Published: November 21, 2019
Author(s): Lyle Matthew Kan
Topic(s): People of Color, Special Report
Region: National
In 2018, Funders for LGBTQ Issues set out to survey the board and staff of foundations in order to identify how many LGBTQ people worked in philanthropy — which resulted in The Philanthropic Closet: LGBTQ People in Philanthropy.
In the designing the survey, we realized that we had an opportunity to not only ask about sexual orientation and gender identity but also to inquire about a range of personal identifiers. With the inaugural Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals (DAPP) Survey, we asked participants to identify their role within their foundation, their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and disability status. This report lays out the results of the DAPP survey in aggregate form.
Produced in partnership with CHANGE Philanthropy and Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), the report and accompanying infographic explore diversity in the philanthropic workforce. Overall, the report finds a statistically significant difference between funders with a social justice focus and all other funders. Social justice funders were much more likely to have higher representation of LGBTQ people, people of color, and people with disabilities.
The report finds:
- People of color accounted for 37.8 percent of people on the staff or board of participating foundations.
- However, the percentage varied depending on a foundation’s focus. People of color made up 45.6 percent of the staff and board at foundations with a social justice focus, while they accounted for 33.0 percent of staff and board at foundations with another focus.
- While women accounted for nearly 70 percent of the staff and board at all participating foundations, only 44 percent of board members were women.
- Nearly half of women at foundations with a social justice focus were women of color; only a third of women at foundations with another focus were women of color.
- Among lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in philanthropy, 43.1 percent of those at foundations with a social justice focus were people of color, compared to one-third of those at foundations with another focus.
- Among transgender people, 57.1 percent of transgender people at foundations with a social justice focus were people of color, while 25 percent of transgender people at foundations with another focus were people of color.
- At foundations with a social justice focus, people with disabilities made up 8.8 percent of staff and boards, compared to 4.8 percent at foundations with another focus.
- Across all participating foundations, 10.3 percent of staff and board were born outside of the United States.
Special thanks to the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund for providing the funding to undertake the inaugural DAPP Survey and to SMU DataArts for helping us administer the survey.
