This joint study from PolicyLink and the Bridgespan Group analyzes the state of funding for racial equity work. Among a host of important findings, the report offers two key takeaways to funders who want to be generative members of the racial equity ecosystem. First, accountability, a necessity of racial equity work, is impossible without rigorous and transparent reporting. Second, funders must trust and defer to the articulated needs of movement leaders to fund the work they say is needed to achieve enduring change.
Strong institutions that have been driving this work, even when funding is scarce, are inviting philanthropy into a conversation about how we aggregate capital, the types of results we want to see, and how to effectively deploy capital to achieve those results. This conversation can foster a relationship between frontline movement leaders and funders that makes it possible to truly win on equity.
