Equity Learning Lab: Navigating the Path to Reparative Philanthropy Through Institutional Truth-Telling by Fiona Kanagasingam

2024-02-20 15:06:59 UTC

What is the best way for leader who is white to lean in and support this process? I am deeply committed to this work, but for me it is critical to lean into it.

Truth Work - Symbolic "No"

2024-02-20 15:22:28 UTC

As employees WE need talk about it, learn about it BUT more importantly demonstrate efforts and successes toward repair and transformation.

Shame vs. Guilt

2024-02-20 15:38:45 UTC

Aria mentioned shaming and feeling shame as a barrier to equity learning. How do we create a work environment where we feel agency for addressing guilt instead of one that is shame inducing?

2024-02-20 15:39:26 UTC

Aria mentioned that reparations vary by harm. I think we'll need to remain open to what tangible efforts are based on the results of our historic inquiry.

examine own defensiveness as response to guilt by association and protection of brand

2024-02-20 15:40:02 UTC

Hold employees accountable for internal harms

2024-02-20 15:40:14 UTC

We do so many of these trainings, which are wonderful, but we continue to have internal staff who actively go against progress.

Transparency

2024-02-20 15:40:35 UTC

See Ch. 1 of this Anthology and consider it a model to share our historical, programmatic harms.

Field-Wide Transparency

2024-02-20 15:40:39 UTC

We update the field on our learnings, challenges, and vision for where we are headed.

2024-02-20 15:40:43 UTC

be vigilant in seeking and responding to smaller BIPOC led orgs

Share what we're learning about our organization's history publicly and openly.

2024-02-20 15:40:46 UTC

2024-02-20 15:40:59 UTC

We need to reexamine how we interact with current systems, such as the stock market, and continue on our path of investing differently in communities and social issues.

2024-02-20 15:41:01 UTC

Reflecting on the past with each step forward (both literally with grantmaking and figuratively with processes)

Tactical, but...

2024-02-20 15:41:03 UTC

This is very tactical, but I would love to see us publicly sharing transparent information on our website about what's unearthed and how we are responding to it in a way that's easy to discover, understand and access

Build a continual practice of considering that what feels right for your own individual benefit may not be right for people who are not like you and are most impacted by social harms

2024-02-20 15:41:14 UTC

identify new ways of co-designing programming

mhvinluan — 2024-02-20 15:41:14 UTC

let's not just adjust our "strategic context" language, but actually adjust how we design and develop programming

Maintaining Space

2024-02-20 15:41:16 UTC

We must consistently retain/maintain space for conversations about how to address historical harms as well as assess examine the possibility of recreating these harms when applying/creating new practices.

Devote real resources to the effort, including outside voices

2024-02-20 15:41:23 UTC

It would help if our internal TRT work groups each had some external representation in the group, hopefully historians or others with expertise in TRT or philanthropy, who could make sure that we don't fall into whitewashing this process.

Viewing all new projects from a lens of how does this work advance our efforts towards repair and transformation.

2024-02-20 15:41:23 UTC

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Put our money where our mouth is--and, throughout the process, consider whose needs we are truly prioritizing

2024-02-20 15:41:41 UTC

Establish outcomes and develop metrics to measure the results.

2024-02-20 15:41:45 UTC

I related to grief and the way through grief is action. Learning from others and from people most affected what actions we can take to repair harm is critical

Explicitly name what we are shifting

2024-02-20 15:41:49 UTC

To demonstrate accountability, continue to ground in the facts and our vision, and name what we are shifting away from, and shifting towards to.

Bring every staff person along, no exceptions.

nkonchalski — 2024-02-20 15:41:49 UTC

It is imperative that every staff member is part of this work regardless of where they sit in the org. We all must hold pieces of it to ensure we are moving forward towards progress.

2024-02-20 15:41:50 UTC

Equitable evaluations “speak truth to power” as a core belief. Sharing these learnings publically can help make sure we tell the full story of our grant making impacts.

Power of apology

2024-02-20 15:41:50 UTC

Presidential apologies for the incarceration of Japanese Americans and for the Public Health Service study of untreated syphilis had a powerful healing impact on impacted communities. When we uncover harms, we need to apologize for those harms.

2024-02-20 15:41:52 UTC

-Be more open.

-Accept and acknowledge that it has happened.

-Move onward with love, learning and an earnest attempt at repair.

Staff and leadership have to do the actual work.

2024-02-20 15:41:55 UTC

We are spending time framing concepts that are actually simple. When does the work begin?

2024-02-20 15:42:03 UTC

Transparency: sharing our process and progress and decisions as we go, not only at the end in a tidy, controlled package.

2024-02-20 15:42:13 UTC

Create a mechanism for this work to be on full view of those external to the Foundation.

