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A recent report, Much Alarm, Less Action, from the Center for Effective Philanthropy found that both foundation and nonprofit leaders believe that climate change will negatively affect their work —no matter the issues they focus on. However, less than 2% of all giving went to building climate resilience. Continued climate inaction by the philanthropic sector, will undo existing efforts to address a multitude of societal challenges, particularly those around public health.
Over the next 20 years in the U.S., $35–70 trillion in wealth will transfer from one generation to another in the largest generational wealth transfer in history, mostly moving within wealthy white families. The policies that make possible this protection and accumulation of wealth are situated within the legacy of land theft, genocide of Native people, enslavement of Black people, and exploitation of natural resources. This context of racial capitalism has also given rise to wealth accumulation that, in part, birthed the philanthropic sector. Paradoxically, many of us working within philanthropy aim to contribute to changes in systems, structures, and outcomes that address the harms of interconnected systems like racial capitalism that favor some at the expense of others and the planet.
In this second session of the Foundations of Racial Equity Series, we explore racial capitalism, which describes the current economic system of extracting social and economic value from people of color. Racial capitalism is based on the theft, exclusion and exploitation of the land, labor, and capital of people of color. Philanthropy—as a social, political, and economic strategy of society’s wealthiest people, mostly white men, and institutions that “do good” while moving wealth without tax exposure— upholds racial capitalism.
No matter where you start, success in life starts at home for all ages and all people. When we have safe, secure places to live – whether you rent or own – parents earn more, kids learn better, health and well-being improve, and our communities are strengthened. To build this future, we need to bring the Bay Area’s capacity for innovation and problem-solving to the challenge of preserving our pre-existing affordable housing. The constant loss of affordable units to the speculative market is accelerating the
displacement of working class and poor families - shedding our region of its diversity, vibrancy, and equity of opportunity.
A two-part event series, the second of which will include in-person tour of flood affected communities in the Central Valley, including Tulare Lake. We strongly recommend funders attend both sessions, as in-person connections with communities and with other funders are critical at this time.
Since 2020, many funders have embraced new ways of interacting with their nonprofit partners and grappled with how to shift the grantmaking power imbalance. Reporting is no exception. Funders have started to deeply consider grantee partners' work when reporting on their efforts in relationship with the grant dollars they receive.
The Tax Equity Funders Network, Northern California Grantmakers, the Asset Funders Network of the Bay Area, and the League of California Community Foundations are hosting a three-part virtual learning and discussion series for California funders on improving economic security, wealth-building opportunities, and equity for low-income Californians through the tax code. This series, sponsored by Blue Shield of California Foundation, is informed by our recent scan of the CA tax credit ecosystem, and responds to California charitable foundations’ interest in learning about and addressing the challenges faced by low-income Californians at tax time and the potential to use tax systems to improve equity.