Back Donate

The power to ignite your philanthropy
for equity and justice is in your hands.

But timing matters.

Not all grantmakers are ready just yet to begin their journey with Power Moves: Your essential philanthropy assessment guide for equity and justice.

To get the most out of Power Moves, you need to be prepared to ask yourself and your stakeholders some tough questions, to receive honest and critical answers, and be willing to make strategic changes based on your findings.

FIND OUT IN TWO STEPS IF YOU’RE PRIMED FOR POWER MOVES

Step 1: Review the Power Moves glossary.

Step 2: Answer these questions:

    1. Can you envision talking about these concepts with your foundation staff and board leadership? Would leaders be receptive to these definitions?
    1. Does your grantmaking prioritize benefit for under-resourced and marginalized communities? (Note: Your foundation may use another term such as “disadvantaged,” “vulnerable,” “at-risk” or “underserved.”)
    1. Do your foundation’s stated or implied values align with equity?
    1. Has the foundation committed to advancing equity for priority issues or communities?
    1. Has your foundation’s board and staff leadership embraced systemic change as a grantmaking goal or strategy?
    1. Does your foundation place a value on community engagement in its programs and external relationships?
    1. Has your foundation taken any steps to integrate principles and practices of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into its internal operations?
    1. Have your foundation leaders examined their power and privilege as grantmakers in relation to the nonprofits and communities they support?

If you answered “yes” to at least four of the questions above … Good news! You’re ready to begin your Power Moves journey.

Click here to download the full POWER MOVES assessment tool now or just read the Executive Summary.

If you answered “no” to five or more questions, you may not yet be ready for Power Moves.

But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered:

  • Primers on advocacy, organizing and civic engagement grantmaking.
  • Lessons on funding social movements.
  • Articles on racial equity, implicit bias and white privilege.
  • Seek training and support on why and how to incorporate equity as a core value and practice internally and in your grantmaking. ABFE and Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) offer such resources, as well as other CHANGE Philanthropy partners.
  • Talk to some of the funders highlighted in this toolkit to find out how they got started on the path to building, sharing and wielding power for equity.