COMMUNITY GRANTEE FEEDBACK

GRANTEE DIVERSITY

The Clowes Fund believes that effective organizations are deeply rooted in the communities they serve, and that diverse, representative leadership is an important factor of what makes them authentic and credible.

In 2020 the Fund added this question—“Does either the CEO/ED or Chief Board Officer self-identify as a person of color?—to its application to learn about the diversity of prospective grantees. We also surveyed 2019 and 2018 grantees to compile three years of data.

Today, about one-third of Clowes Fund grantee organizations are led by people of color, which is more than the 20% of nonprofit executive directors nationally who identify as people of color. But, 80% of our grantees report that they serve immigrants and/or ethnic or racial minorities. The gap between leadership and communities served is stunning, and unfortunately, in line with national trends.

When we analyzed 2018-2020 grants, we saw a significant difference in racial diversity based on budget size. Nearly 40% of grantees with budgets below $2.5 million were led by people of color, but for organizations with budgets larger than $2.5 million, the number dropped to 20%. Again, this pattern is consistent with national research and underscores the need for new and stronger relationships between philanthropy and those organizations that best represent their communities.

Collecting data is not an end in itself. The Clowes Fund will use this powerful information to guide our work and build a stronger, more equitable nonprofit sector.

Survey on Priorities for Immigrant Services

Services for immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers has become The Clowes Fund’s largest field of interest. Since establishing this grantmaking priority in 2003, the Fund has awarded nearly $14 million through more than 350 grants in Indianapolis, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to support efforts that address the economic, linguistic, legal and mental and emotional hurdles that immigrants, refugees and their families face in the U.S. In addition, many of the Fund’s workforce development grants serve immigrants.

In June 2020, the Fund’s board reviewed its immigrant services priorities based on data from a 2019 survey and interviews of service providers. The board decided to maintain its three immigrant services foci, including strong support for immigration legal services. In addition, the board decided to consider ways for the Fund to add value to the field beyond grant dollars; such as: convene grantee cohorts; revise the guidelines to reflect a broader view of mental health supports, including requests that go beyond clinical mental healthcare and include the informal work that front-line, immigrant-serving organizations provide to improve clients’ mental wellness; and expand funding for public policy advocacy and community organizing that directly relates to the Fund’s immigrant services priorities and strengthens immigrant voices in policy decisions. Additionally, the Fund will examine issues of diversity, equity and inclusion as part of its proposal review process as well as by analysis of application data.

The board’s decisions were based on data gathered through a survey sent to 234 contacts in the immigrant services field, including all recent Fund grant applicants and select contacts at other community organizations. We are grateful to the 97 people who completed the survey. Most of the respondents identified as executive and program staff, 41% as an immigrant or the child of an immigrant, and 44% reported that their organization is led by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant.

Survey respondents affirmed the importance of the Fund’s focus areas: English as new language, immigration legal services and mental health supports. When asked if these priorities are important to helping immigrants gain economic mobility, 99% of survey respondents said that legal services pertaining to immigration are important, 94% said that English as a new language is important, and 90% said that mental health support is important. Survey respondents also highlighted other needs that the Fund might support, including legal services in general (e.g., fair housing, domestic violence, wage theft, etc.) and public policy advocacy.

Following the survey, staff interviewed 12 immigrant-supporting grantees to have a deeper conversation about how the Fund can advance its goals. Interviewees generally supported the survey results and also raised important points about the value of community organizing and public policy advocacy that support the Fund’s three focus areas, and a caution that “mental health supports” suggests a narrow focus on clinical mental health care rather than a broad view of mental and emotional well-being.