Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations

Several faces are enclosed in circular portraits and connected by lines, making a web of connections

How do nonprofits see diversity as relevant to their goals? How do they want their foundation funders to be involved in their diversity efforts?

In discussions about diversity at foundations, it’s essential that the perspectives of grantees be included in the conversation. That’s why CEP turned to its Grantee Voice Panel of nonprofit leaders to learn more about how nonprofits are thinking about diversity — and how foundations can be most helpful to their grantees, if at all, when it comes to this topic.

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.

The survey used to gather information for this report is available here. Read the full report below. The report was published in July 2018.

Nonprofit Diversity Efforts: Current Practices and the Role of Foundations