The Barr Foundation's mission is, “to build a better Boston for all.” In the fall of 2007, we began an inquiry into whether we were doing all we could to address inequities, especially those related to race. We invited a team from the Applied Research Center and the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity to take a close look at our work, and to help us understand 1) to what degree we generated outcomes that were racially just, and 2) opportunities to improve. Many of our grantees contributed to this research through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. For the Foundation, this report provided a revealing new frame for how to think about the patterns of inequity effecting our mission and made us aware of how much more intentional we need to be. In recent years, many of Barr's colleagues in Boston have joined us in pushing for greater diversity in the composition of their staff, leadership, and boards. However, this report challenged us to recognize that diversity, while a necessary first step, is only that—a first step. If we truly aim “to build a better Boston for all,” we must work to influence and change the institutions and structures that perpetuate racial injustice. For more detail on the report's findings, we have made available for download both the executive summary and the presentation that the research team developed for our summer 2008 meeting with our board of trustees.
|
