Application Questions on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

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.

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.

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: _____

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."