As we celebrate our 20th year of giving, we are keenly aware that while the funding that we have provided has been helpful to our partners, it has not “moved the needle” in terms of addressing or reducing health disparities. We believe that intentionally focusing on race-based health disparities is the best way to begin making long-term changes.  The spirit of our values is the same, but the way we implement them will change.

It means that we will prioritize nonprofits that are led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) first, followed by rural applicants, and then all other applicants that don’t fall into those two groups.

Applicants that don’t fall into those two groups will be prioritized based on their organizational approach to equity.

We define a BIPOC-led organization as one where:

• 30% of its Board and Staff are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
• 51% of its clients are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and
• The CEO is a Black person, an Indigenous person, or a Person of Color

We will partner with and/or fund organizations that:

• Represent the community that it is trying to serve
• Are working to reduce or eliminate health disparities
• Serve under-resourced communities, people who are underinsured or uninsured, and people that are disenfranchised
• Are addressing the immediate needs of the community and/or are aimed at root causes
• Are anti-racist and are working to advance racial equity
• Are engaging with the community and lifting the community’s voice

We will consider funding white-led organizations that are committed to being racially equitable.

Being a BIPOC-led organization does not guarantee funding and being a white-led organization does not guarantee denial.

Organizations must meet all three parts of the definition to be considered BIPOC-led.

We define rural communities as the non-metro counties outside of Davidson County.  Davidson County is the only metropolitan county in our service area, so we consider the other counties that we serve to be rural.

Our focus is on eliminating health disparities. Racial health disparities show that even when you control for socio-economic status, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color have higher rates of infant mortality, maternal death, and more difficulty accessing services when they have disabilities. We understand that other populations are marginalized and as there is overlap between those groups, we will also address those needs.

There’s no one-sized fits all approach.  Every organization will have to examine what it means to implement racial equity in their organizations. The things your organization needs to do may be different than what another organization needs to do.  You will have an opportunity to discuss your organization’s racial equity process/journey during the application process.  There isn’t a racial equity checklist, and we don’t want anyone to be tokenized.

Even if the population of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in your community is small, it’s still worthy of time and investment.  We do still plan to fund in rural areas and understand that the populations in those areas are not as racially diverse as they are in more urban counties. However, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color also live and work in rural communities. In communities where there are people of color, we want to know if they are being served and if the staff is reflective of the people being served.

Are there any resources that you recommend for us to learn more?

• Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative’s “Organizational Race Equity Toolkit” (pg 36-41)
• Mayvin’s “Restorative HR Practice: A Toolkit”
• Multnomah County’s Equity and Empowerment Lens
• Race Forward’s Racial Justice Impact Assessment
• Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw’s “The Urgency of Intersectionality” TED Talk
• “Moving Beyond Diversity toward Racial Equity,” Ben Hecht, Harvard Business Review
• “What Works: Evidence-Based Ideas to Increase Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace,” University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Center for Employment Equity
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide

• Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative’s “Organizational Race Equity Toolkit” (pg 36-41)
• Mayvin’s “Restorative HR Practice: A Toolkit”
• Multnomah County’s Equity and Empowerment Lens
• Race Forward’s Racial Justice Impact Assessment
• Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw’s “The Urgency of Intersectionality” TED Talk
• “Moving Beyond Diversity toward Racial Equity,” Ben Hecht, Harvard Business Review
• “What Works: Evidence-Based Ideas to Increase Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace,” University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Center for Employment Equity
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide