Application Questions on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

MaryEllenStewart

What type of questions do you include on your grant or scholarship applications to be compliant with Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)?

Do you also do Bias training for evaluators?

KaraAdams (Former Community Manager)

I know DEI initiatives are a priority for a lot of organizations, and also help with monitoring the ability to reach all the demographics of a community that can benefit from funding. I wonder what types of questions others include as well, as well as if they've had any feedback on the types of questions included (or not included).

CynthiaYung

We collect demographic information (race, ethnicity and female gender) from organizations on their clients, staff and board. We would like to create a report that shows this data year over year to see if there are any changes. Do you know of other foundations who collect and report this data? And how they use it? It would be helpful to see a rating system or scale. #diversity #DEI #demographics

ECPollickByrnes

Hi Cynthia!

I too would love to hear examples of other foundations that are collecting this data and how it's influencing decision making! I also wanted to provide this blog as a resource I wrote a few months ago - while it doesn't have as much practical context, it does have some resources for folks interested in this topic.

https://resources.foundant.com/blog/demographics-data-and-you-tools-to-inform-your-grantmaking

Hope this helps!

Best,

E.C.

TomWickersham

Good question. I would love to see examples of DEI compliance questions. I remember seeing samples of anti-discrimination statements a few years ago -- maybe these might help too???

KaelaHammond

We're working on this same issue right now, so I'll be interested to see what other people use! We just included DEI explicit questions on our most recent application for the first time, and we're curious to see what responses we get back. We wanted to ease in, since we know many of our grantees aren't that far along in their DEI journey, so we just included a couple questions, below. We encouraged grantees to reach out with any questions on how to respond, and will provide guidance for any who are just getting started on this work.

1) What is the primary population you serve? Please include overall demographics and any specific geographic regions within the county/counties.

2) How do you incorporate the values of diversity, equity and inclusion in operations? For example, do you incorporate the perspectives of the population served in program design and delivery?

3) (Among the details requested to be included in a Board of Directors attachment): Is your board reflective of the community served or proximate to the community? If yes, how so?

We've talked with our committee about how to consider these responses, understanding that not all groups are far into this work at this point, and that groups shouldn't be penalized for being at the start of this. We're hopeful that even if some of our grantees aren't well versed in DEI yet, including questions like these on the application might encourage them to start having those conversations on their staff and board.

We haven't done any bias training for our committees yet, but we've been having conversations about how to bring that in with recent events - I'd love to hear what others are doing in this area! We do require all staff and board members to attend the Racial Equity Institute, which we've found to be really beneficial.

[Deleted User]

We have had numerous requests for clients to share forms on which demographic information is collected. A huge thanks to the Arizona Community Foundation for allowing us to share the attached portion of one of their application forms in which there various types of demographics questions relative to the population served.

demographics questions.pdf

#demographics

JodiLoos

We would like to add questions related to the applicant's Board Diversity. It would require an integer or text area for response. Does anyone use this directly in the application or is it a fillable, up-loadable form? See my sample below.

Board Composition

Total Board Members: _____

Male: _____

Female: _____

Other: _____

Race

White: _____

Black or African-American: _____

American Indian or Alaskan Native: _____

Asian: _____

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: _____

Ethnicity

Hispanic or Latino: _____

Not Hispanic or Lantino: _____

TracyLauritzenWright

Good afternoon –

We are interested in establishing metrics and accountability measures through our grantmaking to verify and encourage diversity, equity and inclusion work advanced by our grantee organizations, in an effort to move our entire sector towards greater inclusion. If any grantmaking organizations have metrics for inclusion and/or representation in program content, audiences, staff and/or board, we would appreciate any details you may be able to share. Our goal is to elevate mindful and purposeful efforts for arts access and representative content and support sustained actions.

Thank you all in advance! Have a great weekend!

Tracy

LaurelShulman

Our Programs team poses the following question in our application related to Board representation to address this issue. When participating on an internal review committee recently, I found that the question targeted essentially what we were asking but in a flexible way to allow grantees to respond where they're at.

"Board & Staff Composition*

We value organizations that demonstrate a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity as reflected by the

individuals who serve as board members. Please describe how your board of directors and staff reflect the people

and communities you serve in terms of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and/or lived experiences. If the board and/or

staff currently do not reflect the people and communities you serve, please share the policies and procedures you

have in place to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in your organization. As you consider your response,

please know that there are no "correct" answers. Every organization is different and we recognize that advancing

equity is an ongoing process that can be challenging. We appreciate your honest reflections."

TracyLauritzenWright

This is very helpful Laurel, thank you!