Executive Commentary for Diversity in Philanthropy Website
by
Stephen B. Heintz, President Rockefeller Brothers Fund
This commentary, completed with support from Diversity in Philanthropy Project consultant Robin Templeton, from Stephen B. Heintz, President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), addresses diversity in the context of increasing global interdependence and explains why U.S. philanthropy is a “primary source of risk capital for social change.”]
For foundations working on global issues, diversity is essential. Simply put, you cannot conduct effective international work unless you embrace diversity and make it a core part of your philosophy, programmatic activities and internal operations. Grantmakers are increasingly adapting their policies and practices—from hiring to board appointments to direct work with grantees—to reflect the world in which we work.
For example, in order not to disadvantage potential grantees because they do not have English-speaking staff, you may have to provide materials in several different languages. You also have to have on board program officers who bring deep cultural sensitivity to their work and can communicate in the respective languages of grantees. In our own case, when RBF decided to focus activity in southern China and to fund indigenous organizations in the region, we recruited a program officer who could operate as effectively in remote rural villages as she could in the corridors of power in Washington, DC and Beijing.
Around the world there is keen awareness of the diversity challenges we face in the United States. This, I think, underscores the importance of American philanthropies’ commitment to diversity. It’s remarkable to observe the lasting international prominence of Martin Luther King and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. It’s also the case, however, that international colleagues often raise questions about the size of our prison population and the overwhelming number of Americans of color who are incarcerated. Another area of concern is the intersection between economic inequality and racial, ethnic and gender inequities, which many of my colleagues abroad see plaguing not just the U.S. but their own societies as well.
On our own shores, economic stratification is reaching a level unprecedented since the Gilded Age. Becoming wealthy is part of the American ethos, the American dream. Wealth, in and of itself, is not the problem. What is so unhealthy in any democratic society is failure to invest in public policies and programs that create economic opportunity for all. A range of strategies aimed at this intersection between economic inequality and ethnic and gender diversity is needed. This includes funding demonstration programs, community development, grassroots advocacy and the kind of research, analysis and idea generation that makes policy change possible.
Philanthropy also has an obligation to take risks. As an independent sector, we have flexibility under American laws and regulations to do things that neither the for-profit sector nor the governmental sector can. We don’t have the same economic constraints, on the one hand, or political constraints on the other. We have the unique ability to invest in new ideas, to test them out and then learn from their success or failure. This is an extremely important role we have to play in a vibrant democratic society. In fact, philanthropy is the primary source of risk capital for social change.
An important example of this kind of risk-taking is the early funding that Ford and other foundations provided to the nascent Civil Rights Movement. Remember that civil rights organizations in the 1960s were seen as a threat by a large segment of the American public. While foundations do not and should not take credit for what the Civil Rights Movement accomplished, it’s also true that civil rights leaders acknowledge the historic importance of early philanthropic investment in their work. The combination of their courageous leadership and a few funders’ willingness to take risks was an important factor contributing to one of the most profound changes in our society in the 20th Century.
To take an example from a very different field, the philanthropic community and the non-profit sector working in conjunction with one another have made climate change a global issue. Early grantmaking in this arena was also quite risky. Initially there wasn’t a consensus, even within the scientific community, about global warming. There remains powerful opposition by vested interests to the global consensus we’ve finally reached that the climate is warming and if we don’t do something to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, the effect on life on the planet will be catastrophic. The willingness of the non-profit and philanthropic sectors to get out front and to continue do high quality, cutting-edge research, policy analysis and advocacy continues to have significant impact.
Stephen B. Heintz is the President of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a family foundation encouraging social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. Before joining RBF, Mr. Heintz held leadership positions in both the non-profit and public sectors, including serving as Connecticut’s Commissioner of Social Welfare and Founding President of Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action. Mr. Heintz also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Independent Sector’s Panel on the Nonprofit Sector.