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7 Mistakes New Philanthropic Foundations Make

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Kris Putnam-Walkerly writes in her “Confident Giving” Newsletter: “Drawing from my conversations with thousands of foundation leaders, spanning 23 years, here are seven prevalent missteps. By paying attention to these mistakes, you can avoid them and ensure your foundation’s success.”
  • Being stuck in overwhelm
  • Restricting your potential through a mindset of scarcity
  • Letting it go to your head
  • Assuming you have all the answers
  • Operating without a strategy
  • Failing to hold yourself accountable
  • Not seeking help.

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Edgar Villanueva,  CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital had a problem with the request for pluralism, published in an op-ed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy in April.  The authors* asked for readers to stop expecting foundations and philanthropists to pledge allegiance to narrow sets of prescribed views. 

Villanueva’s letter to the editor, titled “Debunking the Myth of Philanthropic Pluralism” (April 26, 2023), begins by saying “the idea that philanthropy’s biggest challenge is divisiveness reflects a level of fragility that impedes social-justice work.” He has plenty more to say about that. Link to the letter. 

*Op-ed authors: 

  • Kathleen Enright,  Council on Foundation President
  • Sam Singh Gill, Doris Duke Foundation President
  • Darren Walker, Ford Foundation President
  • Brian Hooks, Stand Together Chairman
  • Elise Westhoff, Philanthropy Roundtable President.

https://accessphilanthropy.com/324216-2/

Diversity in Philanthropy: Are We Making Any Progress? 2022 DAPP Insights

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By Laura Wilson

This spring, CHANGE Philanthropy released the 2022 Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals (DAPP) report, the third iteration of a wide-reaching survey originating in 2018. The DAPP report provides a much-needed snapshot into the diversity of grantmaking organizations in the United States. In February, I attended a webinar to get the author’s perspectives on the findings. Read the full report here.

An overview of the survey results is included beneath the graphic. My takeaways? The philanthropy sector has made some positive strides in diversity over the past four years to be certain. Women are slowly inching their way to men-dominated supervisory and board roles. Disability and Indigenous representation are also on the rise.

However, there are still holes, primarily centering around a workplace’s perceived safety to marginalized communities (specifically those with disabilities, uncertain immigration status, and LGBTQ+ identifiers). If the coordinators of this survey are able to reach more foundations that fill out the statistical weaknesses, this report will become even more valuable as a diversity snapshot tool.

Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals Survey Results

77

Foundations

(38% decrease from 2020 Survey)

2,199

Individuals

(8% decrease from 2020 Survey)

43%

Response Rate

(9% decrease from 2020 Survey)

LGBTQ

 Disclosure of Disabilities

People of Color

Only half of LGBTQ people working in philanthropy are out at their workplace

More than 9 in 10 of people with a disability in philanthropy are not out about their disability to all or most of their co-workers

43.2% people of color

  • 9.8% Asian
  • 13.3% Black/ African American
  • 0.9% Indigenous
  • 6.6% 1.1% Middle Eastern
  • 10.6% More Than One Race/Ethnicity

This year’s survey reached 77 organizations (with 48 returning from the previous 2020 DAPP) with a 43% response rate—a decrease from the 2020 survey which reached 124 organizations with a 54% response rate. Nevertheless, this year’s DAPP reveals important information on the state of diverse philanthropy, particularly concerning people with disabilities and non-heterosexual sexual orientations.

The first major shift noted by the report’s authors was a significant increase in people identifying with a disability. Those responses “nearly doubled over 2020 findings, from 12.6% (n=302) in 2020 to 34.2% (n=509) in 2022” with the majority of that increase attributable to an increase in mental health disabilities.

However, with that increase, disclosure of disabilities in the workplace still remained quite low: more than two thirds. All other identities surveyed saw some manner of increase in disclosure over the cumulative six years of the DAPP survey.

The authors noted a rise in the use of “decline to state” and “multiple” identities” in both the disabilities section as well as the sexual orientation section indicating increasing complexity and cross-sections among identities.

Other shifts include a drastic increase in the percentage of Indigenous individuals serving as board members (1.3% in 2020 to 6.6% in 2022). There was also an increase in women in supervisory staff roles—a 10% increase from 2020.

