History

JAG was founded in 1993 and has since operated as a coalition network of funders that supports equity and the principles of social justice. For almost two decades, JAG’s work has educated grantmakers about the value of inclusion and equity in foundations, increased understanding of the interrelatedness of multiple identities and issues, and advocated for greater equity in the distribution of philanthropic resources.

Highlights

Unity Summit

JAG hosted the Unity Summit at The California Endowment's Center for Healthy Communities in Los Angeles on February 5-7, 2007. Over 200 philanthropic leaders from across the country participated in thoughtful and dynamic discussions on a range of social justice issues. The summit proposed cutting-edge ideas for strategic thinking and challenged the way grantmakers approach social change. Some of the products included new partnerships and collaborations, best practices documents, and a more coordinated and effective agenda for change.

Download the Highlights Report (PDF).

Some of the other discussions at the summit produced detailed ideas on the following:

• Civic Engagement
• Civil/Human Rights
• Economic Justice
• Healthy Communities
• Immigration

Chairing Collaboration on the D5 State of the Work Report

Since 2010, JAG has been chairing and coordinating the committee that produces the D5 Coalition's State of the Work (SOW) report, an effort to map philanthropy’s work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The report is to be published annually from 2011-2015 as a series designed to guide the D5's work and measure its progress over the next five years. The first report was released at the 2011 COF annual conference in Philadelphia. It includes information about board and staff composition; diversity and inclusion policies and practices; educational programs and tools; grant sizes and recipients; research efforts; and success stories.

Download the State of the Work 2011: Mapping the Landscape and D5's Path Forward on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Philanthropy

Study: The Meaning and Impact of Board and Staff Diversity in the Philanthropic Field

In 2002, JAG sponsored a comprehensive national study that provides practical recommendations for foundations to address the growing diversity of the communities they serve: The Meaning and Impact of Board and Staff Diversity in the Philanthropic Field: Findings from a National Study. The study was based on research conducted by Rutgers University, the University of Minnesota, and the National Network of Grantmakers that included interviews with over 600 grantmakers nationwide. Among the findings was that diversity is widely misunderstood and that the composition of board of trustee members and executives in philanthropy doesn't reflect the diversity of staff members or communities.

The study's recommendations include:

• Foundation culture must be changed for diversity to be successful. Examples: Expansion of board and staff, establishment of domestic partner benefits, and workplace accommodations for people with disabilities.
• Diversity takes time and is a conscious, ongoing process that requires clearly defined goals, responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms.
• Benefits of greater diversity include closer connection to communities, improved responsiveness to demographic changes, and better outreach to diverse donors.

Download the report (PDF).

Download sections of the report from our Publications section.

Other Important Milestones

National Convening of Affinity Groups and All for One Event

In March 2011, JAG organized and hosted an event in Chicago that brought together 16 national affinity groups to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion, the relaunching of JAG, potential membership, and possibilities for collaboration on the D5 coalition. The energy created by the event inspired JAG to organize a second, follow-up convening, the All for One event, during the Council on Foundations annual conference in Philadelphia in April. This event was attended by 30-35 affinity groups and supported work to build a stronger network among affinity groups.

Conference Programs

The following chart lists a slate of programs that JAG has conducted during philanthropic conferences since 1993.