2024-02-20 15:42:13 UTC

Deepen our collective ability to hold multiple truths (complexity)

2024-02-20 15:42:21 UTC

Jenn said it at the top with the quote on narratives and our speakers reinforced it. Approach this work as holding the complex and not purist but with the intention for taking action to serve, to repair, and for a better more just society

Share our learnings with others within philanthropy and beyond.

nkonchalski — 2024-02-20 15:42:22 UTC

Turn Training into Action

2024-02-20 15:42:32 UTC

Maintain this open space for challenging self-reflection and operationalize practice and policy changes that reflect what we are learning and the foundation's values

2024-02-20 15:42:39 UTC

Engaging in deep discussions across departments and with grantees and others about what we learn and how it should inform our work.

Be consistently willing to examine and openly discuss ideas and motivations for various internal practices as well as grantmaking decisions.

2024-02-20 15:42:42 UTC

2024-02-20 15:42:43 UTC

Ask others about how they have felt harm from Foundation practices and strategic operations

2024-02-20 15:42:45 UTC

Recognize the agency that we have to make a pro-social behavior change even if we perpetuated harm in the past.

2024-02-20 15:42:47 UTC

Ensure there is direct representation from the communities harmed by our history.

Collect, examine and share data.

2024-02-20 15:42:48 UTC

needing to understand vs. needing to trust

2024-02-20 15:42:55 UTC

In related to 'leaning into' comment - I think it is important for people - especially white leaders - to acknowledge that they and the foundation may never fully understand specific issues/topics but all they need to do is to trust the message and messengers that come from people with lived experiences. In other words, to be an ally does not mean that you have to fully understand one's lived experience (as you would likely never would) but to trust the story tellers with what they share.

being able to hold two things--even contradictory things--at once

2024-02-20 15:42:58 UTC

Publicly sharing about mistakes we have made and efforts to address them.

2024-02-20 15:43:02 UTC

Be real.

2024-02-20 15:43:05 UTC

Be willing to dig into truth NOT from a place of shame or defensiveness. AND know that as an institution we are guilty of causing harm. Being real about it will allow us to then move forward to make sure it doesn't happen again. (BFFR!)

Document / record efforts and practices (esp useful for new staff / yet to be hired staff)

2024-02-20 15:43:10 UTC

2024-02-20 15:43:13 UTC

1) Tie to generational goals

2) Accountability to our partners

3) Prioritizing our partners above our processes

4) Ensure grace to staff and partners as we learn and move forward

give enough to repair

2024-02-20 15:43:16 UTC

Build in some accountability.

2024-02-20 15:43:18 UTC

Don't just share what we've learned after the fact. Share what we're working on/planning to do publicly so there's more public accountability for actually doing it.

honor guilt when we feel it and be willing to move past this. as a practice, i think this could look like verbal/scripted/written acknowledgement and apology and reassurance that we can move forward collectively

2024-02-20 15:43:23 UTC

Ongoing sharing and learning from others with small/large format sensemaking sessions

2024-02-20 15:43:33 UTC

Please keep sharing the learnings you are finding through this research so we can collectively engage in sensemaking (in big and small forums), and please keep sharing what others in the fields of philanthropy and healthcare are doing - it is valuable to learning from our peers who are ahead of us in this week.

Acknowledge "guilt", moving away from shame

2024-02-20 15:43:34 UTC

In considering leverage points to advance systems change toward the three generational goals, examine how those would impact wealth distribution including for the foundation

2024-02-20 15:43:37 UTC

Ensure all staff have the tools, training, and resources to understand why we're doing this work and how to channel feelings of guilt shame into something productive rather than obstructive

Accountability- to the field, to one another, for each other and for those we are working with

nkonchalski — 2024-02-20 15:43:39 UTC

2024-02-20 15:43:45 UTC

Understand and explain historical and current context

Account and adjust for bias

2024-02-20 15:43:51 UTC

Acknowledge the biases we have around this work and that we need to invite those who have experienced the harm to show us how it manifested from their perspective. It's not enough to do internal reflections.

2024-02-20 15:43:55 UTC

Build structures and practices that establish working relationships, shift power and establish accountability to people most harmed by racism and other structures of oppression as a normal part of how we work.

Let's Explore Harmful Inaction as Well

2024-02-20 15:44:09 UTC

Beginning in the 1990s up until the murder of George Floyd, this Foundation was scared to death of doing anything that could even remotely be considered partisan, which lead to us abstaining from important actions that were absolutely core to our mission because we were afraid Republicans would get mad at us.

Build in stronger systems for raising red flags and for leaders to respond

2024-02-20 15:44:18 UTC

People who have less power within RWJF are often in a position to see and name harms, and there should be systematic ways to hear and then actively respond to these concerns.

Are we being truthful today?

2024-02-20 15:44:23 UTC

Not literally, but in general. Provide space to do this and use the processes we have to hold our leadership accountable to make immediate changes.

