Case Study: A Work in Progress on Racial Equity at The Kresge Foundation
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Since 2016, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Environmental Philanthropy (InDEEP) has supported environmental grantmakers in cultivating opportunities to increase funding for organizations led by people of color and strengthen grantees across the field to create a more diverse and inclusive environmental movement. It does this by providing racial equity and social justice training on how to get started, shifting the portfolio, building pathways for more equitable funding, leadership development, and the cultivation of a network of peers for support and peer-to-peer learning.
As part of its evaluation practices and in the spirit of sharing solid racial equity practices with the greater field, InDEEP has engaged with some of its funding foundations, past participants and thought leaders in environmental philanthropy to create a series of published articles on the work that’s currently being done and the outlook for the future.
The InDEEP Theory of Change
InDEEP’s Theory of Change postulates that involvement in a program like InDEEP (including participation in activities like a community of practice, race caucuses, sectoral affinity groups, and tailored technical assistance) can lead to specific individual outcomes that promote organizational change, which can pave the way for sector-wide change around racial equity. A central component of the Theory of Change is organizational readiness for racial equity, inclusion and diversity.
The Kresge Foundation
For this case study, InDEEP team members interviewed four staff members at The Kresge Foundation, an investing funder in the initiative.
The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development in Detroit. The Foundation is committed to advancing racial and social equity.
In 2016, The Kresge Foundation launched the pilot Fostering Urban Equitable Leadership program (FUEL). They provide support to nonprofits addressing equity issues through a capacity-building program focusing specifically on leadership development through a racial equity lens. This was the first time the Foundation invested in the leadership of grantees across all six program areas and the first time they made investments in leadership with an intentional focus on racial equity.
In April 2019, leaders from The Kresge Foundation announced plans to invest 25 percent of its U.S. assets under management in female and diverse-owned firms by 2025.
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