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Tracking Diversity Data: It’s No Longer Just a Debate
Most of you have likely heard about California Assembly Bill 624 (AB624), proposed in June 2008, which would have required every private, operating, and corporate foundation in California with assets of more than $250 million to collect (and disclose publicly) data on its board, staff, grantees, and vendors with respect to ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Although this legislation was withdrawn by its author, Assemblyman Joe Coto, after a series of discussions with several foundation leaders convinced him the bill was unnecessary, it had a clear impact on the philanthropic sector by re-energizing conversations on how diversity impacts the effectiveness of grantmaking and how it can and should be tracked by foundations.
Some of the ten large California foundations who formed a Foundation Coalition to oppose the proposed legislation (the Ahmanson Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the UniHealth Foundation, the California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Weingart Foundation) agreed to direct additional funding to grassroots and community-based organizations to support minority and low-income communities in California to increase their capability to compete for funding, develop leadership within the community, and increase their access to larger foundations. A handful of the California foundations involved in the (now dissolved) Coalition have also begun thinking about, and in some cases implemented, methods of gathering diversity data on their grantees, including the race/ethnicity and gender of grantee boards and staff.
The diversity data collection movement has also been gaining momentum on the east coast since the proposal of AB624. In September 2009, approximately 50 representatives of the philanthropic sector from across the country — including grantmakers, researchers, and infrastructure organizations — gathered at the Foundation Center in New York City to discuss diversity metrics. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the adoption of data collection standards for the sector. As with all types of data, it is difficult to measure results accurately if there is not sector-wide agreement on what data to collect, and how to collect and code the information in a comparable way. It is important to mention that participants were asked to start with the assumption that foundations should collect data on diversity - although as an attendee, I observed that not all participants were in agreement about the benefit of collecting diversity data or how to define diversity.
Despite this difference of opinion, all seemed to agree that diversity in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors was important and something they – and their organizations – valued and paid attention to. The agenda included discussions about gathering diversity data on boards and staff, on populations reached through the work of foundations, and building a field-wide data collection system. The meeting yielded no absolute conclusions (it was not meant to), but the large number and variety of the participants themselves resulted in lively and honest discussions. As a next step, the Foundation Center plans to reach out to meeting participants and create three working groups to pursue the development of standards for collecting data on foundations, nonprofits, and populations served.
Although the momentum to gather diversity data has increased since the California legislation was introduced, it is certainly not a new concept. The Ford Foundation, for instance, has been collecting diversity data as part of its grant application process for more than 25 years. In addition, some baseline data on diversity in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors is being collected by various regional associations of grantmakers, the Foundation Center, and by individual foundations. For example, Philanthropy New York (in partnership with the Foundation Center), conducted a survey of New York City foundations and nonprofits and published the findings in a recently released report, Benchmarking Diversity: A First Look at New York City Foundation and Nonprofits. The report was not designed to make recommendations to New York City area foundations and nonprofits, but to establish research-based knowledge that could help inform discussions and serve as a baseline for future data, making it possible to measure the impact of any new programs or policies implemented by organizations in New York City or the sector as a whole.
If your organization decides to begin tracking diversity data, what role can and should you, as a grants manager play? The first thing to know is that you do not have to re-invent the wheel. If you are tasked with implementing a data-collection system on diversity, reach out to your local regional association of grantmakers, to the Foundation Center, the Council on Foundations, and to your colleagues at the Grants Managers Network. There is much to consider, including: what data to collect; how to collect it, code it, and compare the information; and what the laws are pertaining to asking staff and grantees to disclose personal information about their race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Below is a list of resources (both documents and organizations) that can help you get started. If you have questions or comments about collecting diversity data or know of additional resources, please participate in the discussion on the Grants Managers Network’s online community!
Resources:
Northern California Grantmakers
Benchmarking Diversity: A First Look at New York City Foundation and Nonprofits
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Diversity and Inclusion: Lessons from the Field
Diversity in Philanthropy Project
To Collect or Not to Collect: Maya Horton Harris