Notable categories that remained steady include the number of LGBTQ+ identifying people who remained “in the closet” at work and the selection of “decline to state” category when referring to immigration status (remaining near 12%).

In terms of type of foundations, across most sectors, public funders lead the way with the most diversity in all roles with the best POC, genderqueer, and disabled representation. Corporate funders reach the top with the best representation of people born outside the US. Left behind in second and third are community and private organizations.

During the webinar, the authors acknowledged there are clear data weaknesses when it comes to organizations in the south and corporate organizations (out of 77 total foundations, five were based in the south and three were corporate) that may skew the gains or losses of both categories. In their survey distribution for the 2024 DAPP, they hope to reach more organizations that fit these descriptors to get a more accurate picture of geographic and organization type trends.

Graphics from the report

Workshop Registration

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National Funders Workshop Registration

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Client Satisfaction Survey

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Your Feedback is Important!

We are grateful for the opportunity to have worked with you! Thank you for your mission and your great work in the community.
Thank you also for taking the time to complete our online survey.

At Access Philanthropy, client feedback is critical in facilitating our continual improvement processes.

Your opinion will assist our team in understanding how we can improve our existing services, what are the gaps and how we can continue to add value to all our clients’ projects.

Again, we thank you for taking the time to complete our Client Feedback Survey.

Name
1. Access Philanthropy provides highly talented consultants with the right experience, skills and culture fit
2. Access Philanthropy gets things done with a high degree of quality and efficiency
3. Access Philanthropy charges time to/invoices our projects fairly and accurately
4. Access Philanthropy is able to work well with our staff/board members/other
5. Access Philanthropy customizes their methodologies, tools and templates to meet the unique needs of our project(s)
6. Access Philanthropy's consultants take time to learn about our mission, people, and culture.
7. In regards to overall value, I believe Access Philanthropy meets or exceeds my expectations

Senior Grantwriters Needed

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“Contract Position: Access Philanthropy seeks experienced grantwriters, who can work with a variety of nonprofit clients and write with clarity and dynamism. The writer will join a talented and growing team of writers, researchers and consultants who have spent decades working in nonprofit and funding communities.

About Access Philanthropy

Access Philanthropy Inc. (API) has been around for twenty years, working with (large and small) nonprofit and government agencies locally, nationally, and internationally.

API is known locally and nationally for close, knowledgeable working relationships with every client; great information’ great writing/messaging’ and great people working in a great team.

API supports organizations

  • Just starting up, or restarting their grants/fundraising efforts
  • That need a specific push or assistance (perceptions, grant schedules, messaging)
  • That need monthly support for grantwriting, fundraising plans, and just  getting back on track
  • That need specific grant and grantmaker information and strategies

API is one of the premier nonprofit fundraising support teams in Minnesota, providing prospect research, funding workshops, grant production, and organizational and fundraising planning

Qualifications: We Need People Who

  • Get to know a client’s work/needs quickly and thoroughly
  • Communicate well with clients by email, text, phone, Zoom, etc.
  • Are fearless of funders and their gatekeepers
  • Can persistently keep clients on track with grant tasks and deadlines
  • Can juggle multiple clients/deadlines
  • Support grant research for clients, such as deadlines and eligibility (support from API researchers)
  • Maintain accurate and detailed records
  • Work independently
  • Are of good humor and patient with clients and others
  • Have a history of working with Minnesota funders
  • And most importantly, consistently write clearly, succinctly, and engagingly.

What We Offer

  • This is an independent contractor position, not an employment position
  • Work with some of the most experienced and talented grant-thropists in Minnesota who really understand how to get heard and how to get funded
  • Work in a great team environment with some sensitivity to personal needs and quirks
  • Work from home

Work with GREAT clients

$50/hour minimum for the first year.  Generally, 20-25 hours/month, typically 5-7 hours/week

Next Steps

  • Send a cover letter, resume, sample of past clients, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, SAMPLES OF PAST PROPOSALS AND LETTERS OF INQUIRY
  • Let us know your availability – when are you ready to write
  • We aren’t crazy about telephone calls, but feel free to send a few smart questions.  See below
  • No deadlines, but we have clients waiting.

Send: cover, resume  and WRITING SAMPLES to [email protected]

Questions: [email protected]
Access Philanthropy is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.”