- In an open letter published on Black Feminist Fund, some of philanthropy’s most influential organizations say that “It’s time to fund Black feminist movements like we want them to win”. Among the 11 prominent grantmakers who signed the letter are Pivotal Ventures (Melinda Gates), Clara Lionel Foundation (Rihanna), and the Ford and MacArthur foundations.
- The B Corp Arabella Advisors is talking about the Future of Black Wealth in a new series of articles and events. It is part of Arabella’s Racial Wealth Gap practice that aims to connect changemakers to philanthropy and impact investors. The series starts by pointing at the racial wealth gap in generational wealth – which is what buys and keeps power. That gap is six to eight times larger than the income gap between Black and White Americans. The follow-up article outlines “three levers changemakers must pull to eliminate” this gap: philanthropy, impact investing, and advocacy.
- Philanthropy Always Sounds Like Someone Else: A Portrait of High-Net-Worth Donors of Color, compiled by Donors of Color Network, presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with 113 high net worth BIPOC donors, conducted over three years in ten cities across the U.S
- The Northwest Area Foundation’s second blog entry in their series on racial capitalism: How Philanthropy Plays a Role in Economic Systems that Harm People of Color, and What It Can Do to Help Heal and Repair.
News & Resources
2023 Lean Foundation Operations And Management Report
Exponent Philanthropy is an association of mostly small funders- private and community foundations with few or no staff, philanthropic families, and individual donors. The group surveys its membership to understand and share how lean funders are managing their foundation operations. About a quarter of their members responded to the 2022 survey.
- 35% said racial equity is very relevant to their mission, this was particularly the case in board membership. (Defined as “the systematic fair treatment of people of all races that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone.” )
- Less than 5% reported implementing any type of strategy to promote disability inclusion.
- 73% have paid staff of some kind, with 72% having between one and three paid staff members.
- On average, 65% of full-time staff identified as White women; 15%, as White men; 5%, as Latina; 5%, as African American women; and 4%, as Asian women.
- 89% of board members identified as White; 4%, as Black or African American; 3%, as Asian/Pacific Islander; 2%, as Latinx; and 1%, as Multiracial.
- 68% reported having no BIPOC board members. The percentage of foundations with no BIPOC board members has significantly decreased over time.
Most Important Challenges Facing the Foundation
- The board is not considering succession.
- The need for a greater focus in grantmaking
- Lack of long-term asset growth
What motivates donors to give? …Matching Gifts
An estimated $4-$7 billion in matching gift funds goes unclaimed per year.
This, according to American Charities, a 501(c)(3) membership-based nonprofit that promotes workplace giving. In their Facts & Statistics on Workplace Giving, Matching Gifts, and Volunteer Programs, here is what they gathered on Matching Gifts:
- 65% of Fortune 500 companies and 28% of small to mid-size companies offer matching gifts – the total represents a 58% increase since 2006.
- Average employee participation in employer matching gift programs is 10%, demonstrating a marked opportunity for growth.
- Corporate matches rate near the very top of incentives for employees to donate to charities through workplace initiatives. 84% say they’re more likely to give if a match is offered, and one in three say they would give a larger gift if it was matched.
- More than half of employee matching gift programs are ‘open’ , where employees can choose the nonprofit to benefit.
About Those 990PFs…
Many funders don’t have a website, this is especially true with small family foundations. So, the 990PFs are often the only source of information about them.* Foundations must submit tax reports to the IRS every year. But lately… well, according to Candid (fka Foundation Directory Online), “before the pandemic, Candid usually received comprehensive IRS 990 data about nonprofits and foundations about 1.5–2 years after the close of a given year. After 2020, the time lag is closer to three years.
Reasons include:
- Thousands of filing organizations are requesting extensions.
- The growth of 990PF filers.
- The IRS is understaffed and going through 990 process changes.
Johnson Center for Philanthropy Reports:
IRS Delays and Other Barriers to Data Mean Real Risks for Nonprofits – Mandatory electronic filing of all 990 tax forms after July 19 has made every field on those forms accessible electronically. The pandemic, however, has caused considerable delays in the IRS release of this data. The Johnson Center report notes, “In September 2022, Candid reported that for 990s filed for tax year 2019 and later, the processing delay for most organizations is now well over 36 months.” Other data concerns include the lack of information about communities and populations served by specific nonprofits and the dependence on private giving at most organizations that track philanthropic data.
*This delay makes it tougher to gather information, so AP has expanded our personal phone and email outreach to foundation personnel and we’re using more foundation website and even Google searches to fill in the blanks
