Embracing Diversity

This report, published in 2008, provides findings from a comprehensive new analysis commissioned from the Foundation Center to assess the extent to which communities of color are being served by foundation giving in California.

NCG commissioned this study to help enhance our knowledge of a key issue that has been raised in our sector--with a goal to provide solid data that can support meaningful discussions, collective learning and movement to solutions.

Key Findings

Comprising analysis of grantmaking by 50 of the state's largest independent foundations, the report represents a series of studies on the diversity of California's philanthropy, with study findings demonstrating clear progress in grants benefiting populations of color throughout the state. Among the highlights of the report's findings:

• Of the 50 state foundations included in the study, at least 39 percent of California-focused grants and 33 percent of California-focused grant dollars primarily benefited populations of color (a conservative estimate that researchers believe may be even higher). In addition, researchers note that of the remaining percentage of California-focused grants, as many of the grants targeted the general public, which may ultimately benefit Californians of all backgrounds.
  
  
• An estimated 75 percent of grants targeting low-income populations also benefited communities of color.


• Grants explicitly targeting populations of color overwhelmingly concentrated in the health area, reflecting the grantmaking priorities of large foundations such as The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation.


• Ten-year trends show giving that benefited populations of color grew nearly twice as fast as overall giving between 1996 and 2005. In 2005 alone, the California-based foundations studied awarded a minimum of 2,700 grants totaling nearly $300 million in support of health, education, social services and other programs serving ethnically or racially diverse populations.