In Case You Missed It: "How a Small Regional Arts Funder Made its Grantmaking More Equitable"
This piece by Inside Philanthropy's Mike Scutari sheds light on how Bonfils-Stanton Foundation "boosted annual support for arts organizations serving communities of color by 670% since 2013."
In 2013, only 2.4% of the foundation’s giving flowed to arts organizations led by and serving people of color. That number jumped to 8.3% in 2018 and now stands at 20% and rising—far exceeding Helicon Collaborative’s 2017 benchmark for the sector of 4%. Seven years into its “racial equity journey,” support for BIPOC organizations has increased 670%, from $75,000 in 2013 to $578,000 in 2020.
Gary Steuer, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation's president & CEO, and GIA board member, explains the foundation’s journey to more equitable funding in this article that also features comments from Maurine Knighton, director of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s arts program and co-chair of the 2020 GIA Convening Planning Committee.
Read more from Gary Steuer's take on small foundations in Making Big Change at a Small Foundation.
Image: Gary Steuer at the Grantmakers in the Arts annual conference by Evan Semón