Weekly Reads
“[L]ook to models offered by pro-Black organizations that are demonstrating in their everyday work how to create workplace environments that prioritize safety, cultivate a culture of belonging while respecting non-work demands, foster a sense of dignity and meaning, and offer opportunities for growth. … After all, as NPQ contributor Dax-Devlon Ross notes, a pro-Black organization is “…not just a place where Black folks can thrive and be. It’s a place where all folks can thrive…” [more]
Nineequa Blanding, Nonprofit Quarterly
“We have the responsibility to ask: who is generative AI going to benefit most? … Ensuring everyone, regardless of background, education, or economic status, can fully benefit from generative AI will be central to whether this revolutionary technology advancement exacerbates or reduces existing inequities. Yes, new applications are sexy and garner press coverage. But paying attention to who benefits most may, in the long run, result in the biggest impact.” [more]
Anne Mei Chang, Candid
“Many of the organizations that we support are in need of more technical expertise around how the systems run and operate in order to be effective in advocating for some of those changes. They sometimes need communications resources to be able to tell the stories of successes and what else needs to happen to make policy changes real and meaningful for communities. So there's a range of ways foundations can be supportive, both in terms of supporting those same organizations to have greater capability … and connect[ing] grassroots organizations to existing organizations that have the technical expertise and that are aimed at really trying to change some of these systems.“ [more]
Ray Colmenar, Akonadi Foundation, for Inside Philanthropy
“Shifting towards two-way learning and shared decision-making means developing new understandings of ‘accountability,’ and putting aside narrow, academic definitions of validity and rigor, we are reckoning with how we may have perpetuated beliefs and practices that are counter to building power in marginalized communities. Traditional and historical notions of accountability enforce one-way evaluation practices based on a single question: Have our philanthropic investments brought the desired results? This return-on-investment mindset prioritizes quantitative metrics, narrowly defined objectives, and short time frames. It assumes that foundations get to define success.” [more]
Hanh Cao Yu, The California Endowment, for Stanford Social Innovation Review
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