(Illustration by Stuart McReath)
One of the questions that has guided my work in the philanthropic sector is: What is the best approach to ensure our work and investments are reflective of and responsive to the ever-changing needs of the communities we serve?
In recent years, we have learned how critical it is for us to work together as a sector to create real and lasting change for children, families, and communities. Philanthropy can meet the moment, but our ability to do so depends on our willingness to make radical shifts away from traditions, models, practices, and approaches that no longer serve our grantees and the communities they serve. This is a critical time for philanthropy to reflect as a sector, acknowledge and repair past wrongs, and forge a new path forward with racial equity as a shared goal.
While we should all be encouraged by the increased awareness of and support for racial equity, we are in a moment that requires transformative action to create a more equitable future. Philanthropic organizations have an essential role to play and can start by beginning or continuing their own racial equity journey. Our work on racial equity can’t be thought of solely as a funding priority; it must be a critical component of our own way of being. My organization, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is on its own racial equity journey to create the conditions where every child thrives and to establish a working environment that reflects our commitment to being an anti-racist organization. Along the way, we have changed the way we’ve worked inside and out and gleaned insights from the experience, including addressing the power imbalances inherent in philanthropy and redesigning the structure of philanthropic institutions, which we hope others can learn from as well.
Rebalancing Power
At the Kellogg Foundation, racial equity is one of our core values. We define it as the condition where people of all races and ethnicities have an equal opportunity to live in a society where a person’s racial identity would not determine how they are treated or predict life outcomes. In our work to create a world where all children can thrive, we seek to challenge and dismantle racism in all forms; support racial healing; identify and address historic oppression and privilege; remove present-day barriers to equitable opportunities; and disrupt the racialized processes in which people and institutions operate.
At the same time, as core as those beliefs are to who we are, our work on equity has also forced us to acknowledge that many philanthropic models and practices have rarely served grantees and communities in authentic and sustainable ways. Like many other institutions, the philanthropic sector is built on policies, practices, and systems that are inherently racist and perpetuate racialized inequities. Historically, communities of color have been underrepresented in mainstream giving institutions. And, if we follow the money, nonprofit organizations led by people of color—who are in the trenches serving their communities—are sorely under-resourced.
If we’re serious about working toward racial equity in philanthropy, these dynamics must change—and it begins with addressing the inherent and pre-established power imbalances. We must answer the call from communities to ensure that the people closest to the pain are the people closest to the power to address it and that communities lead the development of solutions to the challenges they face. It’s not enough for communities to have a seat at the table; they need a seat, a microphone, and help adding additional place settings for others to join them.
Today, local community leaders are utilizing collective and participatory giving practices, where communities have decision-making power and can build a sense of agency that leads to stronger, more resilient, more deeply community-rooted change. Indigenous communities are democratizing philanthropy to both liberate and heal through giving. Communities, often with the support of early leaders in the philanthropic space, are expanding the definition of philanthropy and changing who is seen as a philanthropist.
The philanthropic community must continue to prioritize building community power and finding ways to correct the power imbalance inherent in the practice of giving. This means finding new ways to fund organizations that give them greater control of their own decision-making and resource allocation. It also means supporting communities of color in using philanthropy to become agents of their own change and positively impact the lives of children and families in their communities.
Redesigning Organizational Structures
At the same time, as critical as changing our relationship with grantees is to combating racial inequity within philanthropy, we’ve also found that structural, foundation-level reforms are almost a prerequisite. In particular, at the Kellogg Foundation, another critical step in our racial equity journey has been the redesign of our organizational structure. Thanks to feedback from our grantees and staff, what precipitated this transformation was the realization that we were stuck and ineffective in our grantmaking practices.
In 2017, we ranked below the 50th percentile across many measures of grantee and staff perception surveys administered by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), which benchmarks us against our peer foundations. Grantees told us that our grantmaking processes were too complicated and burdensome; that it took too long to make grantmaking decisions; that we need to collaborate differently with them in order to build deeper, more authentic partnerships; and that we need to provide clear, consistent, and transparent communications. Our staff also told us they wanted the foundation to empower employees and build a “teaming culture.”
To respond to these needs and concerns, we redesigned our organizational structure. For almost 90 years, the Kellogg Foundation was organized in a more traditional hierarchical structure; we are now organized as a networked collective of smaller teams equipped and developed to adapt to new priorities and contexts with agility.
As a networked organization, we now have a flatter decision-making hierarchy that is empowered to move grants more quickly and effectively; more leadership opportunities at all levels; and ultimately, more effective service and relationships with our grantees and partners. Our teams are now organized in highly collaborative multidisciplinary pods that have busted up silos and bridged the divide between our program and operational staff.
Most importantly, our networked structure has radically improved how the foundation works for our grantees and staff. Thanks to our redesigned structure and the improved processes, more than 80 percent of our grants are now made in 60 business days or less, getting resources out the door to communities quickly to meet the urgent needs of children and families. We’ve also seen drastic improvements in our grantee and staff perception results; our 2020/2021 results have put us at the 75th percentile or better across a majority of the CEP measures. When the COVID-19 crisis turned the world upside down, our networked structure was critical in helping us—despite our long history and size—quickly pivot and respond to the shifting needs around the world.
In an inequitable and increasingly unpredictable world, it's more important than ever that philanthropic organizations are ready to deliver for communities while also continuing our own racial equity journeys. If our own experience is any indication, redesigning philanthropy’s organizational structures is critical to realizing that goal and a critical opportunity to show those just starting their own equity journey that we’re not asking any organization to take actions we aren’t willing to take ourselves.
The Racial Equity Journey
The past three years have exposed weaknesses in philanthropy, but they have also demonstrated our ability to evolve and respond to the needs of communities. Our grantees, communities, and partner organizations have the leadership, knowledge, and resolve to advance their communities, but they may need to be strengthened to reimagine and rebuild systems centered on racial equity—and philanthropy needs to be a catalytic partner in that process. They have challenged us to think and act differently and are holding us accountable. We must make the shift from being “donors” to also becoming “doers,” both supporting grantee action on racial equity and taking sustained action against inequity in our own organizations.
The journey to achieve racial equity is one every organization can take. It may not be easy, but you will be rewarded for your efforts. The communities we serve need—and our grantees expect—more leaders in philanthropy to step into the work of racial equity with confidence and a commitment to action. We must stand together, look out for each other, and work collaboratively to solve our common problems.
We need board members committed to creating authorizing environments for thoughtful work on racial equity, like our board did, back in 2007, when they declared their intention to make WKKF an anti-racist organization.
We need bold thinkers who will help us understand the deep connection between racial equity and racial healing—a process that restores individuals and communities to wholeness, repairs the damage caused by racism, and transforms societal structures into ones that affirm the inherent value of all people.
And we need to embrace the idea that our work toward racial equity isn’t something that can be left to a single standing committee or executive leader but a lens we bring with us to every single aspect of our day-to-day work.
Now is the time to throw out our old playbook of hierarchy, unproductive requirements, and broken status quo. It’s not the time to waffle or step back on our commitment, because seeing fundamental change in the field of philanthropy is just as important as it has ever been. If we’re ready to be agile and adapt so that we can truly reflect and serve our grantees and communities, I’m more sure than ever that we can create a world where every child can thrive.
Support SSIR’s coverage of cross-sector solutions to global challenges.
Help us further the reach of innovative ideas. Donate today.
Read more stories by Alandra Washington.