Throughout the pandemic, Michigan philanthropy and foundations across the country have adapted policies, procedures and work with nonprofit partners to create flexibility and increase support to respond to urgent needs and address inequities. 

A new report, Approaching the Intersection: Will a Global Pandemic and National Movement for Racial Justice Take Philanthropy Beyond Its Silos? by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, takes a closer look at philanthropy’s response to the inequities exacerbated by the pandemic and the national reckoning for racial justice to provide insights about how we work in a crisis and how it may shape the future of our work.

The authors of the report sought to learn how philanthropy has responded to these crises through conversations with place-based funders and national philanthropy-serving organization (PSO) leaders. 

The report highlights five key findings: 

1.    Changes in funder practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic generally mirror earlier crisis response funding patterns.

According to the report, the way funders have responded to the pandemic reflects the responses to the Great Recession in 2008, providing quick, collaborative and flexible support.

2.    The COVID-19 pandemic is unique in its scale, unpredictable and has a disproportionate impact on traditionally marginalized communities, leading to new opportunities for funders.

Through conversations, funders have expressed an interest in strengthening relationships with communities and partnering with them, providing support for policy, advocacy, community organizing and systems change and committing to structural change within the organization.

3.    The combination of the pandemic and national movement for racial justice has expanded philanthropy’s work to advance racial justice. 

According to the report, one PSO leader observed that funders are learning how to engage with their communities in meaningful ways to center equity. New partnerships have formed, providing the opportunity for amplifying their equity work and learning from one another.

4.    The combination of the pandemic and movement for racial justice appears unlikely to strengthen intersectional grantmaking.

The report states that many PSO leaders are working with foundations to support their journey towards intersectional approaches. The movement for racial justice could lead more funders towards intersectional approaches but a focus on racial justice alone is not necessarily intersectional. In the report, one PSO leader shared that as the sector works to advance racial equity, we must consider race and gender, disability, age and beyond to fully embrace internationality. 

5.    In order to embrace intersectional work, funders will need to change the way their organizations are structured.

The report states that in order to institute more intersectional work, foundations should embrace community leadership, as foundations can benefit from shared learning with other organizations. One of the recommendations to support this work is to engage foundation leadership in this process and to connect boards more directly with nonprofit partners. 

According to the report, the pandemic and national movement for racial justice have demonstrated the philanthropic sector’s capacity to be nimble, flexible and rethink the way we work. 

One respondent shared in the report, “I hope that this moment is opening windows and there is more willingness to go out on a limb and do something transformative rather than continuing to do something incrementally. I hope it’s an opportunity to really reimagine philanthropy together.”

Want more?

Read the full report. 
 

CMF’s COVID-19 Resource Central is continually updated as we share new insights, analysis and emerging trends and leadership to the field.