National LGBTQ Grantmakers Retreat on Racial Equity

On January 13-15, 2009, Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues hosted a retreat on racial equity for LGBTQ grantmakers from around the country. In addition to strengthening funder relationships, the purpose of the retreat was to enhance philanthropic support for LGBTQ communities of color by working with grantmakers to identify the related funding opportunities, barriers and avenues.

Grantmakers supporting LGBTQ communities have been an undeniable force in LGBTQ rights, the philanthropic sector and our broader civil society. From 2002 to 2007, they provided approximately $304 million to LGBTQ communities around the country.

Yet despite the contributions of LGBTQ grantmakers, research from Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues has found that funding to LGBTQ people of color remains a mere 9 percent of all LGBTQ dollars (in 2007, the latest year of available data). Further, according to Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues' 2008 report card on racial equity, only one in four LGBTQ grantmakers nationwide awarded any grants targeting LGBTQ people of color that year.

The foundations represented at the retreat were a diverse assortment of private, public and community foundations and funds. Moreover, some of these funders primarily support LGBTQ communities while others award LGBTQ grants as part of wider funding interests.

Some participants described themselves as having vast experience in equity issues, in both philanthropic and community-based settings, while others felt less knowledgeable. Everyone expressed an interest in learning more. To ensure a common framework existed among the group, participants were asked to read, prior to the retreat, a handful of essays authored by Manning Marable, June Jordan, Adrienne Rich, and Atlantic Philanthropies President and CEO Gara LaMarche.

Grantmakers came to the retreat aware that addressing racial equity among LGBTQ communities has its challenges in the broader philanthropic sector. Some noted the unwillingness of mainstream organizations/grantees to deal with the subject matter. Others pointed out that LGBTQ people of color efforts lacked sufficient resources to advance their missions. And others pointed out that the subject of race is emotionally difficult, complicated and rarely addressed among grantmakers. Nearly everyone agreed: philanthropic support needs to improve for LGBTQ people of color.

FLGI Executive Director Karen Zelermyer, with FLGI board members Lina Paredes (Liberty Hill Foundation) and Ignatius Bau (The California Endowment), welcomed the group and set the context. Inca A. Mohamed and Robin Katcher from The Management Assistance Group facilitated the retreat.

Participants began the first night of the retreat with a conversation on California's Proposition 8, which amended the state's constitution to eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples. Participants discussed its implications for building stronger alliances across movements, as well as the importance of addressing racial injustice within our movement and beyond. The conversation was led by Jewelle Gomez (Horizons Foundation), Surina Khan (The Women's Foundation of California), Andrew Lane (Johnson Family Foundation) and Tim Sweeney (Gill Foundation).

Wednesday morning started with a few presentations comparing frameworks for creating inclusive institutions and promoting widespread equity and opportunity. The frameworks included diversity and inclusivity, race neutral vs. race conscious approaches, and structural racism.

FLGI Research Director Robert Espinoza presented a structural racism framework (borrowed largely from the Aspen Institute) that guided the audience through eight areas, including the meaning of race, intersectionality, historical advantage, racialized public policies, and four others. Central to this presentation was Philosopher Marilyn Frye's bird-in-the-birdcage metaphor.

Philosopher Marilyn Frye's bird-in-the-birdcage metaphor helped illustrate this structural racism lens: If grantmakers focus on a few bars, they miss seeing the connectedness of multiple bars that prevent the bird from flying. If they step back and see the totality of the birdcage, they see how all the bars—public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and norms and values—produce and reproduce racial inequities among LGBTQ communities. This "birdcage" presentation was the second-highest rated section of the retreat by participants.

A formal evaluation of the retreat found that participants' knowledge of structural racism significantly increased; the percentage of people with no (or uncertain) knowledge decreased from 14% to 0%, while the percentage of people with significant knowledge increased from 33% to 61%.

Retreat co-facilitator Robin Katcher followed the structural racism overview by examining LGBTQ people of color disparities. Based on journal articles, published research and interviews with LGBTQ people of color activists, the overview described how structural racism impacts the lives of LGBTQ people of color across indicators such as health, education and others. Katcher also shared insights from LGBTQ people of color on what it means to successfully support LGBTQ racial equity work.

FLGI's formal evaluation found that participants' knowledge of racial inequities among LGBTQ communities significantly increased; the percentage of people with no (or uncertain) knowledge decreased from 14% to 0%, while the percentage of people with significant knowledge increased from 43% to 78%.

