowship is best suited for philanthropic institutions that already support racial equity and powerbuilding and want to go deeper by building a strong peer group and aligning more towards equity and impact.
"Racial equity isn't something we do because it's a nice thing to do. It's the core issue out of which everything else we do flows." La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of W.K. Kellogg Foundation, shared that idea in an interview, in which she emphasized how racial equity is a crucial part of the transformation needed to improve the United States.
Organizations from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors announced recently the Racial Equity Here commitment, an effort to dismantle structural racism in America. Recognizing the need to collectively tackle growing racial disparities, these institutions invite others to join them in taking clear steps to prioritize racial equity in their work.
"Race is a social construct that has deep societal impact. Our nation’s history of racism has been codified through systems such as slavery, education, and housing — all issues that the social sector seeks to address. As such, the social sector has a mandate to eliminate racism at all levels on which it exists and shift its axis towards race equity." This statement sets the tone and context for a report by Equity in the Center, which tackles how organizations can begin the race equity journey in their respective institutions.
The Memphis Music Initiative (MMI), dedicated to broaden and strengthen existing music engagement offerings in and out of schools and supporting youth-centered, community-based music spaces, released a new study that looks at the landscape of equity in arts funding alongside patterns of exclusionary funding practices which all too regularly confront black and brown arts organizations.
In a recent blog post, Barry Hessenius, author of the nonprofit arts Barry’s Blog, highlights the importance of increased diversity at the top as a step toward greater funding equity.
Racial diversity is not racial equity, but as Hessenius explores, enhancing racial diversity in leadership positions is a step toward increasing racial equity in arts philanthropy.
This is the first of a series of blog posts Eddie Torres, president and CEO of Grantmakers in the Arts, will be writing on arts philanthropy and principles, like racial equity, that drive GIA’s mission.