Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Corporate Grantmaking
A study conducted with corporate citizenship practitioners to understand the strategy, measurement and goals behind their efforts to integrate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into their grantmaking practices.
Driven by the reckoning with racial inequities that the crises of the past few years have spurred, many corporate philanthropy professionals have paused to take a closer look at their processes and giving. Is it a part of the solution or part of the problem? When 92% of foundation CEOs are white1, and 90% of nonprofit leaders are white2, is philanthropy addressing or perpetuating systemic racism and inequities?
As corporate responsibility leaders began to reconsider how they could develop their programs to address these difficult challenges, they sought best practices, standards, and examples to aspire to, but information was lacking. This brief report is by no means a comprehensive or definitive endpoint, but with responses from more than 50 active CSR practitioners, representing companies driving over $1 trillion in revenue, it is a starting place for those hoping to advance DEI in grantmaking and CSR programming moving forward.
- From Words to Action, A Practical Philanthropic Guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Foundation Center and Barbara
Chow; 2018 - Leading with Intent: 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices,” BoardSource, 2017
About the Survey Sponsors
Each of our organizations work in different capacities with CSR professionals to help advance their work and impact. The survey grew directly out of our work over the past two years, as many of our client/member companies have been working to more intentionally and measurably integrate DEI into their giving programs. We have found that there is little information available on current trends, standards, and best practices from the perspective of what peer companies are actually doing. This survey is our first step towards helping meet that gap and sharing timely information with practitioners to guide their work.
