A network of high-dollar donors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds has pledged to fund only political organizations that adopt detailed pledges to diversify their top ranks and pump more money into communities of color.
The group, called the Donors of Color Network, announced on Friday plans to unveil a series of inclusion principles that political action committees and other groups have to adopt in order to receive funding. They include filling senior-level positions with candidates of color, spending at least 30% of their annual budget on communities of color, submitting annual diversity reports and hiring African-American and Latino consultants.
“We're hoping that by influencing all of these organizations, both through donors of color, but also white donors, that the party itself will recognize how important diversity is to engaging a critical part of its base,” said Akunna Cook, senior advisor to the Donors of Color Network. “We know that the Democratic Party cannot win if people of color are not engaged.”
The Collective PAC, which includes minority-led organizations such as the NAACP, Latino Victory Fund and AAPI Victory Fund, has endorsed the network's principles. The Democratic Legislative Congressional Committee and Democratic National Committee have also adopted them.
Donors with the network are looking to raise $10 million within the next calendar year to distribute to progressive organizations. Representatives say they are on track to clear $5 million by the November election.
Ashindi Maxton, co-founder of the Donors of Color Network, said the organization has seen “new energy” from both their established donors and white philanthropists who want to contribute more amid increased attention to race relations in the country.
“Our donors are asking what to do. And we also are hearing a lot from white philanthropic organizations about what to do,” she said. “We are interested in systemic change," she added, which is in line with "the demands of the folks in the street right now.”
Black and Latino donors gave a combined $68 million in big- and small-dollar donations to presidential candidates in 2019, according to an analysis of ActBlue data led by the Collective PAC and Plus Three, a Latino-owned technology firm. However, top donors remain largely white and male, according to data from the progressive think tank Demos.
The pattern is similar at the organizational level: despite giving in large numbers, top political donors rarely form networks with considerations for race or ethnicity, as few people of color lead foundations or philanthropic organizations.
Members of the Donors of Color Network and their advisers hope that tying financial support to adoption of their principles will spur more investment in diversity in politics.
"To address the systemic issues confronting communities of color, we must use the levers of power we have — including and especially our financial power,” said Sharon Chen, a donor with the Donors of Color Network. “These calls for policies that reflect our priorities and greater accountability, are meant to build long-lasting political power in 2020 and beyond, by directing resources to reveal the voices of communities of color."
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June 19, 2020 at 06:29PM
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Diverse donor network puts conditions on its cash - POLITICO
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