Weekly Reads—March 15, 2024

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

“Many women of color lead nonprofits, especially the smallest organizations. An estimated 28 percent of those with budgets below $50,000 have women of color at the helm, according to an analysis by Candid that was shared with the Chronicle of Philanthropy. … Given this, the well-being of these leaders should be a philanthropic priority. At its most basic level, that means giving our organizations the funding they need to succeed, valuing our time, and respecting our desire to work in our communities and stay home, rather than being on a constant roadshow to raise money.” [more]
Sayu Bhojwani, New American Leaders and Women’s Democracy Lab, for The Chronicle of Philanthropy

“While the historical wage gap between nonprofit and those employed either by for-profit firms or the government is narrowing, nonprofits face mixed feelings from the public and funders about whether their employees deserve to earn wages comparable to business or government workers. The process of getting nonprofits out of the proverbial church basement means overcoming antiquated views of the helping professions where your compensation includes ‘psychic income’—reflected in such tropes as doing the ‘Lord’s work’ and rewards ‘in the next life.’” [more]
Jon Pratt, GrantAdvisor.org, for Nonprofit Quarterly

“[B]etween 2016 and 2022, steadily increasing shares of both BIPOC and white respondents reported receiving peer support, training on staff management and supervision, coaching and executive coaching, and internal mentorship. So, we were surprised that the latest [Race to Lead] survey showed that the percentage of BIPOC respondents aspiring to lead had dipped from 50% and 52% in 2016 and 2019 to 46% in 2022. That led us to look for clues in the data, especially the types of supports associated with leadership aspirations.” [more]
Sean Thomas-Breitfeld and Frances Kunreuther, Building Movement Project, for Candid

“The Health Forward Foundation recently completed a two-year journey with the Equitable Evaluation Initiative as a practicing partner. This partnership provided us with the support to push for change that better aligned with our new focus, prioritizing racial equity and economic advancement. The partnership also allowed us to explore a number of questions fundamental to our work in learning and evaluation: what we really know about the impact philanthropy is making in our communities; how we can explain that to board members, and how we honor the personal experiences of the people we serve.” [more]
Health Forward Foundation, in The Foundation Review