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PEAK Grantmaking

Holding Ourselves Accountable: Measuring Progress Toward Equitable Grantmaking

Organization Members Only

Tracking progress of increasing equity in funding gives foundations power over their knowledge, narrative, data, and accountability. How can they better gauge whether they are achieving what they intend while simultaneously expanding funding to communities of color? Does the potential exist to create a tracking system over time that is robust enough to be applied to disability, gender expression, and other issues alongside race? In 2018, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s (DDCF’s) Grants Management and Arts Program teams began an exploration together of how existing data on its arts and culture giving captures, or may miss, its support to African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, and Native-American (ALAANA) organizations and artists. By extension, we wondered whether missing or incomplete data might be drawing an inaccurate picture of giving in the field at large.

To explore this question, DDCF worked with Callahan Consulting for the Arts to develop and pilot a measurement system that might better capture its ALAANA funding. DDCF has since begun conversations with Candid and Grantmakers in the Arts (GIA) about how to help other foundations improve demographic data collection and reporting. In this session, learn how to open a dialogue about how grants management staff can work with program staff and across foundations to better track our progress toward more equitable funding and get tips on sharing complete and timely grants data.

Speakers

Suzanne Callahan, CFRE
Founder
Callahan Consulting for the Arts

Adrienne Fisher
Director of Grants Management and Evaluation
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Maurine Knighton
Program Director for the Arts
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Katherine Neiheisel
eReporting Liaison
Candid

Edwin Torres
President & CEO
Grantmakers in the Arts