Investing in Non-Profit Leaders of Color What We’ve Learned
Investing in Non-Profit Leaders of Color
14 THE POWER FUND
THE POWER FUND 15
LESSON NO. 1
LESSON NO. 2
To increase access to our resources among leaders of color, we benefitted from diverse experts with relation- ships to a talent pool that often lacks connections to major philanthropic giving. We brought together a diverse, first-rate group of experts with backgrounds in research, social justice, advocacy, education policy, and more to form a governance committee. Throughout the first two years of the Power Fund, this group identified the leaders on the frontlines of direct service in their communities, provided strategic advice, and informed our grantmaking practices and the design and implementation of the Power Fund.
Setting intentional goals to invest in leaders of color and to capture data on leadership composition can help create accountability and is more likely to produce long-term changes. Prior to launching the Power Fund, Robin Hood had not systematically captured demographic data for the leadership teams of our community partner organizations. By making an intentional commitment to invest in leaders of color and to capture demographic data (see Figure 1), we were able to hold ourselves accountable while realizing noteworthy diversification among our funding partners.
WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
FIGURE 1: LEADERSHIP DEMOGRAPHICS FOR ROBIN HOOD PORTFOLIO VS. GREATER NYC POPULATION
n Greater NYC Population in Poverty
n Robin Hood Portfolio
n Greater NYC Nonprofit Sector
As % of the total dataset / populaton
64%
47%
36%
24% 24%
22%
16%
14%
11%
7%
6% 7%
4%
4%
3%
0% 0% 0%
White
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latinx
AAPI / Asian Multi-Racial / Multi-Ethnic
Native Am. / Indigenous
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