Go beyond simplistic measures of diversity and use an intentional power analysis and equity lens to keep the focus where it belongs — on the people and communities most harmed by structural racism and other systemic inequities.
This tool focuses on including impacted community members on foundation governing boards. We use the term “impacted community” to mean the people and communities harmed by structural racism and other systemic inequities that can bring lived experience to bear on the systems and issues that the foundation seeks to address.
We use “impacted community” (singular) to refer to the concept, and “impacted communities” (plural) to refer to actual communities and the plurality of multi-faceted individual people that comprise them. From the vantage point of a foundation’s history, mission, and context, there is rarely only one discretely defined impacted community.
iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility’s mission statement says: “We achieve our vision by centering the leadership and expertise of Black people and people of the global majority in the Washington, DC region who live at the sharpest intersection of systems of oppression, in particular race, class, and gender identity.”https://comptonfoundation.org/the-end/03/
Not about simplistic measures of diversity
While engaging impacted communities will bring new attributes and perspectives to the foundation board, we are not talking about simplistic measures of “diversity.” For example, sometimes a family foundation’s first non-family board members are “family adjacent” — close friends or a trusted financial advisor or legal counsel who closely reflect the family’s interests. They would not meet our definition of impacted communities.
Grantees are not necessarily proxies
While grantees play an important role in the social change ecosystem and also should be considered for foundation board seats, we’re not using “grantee” as a proxy for impacted communities unless the grantee organizations themselves are reflective of and accountable to impacted communities.
We encourage foundations to use an intentional power analysis and equity lens to keep the focus where it belongs — on the people and communities furthest from conventional power structures and most harmed by decisions made without them — and to build authentic relationships that can transform the board’s work and worldview.
Don’t tokenize or make assumptions
At the same time, like anyone, impacted community members come in all roles and titles and have a range of skills and perspectives to offer. People who have wealth or a particular social or economic status today may have profound lived experience with any number of circumstances that intersect with the foundation’s mission and guide their sense of purpose and accountability. The point is to neither tokenize nor make assumptions based on obvious attributes.
Use an intentional power analysis and equity lens
Instead, we encourage foundations to use an intentional power analysis and equity lens to keep the focus where it belongs — on the people and communities furthest from conventional power structures and most harmed by decisions made without them — and to build authentic relationships that can transform the board’s work and worldview.
Not a static idea
Over time, as more, ever diverse people from impacted communities engage on the board and help shape discussions in the boardroom, they will bring new insights about who is impacted and how. And, of course, the context will continue to change. “Impacted community” is not a static idea or identity, but rather an orientation toward continuous engagement and evolution.
