Equity Resources for Philanthropy

My philanthropy advisory firm has been pursuing, studying and documenting equity within philanthropy. In this important step toward philanthropic progress, we are working on developing and discovering what equity means to funders, foundations and organizations, both individually and across the field. The following list is a variety of resources which we have found helpful in our ongoing study of equity, including many that we have authored! This list is periodically updated.

Resources authored by Putnam Consulting Group:

1. The Road to Achieving Equity: Findings and Lessons from a Field Scan of Foundations That Are Embracing Equity (full article)*
2. The Road to Achieving Equity: 12 Findings from a Field Scan of Foundations That Are Embracing Equity (2-page summary)*
3. What the Heck Does “Equity” Mean?* (Stanford Social Innovation Review blog)
4. Tools for Thought: Using Racial Equity Impact Assessments for Effective Policymaking (Annie E. Casey Foundation case study)
5. Considering Culture: Building the Best Evidence-Based Practices for Children of Color (Annie E. Casey Foundation case study)
6. Operationalizing Equity: Putting the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Racial and Ethnic Equity and Inclusion Framework into Action. (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
7. Deploying Casey’s REI Framework: Lessons from the Civic Sites.  (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
8. Three Ways Funders Delude Themselves About Equity (Philanthropy New York blog)

Organizations:

1. PolicyLink is a national leader in equity thought and practice. In particular, see PolicyLink’s Equity Manifesto.
2. Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) has a list of equity resources.
3. Grantmakers in Health (GIH) has a rich, searchable database of health equity resources.
4. D5 Coalition has a rich library garnered during its five-year project to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in philanthropy.
5. Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) provides a number of toolkits and reports to promote effective and responsive philanthropy in Black communities.
6. Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) targets institutional and structural racism and has a number of publications to share.
7. The Aspen Institute’s equity resources include Ten Lessons for Taking Leadership on Racial Equity.
8. The Leadership Learning Community offers Leadership & Race: How to Develop and Support Leadership that Contributes to Racial Justice, as well as many other resources.
9. CHANGE Philanthropy works working to integrate equity and social justice into philanthropic practice, and offers a curated list of resources on diversity, equity and inclusion. It launched the #unite4equity campaign where you can take a quiz to determine where you are on your equity journey and find resources to get started.
10. Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is a leader in advancing equity within philanthropy and offers many resources on the Equity and Inclusion page on the Casey website.

Additional Resources

1. Foundation Review Special Issue on Racial Equity (co-edited with the Association of Black Foundation Executives)
2. Equitable Evaluation. This project of the Luminare Group, Center for Evaluation Innovation, and the Johnson Center offer groundbreaking approaches and resources for using evaluation to advance equity.
3. Race Matters Toolkit  Offers concrete guidance to create policies, programs, and products that advance racial equity for vulnerable children, families, and communities of color (AECF)
4. Advancing the Mission: Tools for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  Tools for hardwiring equity, diversity and inclusion into the culture of an organization (AECF)
5. Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children. A KIDS COUNT report that explores the intersection of kids, race and opportunity by comparing how children fare across key milestones at both the state and local levels.
6. It’s Time to Talk: How to Start Conversations About Racial Inequities (AECF). This report tells how advocates used data, leadership and citizen engagement to spur race-based legislation and community change.
7. By The Numbers: Using Disaggregated Data to Inform Polices, Practices and Decision-making (AECF). This case study shows how organizations use disaggregated data on race and ethnicity to improve the lives of children and communities. 
8. Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide: 7 Steps To Advance and Embed Race Equity and Inclusion Within Your Organization (AECF). A guide that helps organizations and individuals become change agents for advancing race equity in their work.

We at Putnam Consulting Group are diligent in our pursuit of equity in our society, and specifically in philanthropy. We hope you will utilize this list to gain a deeper understanding of equity as we all continue to learn from the wisdom and experience of others. For more information or to share additional resources for this list, contact Kris Putnam-Walkerly at kris@putnam-consulting.com or 800-598-2102.