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Get philanthropy insights, learn best practices and research documents that help you further your impact. Begin your search by typing a keyword in the "Search" bar below, or search by "Resource Type" by selecting the section(s) in the right-hand panel. Next, scroll to the bottom of the page to view search results. Have a resource to add? Email us at info@mcf.org.
 

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State of Funding: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Grantmaking in Minnesota

This report shows that U.S. foundations awarded nearly $1.3 million in 2007 to LGBTQ organizations and programs throughout Minnesota; 83 percent of this giving came from foundations based inside the state. It also found that nearly half of the Minnesota organizations that responded to our study have annual budgets of $100,000 or less and operate with two or fewer paid staff members. These groups rely more on support from foundations and individuals, and less on government and corporate sources. A number of opportunities exist for foundations to invest in LGBTQ communities throughout Minnesota...
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Diversity, Equity and InclusionResearch

Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences and Adultification Bias

This study's goal was to measure participants’ responses to our adultification findings by asking them about their real-world observations and seeking their insights about solutions to overcome this bias, as well as directions for future research. To that end, it asked participants whether the results of the original study align with their lived experiences and whether they believe the findings presented in the previous Girlhood Interrupted report would contribute to meaningful change.
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Diversity, Equity and InclusionResearch

Support Beyond Dollars

Published: 
April 2020
Lifting up the genius and lived experience of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) leaders is necessary to advancing racial equity and uncovering the solutions to large, systemic problems like disparities in housing, education, healthcare and the wealth gap. BIPOC communities continue to be excluded from, and wholly oppressed by, these systems and continue to experience the highest barriers when engaging with them. Even across the nonprofit landscape, leaders who reflect their communities typically receive only a fraction of funding for their nonprofit organizations, despite better...
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Racial Equity Toolkit: An Opportunity to Operationalize Equity

Racial equity tools are designed to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity in decisions, including policies, practices, programs, and budgets. It is both a product and a process. Use of a racial equity tool can help to develop strategies and actions that reduce racial inequities and improve success for all groups. Too often, policies and programs are developed and implemented without thoughtful consideration of racial equity. When racial equity is not explicitly brought into operations and decision-making, racial inequities are likely to be perpetuated. Racial equity tools provide...
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Foundations Facilitate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Partnering with Community and Nonprofits

This research study, commissioned by the OMG Center for Collaborative Learning by the D5 Coalition in 2012, investigates the systemic factors in the philanthropic sector that facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion in grantmaking and nonprofit practice. In spring 2013, OMG conducted a qualititative study of nine foundations through in-depth interviews with executives, program officers, and nonprofit partners.

Foundation Diversity Policy & Practices Toolkit

Changing demographics throughout the United States are redefining the role of diversity within the field of philanthropy. Foundations are embracing diversity in their grantmaking and organizational practices and thereby strengthening their knowledge of the communities they serve. This, in turn, broadens their perspective on the political, economic, and social problems they aim to resolve. A foundation that both reflects and acknowledges the myriad characteristics of its communities operates from a richer range of viewpoints toward successful grantmaking and as an authentic philanthropic...

Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities

The United States Census Bureau reports that approximately 56.7 million Americans have a disability. This booklet is for anyone—with or without a disability—who wants to interact more effectively with people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was conceived with the goal of integrating people with disabilities into all aspects of life, particularly the workplace and the marketplace. Sensitivity toward people with disabilities is not only in the spirit of the ADA, it makes good business sense. It can help you expand your practice, better serve your customers or...

D5 State of the Work 2012: The Road to Greater Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Philanthropy

State of the Work 2012 explores milestones and stories in each of the four goal areas. It’s intended as a qualitative companion to the quantitatively focused State of the Work 2011. Each section of the report focuses on work in one goal area. Within each section you’ll find a baseline analysis of where philanthropy is in this area, a progress report on D5’s work, stories or interviews based on work in the field, and preliminary lessons learned. On page 47, you will also find a glossary that defines various acronyms referenced in the report. Throughout the report, we mention data that quantify...
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Building on a Better Foundation: A Toolkit for Creating an Inclusive Grantmaking Organization

The toolkit now in your hands is the product of many years of dialogue, debate and learning among a committed group of people at regional grantmaking associations across the country and their colleagues at member organizations. What began with talk about race and ethnicity in the 1980s eventually evolved into discussions of the broader issues of inclusion and diversity at grantmaking institutions. This toolkit takes the talk to another level, to walk the walk of inclusion by encouraging others to think about and pursue diversity in both their internal organization and their external work as...

A Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration

Societal “progress” is often marked by the construction of new infrastructure that fuels change and innovation. Just as railroads and interstate highways were the defining infrastructure projects of the 1800 and 1900s, the development of data infrastructure is a critical innovation of our century. Railroads and highways were drivers of development and prosperity for some investors and sites. Yet other individuals and communities were harmed, displaced, bypassed, ignored, and forgotten by those efforts. As railroads and highways both developed and decimated communities, so too can data...

The 2018 Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals Report

In 2018, Funders for LGBTQ Issues set out to survey the board and staff of foundations in order to identify how many LGBTQ people worked in philanthropy. In the process, the organization realized that it had an opportunity to not only ask about sexual orientation and gender identity but also to inquire about a range of personal identifiers. With the inaugural Diversity Among Philanthropic Professionals (DAPP) Survey, Funders for LGBTQ Issues asked participants to identify their role within their foundation, their age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and disability...
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Learning Series Keynote: Imagining an Anti-Racist Sector

Explore the individual, organizational and systems changes needed to transform philanthropy into an anti-racist sector. What will it take for us to diminish racism and combat white supremacy in our state? Keynote speakers: Marcus Walton, President and CEO, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) Chanda Smith Baker, Chief Impact Officer and Senior Vice President, Minneapolis Foundation Recorded February 10, 2021
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Learning Series

Minnesota Business Giving: The Business of Giving Back

This first-ever statewide survey of 595 business establishments gives a rare glimpse at the bigger picture of business philanthropy in Minnesota--not just the giving of larger corporations and their foundations, but the giving and community involvement of all sizes of businesses, from those with less than 20 employees to those with more than 500. The survey results describe a positive picture of business giving and involvement in Minnesota. They show that business philanthropy is strong throughout the state and that giving and community involvement are integral to business establishments of...
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Grantmaking

The PRI Pulse

The PRI Pulse is an ambitious research project undertaken by Venn Foundation to learn how Minnesota private foundations have historically used Program-Related Investments (PRIs) from 1998 to 2016. Their goal was to put their fingers on the state’s PRI pulse and then report back the results, providing Minnesota’s philanthropic and impact investing communities with high-quality baseline statistics on how PRIs have been used in the past, right at a time when many are discussing how best to utilize them in the future.
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Impact Investing

Funding Tomorrow’s Heroes: Awarding Scholarships Lifts Individuals for the Benefit of All

Education lifts individuals along with their families and entire communities. Financial help to pay for it can be one of the most powerful gifts you can possibly bestow. With a private foundation, you can donate to a school’s scholarship program, but you also have the option of running your own and selecting the recipients.
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GrantmakingOrganizational Development

Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook: Leveraging Your Dollars

PAP.png Philanthropy Advocacy Playbook: Leveraging Your Dollars is designed to provide foundations with the information they need to both fund and conduct advocacy. The Playbook provides examples of how foundation investments have generated meaningful policy change, as well as links to other publications and fact sheets that will allow foundation leaders to quickly answer their questions and access additional information.
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Best PracticePublic Policy

Becoming a Better Ally: Supporting Racial Equity in Rural Minnesota

Join a conversation with foundation leaders who are working to advance racial equity in rural communities and small cities in Greater Minnesota. Presenters will share details about efforts to remove barriers to economic mobility and community-led efforts to make full participation in community and civic life a reality. Participants will learn about demographic shifts in the state, how their boards and staff have engaged and learned about the issues, the programs that have been developed to address systemic racism, and reflections on being white foundation executives leading this work...
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Learning Series

Grantmaking with a Racial Equity Lens: A Practical Guide

Written by PRE Senior Fellow Rinku Sen and Executive Director Lori Villarosa with contributions from Maggie Potapchuk, Lisa McGill, and Makani Themba, this resource provides grantmakers with reflections, frameworks and tools built from the direct experience of activists and funders for advancing racial justice in any philanthropic setting. Download it here

Advocacy Funding: The Philanthropy of Changing Minds

Grantmakers tend to be cautious about funding advocacy, and for good reason - yet advocacy can play a crucial role in advancing a foundation's mission. In this guide, contributors explain that advocacy includes a lot of opportunities to improve public policy through work that is well within the limits of the law. Whether your purpose is to advance an idea, argue a position, or enrich the policy debate, the guide offers resources and strategies for planning your work, reaching your audience, assessing impact, and more.
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Best PracticePublic Policy

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