2024-02-20 15:44:39 UTC

Be very clear and honest about the fact that we have contributed to harm, even if we can't define every piece of that harm

SALESFORCE?

lorigadkari — 2024-02-20 15:44:39 UTC

posting something publicly can help hold us accountable. maybe we need a chatter group on this topic. teams is too private. lawyers may protest...

giving back to communities that have been harmed in a no strings attached effort.

2024-02-20 15:44:40 UTC

Continue to hold complexity, it came through today in important ways

2024-02-20 15:44:41 UTC

Integrate repair into our programming

2024-02-20 15:44:41 UTC

Develop explicit goals and funding targets that reflect lessons learned from this work and avenues for repair

How willing are we to concede power?

2024-02-20 15:44:42 UTC

We have to be ready to flip the way we work upside down, make radical changes, and embrace that might lead to a decline in the wealth we have accumulated over time.

2024-02-20 15:44:51 UTC

Everyone understands they have a role to play in this work and feels accountability in moving us toward repair and transformation. This is not just the work of some at the Foundation.

Assessing the comfort of the "center"

2024-02-20 15:44:57 UTC

Can we begin to tell the truth about preferences for "balance" and where that does and does not reinforce historical harms?

Not just program development

2024-02-20 15:45:01 UTC

There are a lot of staff that are not in program development that feel left out of this work. Internally, RWJF has always been hyper-focused on program development staff and left everyone else behind. If the Foundation wants to have a bigger impact and have everyone engaged in this work, leadership needs to find ways to very clearly bring everyone along. There has to be institutional value for each person to be engaged.

Our Board is engaged

2024-02-20 15:45:04 UTC

Our board is engaging along with us. So important in terms of this question.

Understanding that this kind of change in organizational culture is part of the job we are paid to do at RWJF, not a personal preference.

2024-02-20 15:45:26 UTC

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over and above our regular program budget...!

The harms of not speaking out

2024-02-20 15:45:51 UTC

There are so many instances where we have not spoken out against injustices from our history-today. We really need to dig into the why and how we can change this moving forward.

2024-02-20 15:45:52 UTC

Evaluations and Communications about our grantmaking often separate activities. Including the impact of our work (the full picture) can help us create a culture of truth telling.

2024-02-20 15:46:25 UTC

Have dedicated staff/dept who are admin planners - oversight that ensures we are aligned in all areas to this. This could include monitoring/measuring/accountability/evaluation of practices, grantmaking, process, and more. And it should include measures of grace in learning and moving forward.

2024-02-20 15:46:30 UTC

Thinking about Maribel's point about how foundation staff are meant to be "pleasant and practice decorum" as a way to protect the brand and reputation. What would it look like to focus on targeting and dismantling such expectations (implicit and explicit) among staff? Can we build supports and structures to help staff to consistently practice true transparency and authenticity with partners, share the messiness and the complexity of holding multiple truths that we are all doing with regards to this work?

some of us have been here a long time

lorigadkari — 2024-02-20 15:46:41 UTC

we can take time to look back at our own funding histories. maybe we need a clean up day for that.

Acknowledge what we've done to date with hopeful, enjoyable content (think less academic journal) that you'd enjoy watching with your friends and family who think we are J&J extensions.

2024-02-20 15:47:41 UTC

Can We Explore How RWJF was perceived in New Jersey until about 2017?

2024-02-20 15:48:36 UTC

Before the mid-teens, we had an awful reputation in New Jersey for being aloof and disengaged from our peers in the state. While this has changed, it seems important for us to understand exactly how our previous posture affects how we are perceived today.

2024-02-20 15:49:07 UTC

We have to recognize that the differences and multitudes that we hold are not superficial and reflect and speak to the power that stems from larger oppressive systems. So we must remain vigilant in doing the work that truthfully acknowledges and addresses that in order to build the necessary consensus to move forward.

More acknowledgement and accountability of recent harm in funding

2024-02-20 15:49:20 UTC

Particularly as modeled by leadership involved in those programs.

Build Trust and Openness

2024-02-20 15:49:29 UTC

I have a strong feeling that there is a larger diversity of opinion at RWJF than you think, in all regards. Taking a second to think before you speak for or against an idea can make others feel comfortable to express their beliefs and learn.

2024-02-20 15:51:35 UTC

Share and communicate our learning and evaluation findings. (eg. put evaluation findings on our website)

Ensure we take reparative action

2024-02-20 15:54:15 UTC

Bring a reparative lens to our funding. Shift approaches and decision-making to be accountable to movement leaders and those we seek to support and impact.

Truth Telling

2024-02-20 15:58:08 UTC

Understand the roots of the inequities, and our own grantmaking and investment practices. Acknowledge our role in harms to those impacted.