I Am A Philanthropist from D5 Coalition, a video produced by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the D5 Coalition.

“America is very diverse, as is the community I live in, San Jose,” says Carmen Castellano. “But you walk into some institutions and the diversity is not there. We want to see people who look like us reflected in those institutions. I want to show the brown face of philanthropy.”

Castellano is one voice in a powerful chorus of diverse donors profiled in “I Am a Philanthropist,” a new video produced by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and the D5 Coalition. You can see the video by clicking on the image above.

An inspiring testament to the spread of philanthropy in communities across the nation, the video was a centerpiece of a gathering of diverse donors we held in Los Angeles in November. We celebrated diverse donors, gave them opportunities to network and learn, and aimed to inspire more giving.

Click here for a summary and some pictures of the event, along with resources for donors.

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How can we support, and sustain, more diverse and inclusive leadership in the nonprofit sector?

This is a core question of D5’s work, and for one day in November it was a key topic of conversation among 250 nonprofit leaders at the White House Forum on Nonprofit Leadership, held November 15 in Washington, DC. It was a packed day, one that allowed us to focus on issues important to building and sustaining nonprofit leaders.

Among other reasons for caring about nonprofit leadership, the White House is focused on the changing demographics of our nation, which require nonprofits to be attentive to a greater need for diverse and inclusive leadership.

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How should philanthropy respond to the tremendous demographic changes taking place in the United States?

One way is to weave the work of more diverse donors – “the best kept secret in philanthropy,” according to one of the leaders in the field – into more traditional philanthropy. More »

We’re thrilled to announce that The California Endowment is investing $4 million in the work of our growing alliance of national and regional organizations to make philanthropy in the U.S. more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

“The D5 strategy is designed to meet philanthropic institutions ‘where they are’ on the issue of diversity and help them take the next step in a way that is mission-supportive, results-oriented, and not too scary,” said Robert K. Ross, M.D., president and CEO of The California Endowment and a founding chair of the coalition, in announcing the grant. The approach, he said, “is fundamentally about alignment. The coalition connects nodes of activity that have been percolating to…a single, workable strategy for the field—and this is new.”

Read the news release here.

Though there is strong, intuitive and anecdotal evidence that diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes, the hard data and research on this connection is sparse.  Recent research however, provides important and provocative insight into how diverse groups operate and why they lead to improved group performance.

In their research, Kellogg School of Management Associate Professor Katherine W. Phillips, Katie A. Liljenquist, from Brigham Young University and Stanford University’s Margaret Neale, found that diverse groups outperformed more homogeneous groups not because of the influx of new ideas, but because diverse perspectives triggered more careful decision-making.

Read a summary of the research and learn about Kellogg’s Center on the Science of Diversity.

We’re proud to launch the first-ever directory of population-focused funds—giving vehicles that enable diverse donors to give to diverse communities.

The directory provides information on more than 400 population-focused funds operating throughout the United States. Read on to find out more about why these funds are so important and read our News release on PFF Directory June 2011 on the directory’s launch.

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After an extensive national search, Kelly Brown has been selected to direct the D5 coalition. Kelly brings to the position stellar credentials and more than 20 years of experience working on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. She’s served as Director of Programs and Evaluation at the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Grants Director at the Vanguard Public Foundation, Administrative Director for TransAfrica/TransAfrica Forum and a consultant to nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, and individuals working to strengthen underserved communities. Read the news release on Kelly’s appointment.

Kelly recently sat down for an interview to share her hopes for the D5 coalition and the greater work of growing philanthropy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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So argue Stephen Heintz, Robert Ross, and Sterling Speirn–D5′s co-chairs–in an opinion piece in the new issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

“As co-chairs of the D5 Coalition…we’re proud that so many philanthropy organizations are participating,” they write. “But here’s the rub: For all its weight and acceleration, this effort simply won’t get off the ground unless foundations provide the lift. Foundations can and must do more to make philanthropy more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. More »

State of the Work 2011: Mapping the Landscape and D5’s Path Forward on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Philanthropy, the first report in an annual series, is designed to guide the D5 coalition’s work and measure our progress over the next five years. We also think it begins to illuminate where U.S. philanthropy as a whole is on a number of fronts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It includes information about board and staff composition; diversity and inclusion policies and practices; educational programs and tools; grant sizes and recipients; research efforts; and success stories. Read the report.

State of the Work 2011 confirms our hypothesis that the field has a ways to go on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through research and analysis by D5 coalition partners as well as other sources, our review found that… More »

We’re excited you found your way to D5coalition.org. Launched in April 2011, this website is the next step for D5–a five-year coalition to grow philanthropy’s diversity, equity, and inclusion–in bringing its vision, plans and resources to grantmakers everywhere.

There’s a lot to explore. Check out the tools and resources D5 and others in the field have developed to help foundations and grantmakers understand the issues and find solutions. And learn more about the D5 coalition, including a Q&A with our leadership team that digs into some good questions like: “I’m just a small funder. Is there room at the table for me?” and “Why should this work be a priority at a point when funding is being cut across the board?” More »