Weekly Reads—August 6, 2021

Enjoy PEAK’s weekly roundup of timely insights from the grantmaking community and beyond.

“Stories of interpersonal and structural violence against BAMEMSA [Black, African, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian] communities after 9/11 are ubiquitous, but so are the stories of activists rising to these challenges… [and despite] many successes, BAMEMSA communities continue to be underinvested in and excluded from broader conversations and philanthropic opportunities around racial justice and immigrant justice. We also are up against a tidal wave of funding in support of efforts to demonize and criminalize our communities.” [more]
Sheila Bapat, Claire Downing, Alison Kysia, and Deborah Makari for the RISE Together Fund at Proteus Fund, for Candid

“The 2020 Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals Report report is intended to be a tool for philanthropy to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improvement in diversity and inclusionary practices in the sector. With the creation of the CHANGE Philanthropy Reception of Identity Index (RII), it also aims to help both individual foundations and the philanthropic sector assess their workplace culture.”
CHANGE Philanthropy

“A core difference between experimental and participatory approaches [to program design] is at the heart of the equity argument. Experimental approaches like randomized controlled trials (RCTs) follow a treatment and control group over time. In contrast, participatory tools including feedback, surveys, and focus groups connect immediate learning with continuous improvements to programs and policies, with participants seen as experts in their own experience.” [more]
Lymari Benitez and Yessica Cancel, Pace Center for Girls, for the Center for Effective Philanthropy