Funder Collaborative Toolkit

Specially designed for funders working collaboratively with other donors, this toolkit will help you advance listening, inclusivity, and equity. Worksheets walk you through identifying groups that are underrepresented in your collaborative’s decision making and help you create a plan to start making change.

Using the Toolkit

Jump into these worksheets, keeping in mind our advice below.

Step 1: Identify Underrepresented Groups in Your Collaborative

Step 2: Review and Consider the Menu of Approaches

Step 3: Create a Plan to Make Your Collaborative More Inclusive

We suggest that individual members of a collaborative complete the worksheets on their own, then come together to discuss their answers and thoughts about the work of the collaborative, what groups to engage and how, and next steps.

Just as there is no one right way to engage underrepresented groups, there is also not one universal set of underrepresented groups. The answer to the question, “What groups might be underrepresented in your collaborative fund?” will depend wholly on the type of work you do, where you do it, and whom you have already engaged in the fund to date. You might consider whether you have engaged:

• Foundations
• Businesses
• Individual donors
• Nonprofit leaders
• Government agencies
• People and Communities most affected by the funding decisions you make

Across all these categories, we encourage you to consider geographic representation and the representation of people of different races, ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic classes, ages, and abilities.

Step 1: Identify Underrepresented Groups in Your Collaborative

1. Think of a philanthropic collaborative you’re a part of. Consider these dimensions of that collaborative.
  • Who does the collaborative aim to serve in its work? Whose lives will be most affected by the work and decisions of the collaborative?
  • What is the current make-up of your fund structure? What groups are represented, and in what ways? Who has power to make decisions about focus and funding?
  • What group or groups might be missing altogether? (Groups can be defined in many ways. They can be nonprofit leaders and staff; the people you seek to serve or those who will be most impacted by your work; government agencies; businesses; or foundation, corporate, or individual donors. And across all these categories, groups can be defined as people of different races, ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic classes, ages, and abilities.)
2. Pick one dimension of fund structure (from the left column below) and its corresponding under represented group or groups (from the right column below) to focus on, starting to think about ways to increase and amplify representation.
Dimensions of your collaborative fund structure What groups are currently represented, and in what ways? Who isn't currently represented, and whose representation and perspective might add important dimensions to your work?
Fund Leadership (include the governing or advisory board(s) and senior staff.)
Fund Membership (if different from fund leadership.)
Fund Programming (Who determines agendas for funder and/or grantee events and meetings?)
Fund Staff and Consultants
Grantees/Partners (what groups get funded? What groups do grantee leaders represent?)
The People You Seek to Serve
Other Dimensions (Groups or dimensions of the work that are important and not included above.)
3. Why is it important to include underrepresented groups? For each of the underrepresented groups outlined in the table above, consider:
  • How will your work be better or stronger if you include that voice in different dimensions of your fund structure?
  • How might your work be weaker if you don’t?
  • Are there aspects of your work where you think that this isn’t relevant or applicable? Name those and discuss with colleagues to ensure you’re on the same page, and also that you haven’t missed anything or made an assumption about something that others see differently.

Step 2: Review and Consider the Menu of Approaches

Idea / Approach
  • Hire people to work with your collaborative from groups currently underrepresented in the collaborative.
  • Invite members of underrepresented groups to be voting members of your collaborative. (They would attend and participate in meetings, receive communications, etc., and participate in decision-making.) This allows for relationship-building over time and power-sharing.
  • Invite members of underrepresented groups to be non-voting members of your collaborative. (Among other interactions, they would attend and participate in meetings and receive communications.) This will build relationships over time.
  • Create an advisory board of underrepresented group(s).
  • Create a participatory design process for input into strategy development or grantmaking criteria and processes.
  • Routinely make at least a portion of your funds available for participatory grantmaking — and then take the time to learn from those who participate about their thinking, approach, decisions, etc. This allows for power-sharing.
  • Have periodic town hall meetings or community conversations where your funders and staff can connect with underrepresented groups who have experience and perspectives on the issues you’re working on.
  • Build systematic feedback loops with members of underrepresented groups so their points of view are included in data you use.
  • Do systematic polling or data collection so that you have representative perspectives of underrepresented voices for consideration.
  • Consider and be thoughtful about where you hold your meetings. Take time to learn together about the issues for people there (e.g., for funders in the United States that are working on racial justice, hold your meetings in a location with historic significance, like Montgomery, Ala.).
  • Other ideas/approaches

Step 3: Create a Plan to Make Your Collaborative More Inclusive

Note: Like many things in life, there are ways to do the above items well, and ways to do them poorly or even create harm. Each would need thoughtful implementation. For example, if you are asking for people’s time, you should be clear from the start that you will fairly compensate them for it. Be clear about the commitment and if/how you want to share their personal information. Also, it’s important to build in accountability mechanisms to ensure longer-term commitment and follow-through at your collaborative and responsibility to those you are engaging. Running town halls, for examples, requires a plan to report back to the people who participated what you heard and what you’re doing in response.

  1. What would you like to try working on from the menu in Step 2?
  2. How will you get started? What action will you take now or soon?
  3. Who else can be a champion with you?
  4.  Create a timeline for taking your first steps.
  5. What might your timeline be for the whole process?
  6.  What are your biggest concerns about implementing these changes? What might get in your way of making progress?
  7.  How could you potentially confront or mitigate these concerns and challenges?