Early adopter of Power Moves Assessment by National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).
After commissioning an outside agency to assess inclusivity and diversity efforts, the Deaconess Foundation is implementing changes and improvements to its practices.
Kiesha Davis, director of Partnership and Capacity Building at the foundation, said the assessment is part of an ongoing effort within the organization.
“We’re always humbled by the insights that we get from our partners. This is like a snapshot of time, certainly in the midst of everything that’s happening in the community.” – Kiesha Davis
“A few years ago, the foundation really worked to identify ways that we could codify our approach to advancing equity and justice within our approach to grant making,” she said. “Our board established a commitment to racial equity in our operations and all of the activities that we embarked on. This was really an opportunity to do a litmus test, as it were, on how well we were along the way in that journey and what other areas we could grow in that space. “
The outside agency, La Piana Consulting, conducted their study from March through June of this year, even as the pandemic and calls for racial justice gripped the country.
“We’re always humbled by the insights that we get from our partners,” Davis said. “This is like a snapshot of time, certainly in the midst of everything that’s happening in the community, we really appreciated folks being able to be thoughtful and candid in the feedback that they shared with us.”
The assessment included 18 recommendations categorized in areas where the foundation could either start some new activity to advance equity and justice or continue efforts that are already underway.
She noted one of the recommendations that is a newer concept to the foundation is being more intentional and thoughtful when it comes to the language used in their public policy agenda communications across all platforms — in-person, social media and in other places online. She emphasized the need to be inclusive for folks who are differently abled.
Another area of the assessment Davos highlighted is offering more than just a grant to the foundation’s funded partners.
“So, for instance, if our partner said that social media training — given our transition to a more virtual environment — would be helpful and supportive in how they advance their work within the community, it would be incumbent upon us to figure out strategies, to bring information, learning and training to our partners in that particular space,” she said.
As for how foundation officials will measure their success in incorporating these recommendations in the next year, Davis said it’s really about how their community of partners would assess the progress they have made.
“So, we will engage in deep listening with all of our partners throughout the course of the year and we’ll seek out opportunities for them to continue to provide us feedback on how well we’re doing,” Davis said. “I would imagine within the course of the next year we could do a recap on where we said we wanted to start with our action planning and the kind of accomplishments that we have been able to make.”
Davis said the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) launched the Power Moves Assessment tool kit a little over two years ago and has since been working with a variety of different funders. This tool kit touts itself as a self-assessment guide to help organizations view their strategies and practices through the lens of the power-equity relationship.
“We were very early on within that process of kind of supporting the launch of the toolkit. But we were apparently the first funders who have publicly kind of shared what our journey has looked like,” Davis said.
“And that was very surprising to us, but very heartening for us in being able to be transparent, not only for the folks who provided insights but to the larger filling product field — whether it be local or national. So, we hope to continue to be transparent with the entire sector, as folks kind of explore ways to pursue how they can advance equity and justice within their own work.”
The full assessment can be found on the Deaconess Foundation’s website.
www.deaconess.org.
