In a recent statement, Minneapolis-based Borealis Philanthropy announced their partnership with the Ford and W.K. Kellogg foundations to launch the Racial Equity in Philanthropy (REP) Fund. The announcement included news that $14 million was released in the first round of grantmaking.

"Philanthropic organizations are recognizing the close connection between changing our sector and the changes we seek in society," said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. "Achieving these changes requires determination and a long-term commitment to infuse racial equity and inclusion into all of our internal and external policies and practices. Through our collective work, we will stand together to widen the path for equity in communities."

Grantees of the REP Fund convened in Detroit in July to build connections, exchange knowledge and discuss ways they can collaborate on racial equity strategies. During the convening, grantees heard from foundation trustees about how to engage them as champions for racial equity and visited Detroit neighborhoods where community leaders shared learnings about what racial equity means on the ground.

“As a sector focused on improving the world around us, we have an obligation to interrogate how our own practices and institutions may reinforce structural racism and inequality in our society,” said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. “By centering equity and inclusion in all that we do - from grant making and investments to hiring and contracting - we are better able to fulfill our mission and tackle the root causes of injustice.”

Grant dollars will support that work across 19 philanthropy-serving organizations, identified as follows:

• ABFE (formerly known as the Association of Black Foundation Executives)

• BoardSource

• CFLeads

• CHANGE Philanthropy

• Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy

• Equity in the Center

• Exponent Philanthropy

• Foundation Center

• Funders for LGBTQ Issues

• Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

• GuideStar

• Hispanics in Philanthropy

• United Philanthropy Forum

• Native Americans in Philanthropy

• Nonprofit Quarterly

• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

• PEAK Grantmaking

• Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity

• University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service Center on Community Philanthropy

Borealis Philanthropy explains that the REP Fund’s vision is to promote grantmaking strategies that prioritize structural change and ending racial disparities as the norm in philanthropy.

“We believe that a more nuanced approach to philanthropy that responds to the specific needs of communities will more directly close gaps in opportunity, achievement and resources for people of color and ultimately improve living conditions for all people.”

Want more?

Read the statement announcing the REP Fund.