Money Where Your Mouth Is? Racial Equity in Education Grant-Making During Sociopolitical Crises

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership and Equity at the Intersection of Philanthropy and Education (Table 8)

Abstract

As sociopolitical crises over the past two years magnified attention paid to inequities across society, many institutions–including education-focused foundations–have reckoned with racial equity commitments. While there are clear lexical updates in how these foundations articulated commitments, there is not yet evidence of whether that substantively shifted the flow of grants. We describe trajectories in grantmaking over the past 12 years at 77 education-focused foundations, documenting the total amount granted, equity orientations of funded projects, and types of recipient organizations. We find that recent crises have coincided with shifts away from long-dominant white networks, in favor of more explicitly equity-oriented grants increasingly received by BIPOC-led organizations. However, it remains unclear whether these shifts are ephemeral or may persist in educational grantmaking.

Authors

• Claire Mackevicius, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author

• Heather N. McCambly, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Krystal R. Villanosa, Northwestern University
  Non-Presenting Author