The Investing in Leaders of Color Fellowship has concluded its inaugural year and its name, experiences, and evaluation are now archived as mementos of a first-of-its-kind effort to uplift BIPOC leaders and shift philanthropic relationships in the Carolinas.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that race cannot be used as the basis for admission in higher education, many entities outside of higher education have had to consider the impacts to its operations. Though it is not illegal for philanthropic or nonprofit organizations to continue to operate a DEI-based program, there are examples of these types of programs being litigated against on the basis of their explicit use of race as a determining criterion to receive the program’s benefits.
The risk tolerance for each organization involved, including MDC and the foundation partners, varies and determining how to move forward given the interplay of law, politics, and policy has been challenging. Because of this, the funders came to a consensus decision to shift from identity-first language to a focus on the leader’s organization and how they are in service to historically underserved communities of color.
The Alumni of the fellowship’s inaugural year also have varying responses following this decision, however; they are most concerned with how this decision fundamentally shifts the intent of the fellowship, how we aspire to shift philanthropy away from traditional responses to risk, and potential harm reduction for other leaders of color in philanthropy.
To honor the experiences held by all participants in the fellowship’s inaugural year and the subsequent challenges catapulted by the Supreme Court’s ruling, the fellowship’s name , Investing in Leaders of Color has been archived along with the use of explicit language that directly talks about the Fellows’ identities.
Highlights from the
Inaugural Year
Overall Experience
“It was such an honor to have participated in this experience. I am very grateful for the MDC team and the funders that were courageous enough to take on a challenge to have conversations that sometimes can be uncomfortable.”
2022-2023 ILOC Fellow
Building Relationships
“[I] did not know of the personal work that we would get to engage in with our funding peers. This was a welcomed surprise and offered much reprieve.”
Funder & Strategic Thought Partner
Fellow-to-Fellow Relationships
“We connected about shared joys and journeys, mostly. Having someone to bounce ideas off. To have a place for peer-to-peer connections and hold each other accountable.”
2022-2023 ILOC Fellow
Co-Design Process
“[the co-design process] gave me an opportunity to really listen to the nonprofit leaders and to actually hear how processes can be stacked against them and how we as funders can impose unintended consequences and time restraints on them without realizing it. – Funder STP on the impact that co-design had on them personally.”
2022-2023 ILOC Fellow
