Research
The Foundation Center compiles Foundation Landscapes that combine multiple resources, including data visualization tools, original research, and more to illuminate critical issues in philanthropy. This page, focused on racial equity, includes a collection of research, upcoming trainings and webinars, news articles, and blog posts from experts in the field.
Assessing the performance of a foundation is notoriously challenging, but it is crucial to learning and improvement.
In the latest edition of Giving in Numbers, research of corporate social investment has found that leading corporations are intensifying efforts to meet key societal needs around the world. It is based on data from 252 companies and not only presents a profile of corporate philanthropy and employee engagement, but also includes a Trends Summary that highlights the prominent features of corporate societal investment.
These two reports show the human and economic toll of the opioid and tobacco epidemics and chart out recommendations for educators, employers, health providers, and effective policy.
After more than 15 years promoting grantmaker practices that support nonprofit results, GEO is convinced that a strong culture inside foundations is critical for effective philanthropy. It’s virtually impossible to operate as an ally and partner to nonprofits if you are working inside a foundation whose values and culture run counter to that spirit.
Achieving race equity — the condition where one’s racial identity has no influence on how one fares in society — is a fundamental element of social change across every issue area in the social sector. Yet the structural racism that endures in U.S. society, deeply rooted in our nation’s history and perpetuated through racist policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages, prevents us from attaining it. The impact of structural racism is evident not only in societal outcomes, but in the very institutions that seek to positively impact them
There is great interest among grantmakers in demographic data, but no consensus or shared purpose yet on what data should be collected and how it should be used. This preliminary research on demographic data collection serves to create a baseline understanding of where the field is in demographic data collection that covers both the process of data collection and current use of demographic data.
Based on survey responses of 205 leaders of nonprofit organizations with annual expenses between $100,000 and $100 million, Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations provides a collection of data on topics such as how diversity relates to the work of nonprofits and what demographic information nonprofits and funders alike are collecting — and how that information is used. The data in this report can inform foundation leaders and staff as they consider how they can most helpfully engage with their grantees on the topic of diversity.
This report from Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy examines the thoughts and feelings of early- and mid- career practitioners on philanthropy and their futures in it.
Produced as a part of its Grantmakers United for Trans Communities (GUTC) Initiative, this infographic highlights the needs of the more than 1 million trans people in the United States and notes the current scale and scope of funding for trans issues.
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