Following the two presentations, participants explored a hypothetical scenario involving a federal policy proposal that would provide immigration rights to legally married couples. In groups, grantmakers were asked to explore grantmaking considerations given differences in values and approaches among LGBTQ organizations working on immigrant rights.

FLGI's formal evaluation found that participants' skills at applying an understanding of racial equity to their foundations' LGBTQ grantmaking significantly increased; the percentage of people with no (or uncertain) skills decreased from 33% to 6%, while the percentage of people with significant skills increased from 24% to 44%.

To support grantmakers, FLGI offered the group a take-home tool that guides them in applying a structural racism framework to LGBTQ issues, using an example co-developed with the Providence Youth Student Movement in Rhode Island. Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues also provided a tool to compare racial equity frameworks and a tool for understanding structural racism.

A panel of LGBTQ grantmakers described how their foundations address racial (and other) inequities through their grantmaking, including differing models and lessons learned. They also discussed how to work with boards of directors, staff members and donors. The panelists included Katherine Acey (Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice), Roger Doughty (Horizons Foundation) and Bill Mattle (Stonewall Foundation). FLGI Program Director Ellen Gurzinsky moderated the panel.

Grantmakers were asked to share where their foundations reside on a self-defined continuum of support for LGBTQ racial equity—and to join their similar colleagues in small groups to share ideas and seek advice.

Some participants noted that their foundations were in the beginning stages of incorporating a racial equity lens into their grantmaking. They mentioned wanting advice on working with their boards, staffs and donors to spark a conversation, as well as "101" resources that would help them begin this internal process responsibly and effectively.

Other participants believed that their foundations, across all levels, supported racial equity work—yet lacked the know-how to implement it within their internal operations or their grantmaking. They noted wanting case studies, as well as sample policies and practices that help their institutions move successfully from theory to practice.

Another group of participants believed that their foundations had diversified their staff and boards yet needed to sharpen their institutional lenses on LGBTQ racial equity. These participants wanted tools to inform their grantmaking analysis, support on external framing and messaging, and models for moving from a diversity and inclusion lens to a racial justice lens.

Finally, a few participants believed that their foundations already operated from an intersectional social justice lens and wanted to figure out how to build a broader base of like-minded funders. These funders craved resources that help "make the case" to other funders, coordinated funding partnerships, and provided a conduit for sharing resources grantmaker-to-grantmaker.

FLGI's formal evaluation found that the retreat significantly increased participants' knowledge on how other foundations are applying a racial equity lens to their grantmaking; the percentage of people with no (or uncertain) knowledge decreased from 52% to 5.6%, while the percentage of people with knowledge increased from 5% to 28%.

To build cohesion and broaden awareness about the variety of cultural experiences, participants capped their last evening together with a culture sharing. Here, participants shared an item of significance to their cultures and personal lives. The culture sharing was the highest rated section of the entire retreat.

FLGI's formal evaluation found that the retreat significantly strengthened relationships among grantmakers that are supporting LGBTQ issues through a racial equity lens; the percentage of people with no (or uncertain) relationships decreased from 57% to 6%, while the percentage of people with relationships increased from 43% to 95%.

To further support grantmakers, FLGI offered the participants a variety of resources to take home with them, including a collection of essays; Critical Race Theory, by Richard Delgado; Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens by GrantCraft and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, the Aspen Institute's primer on structural racism; and a participant-created list of further readings.

In addition to the strengthened relationships developed at the retreat, participants have agreed to continue the conversations on LGBTQ racial equity—within their foundations and among each other. Two groups have formed to explore (1) opportunities for both collaboration and learning in regards to funding LGBTQ racial equity (and other issues identified at the retreat) and (2) how to synthesize published research and analysis on the many issues shaping LGBTQ communities.

Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues is working with a national advisory group of grantmakers, philanthropic experts and activists to create an online toolkit that supports grantmakers in understanding and supporting LGBTQ racial equty. The tool kit—set for release in September 2009—will include field-tested tools, commentary, publications, grantmaking spotlights and other resources.

So where do we go from here? It's clear that we live in a historic moment: increasingly tough economic times, a new, promising presidential era offset by a mixed, somewhat grim, political environment for LGBTQ people. Our commitment, nonetheless, remains strong. Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues will continue to work with funders, serve as thought leaders across sectors and build resources for grantmakers and activists alike to ensure that widespread equity prevails. Join our efforts.