Equity

Where we stand on philanthropy and race, diversity, equity, and inclusion

The data is clear: there are racial and social disparities in Greenville County that hinder the economic opportunities and quality of life of many of our neighbors.

The Greenville Partnership for Philanthropy values the positive impact that charitable and strategic philanthropic giving has made on many issues in Greenville County’s history. But we also recognize that our traditional practice of philanthropy is not enough to advance equity in our community. Therefore, we commit to:

  • Using both data and narrative to fully understand our neighbors’ different experiences and outcomes
  • Ensuring that the process of philanthropy – from planning to decision making to evaluation – is inclusive and representative of the full diversity of our community
  • Maximizing the impact of philanthropy by recognizing we have assets beyond grants, sponsorships, and charitable gifts than can and must be used in pursuit of opportunity for all of our marginalized neighbors.

We will demonstrate these commitments as a network of funders, and we will support our members in their own learning and activities in pursuit of equity.

Our action items for 2021

Offer RDEI learning opportunities specifically oriented to funders (board members and individual philanthropists) – this can be done using best practices/information from other funders and funder groups and will be done in the context of the Greenville County Racial Equity and Economic Mobility community learning work (using data and narrative)

Promote and support more diverse philanthropic and nonprofit boards, using tactics such as intentionally developing a board pipeline, more heavily recruiting of people of color for Propel Greenville, creating a sharing session from foundations to offer best practices and lessons learned (such as the Jolley (family) Foundation’s community advisory board) (ensuring inclusive and representative philanthropy)

Support learning and work on advocacy, movement building, and activism in partnership with NonProfit Alliance and current movement leaders, and provide funding to support ongoing movement work (maximizing the impact of philanthropy)

Establish a working group to study and make recommendations for additional strategies for 2022, including a philanthropy fellowship (to bring new perspectives to the profession from communities underrepresented in philanthropy) and Black- or POC-led philanthropic funds (ensuring inclusive and representative philanthropy)

Learn more about our work on equity