As a philanthropic leader in central Ohio, The Columbus Foundation has a responsibility to strengthen and improve the lives of the people we serve. Our duty is to look inward at who we are and what we do, so we can do the important work to drive change in our community. We have the responsibility to work humbly and collaboratively to ensure each resident in our great city has the freedoms and opportunities to reach their full potential. The Foundation strives to be an attentive and aware organization.
Looking at our work for 2021 and beyond, the Foundation is prioritizing the expansion of the breadth, depth, and sustainability of its efforts to help dismantle systemic racism.
Working with and listening to community members, especially to Black and Brown members of our community, and benchmarking best practices will guide our actions to be better in meeting the needs of the entire community.
As such the Foundation is:
- Assessing its own processes and policies, including its grantmaking, to ensure equitable access to charitable capital to Black-led and Black-serving organizations
- Advancing access, diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization is an ongoing process, not a project, and to ensure the sustainable nature of this work, we will engage external partners to offer expertise and guidance on our plans
- Creating and supporting opportunities for the voices of community members who work tirelessly on behalf of those who aren’t heard; they will help all of us know our community better and inform our work
- Conducting additional diversity, equity, and inclusion training so that we are equipped to hold ourselves accountable to this work today and for years to come
The Columbus Foundation accepts responsibility to reflect, assess, and improve. We fully commit to helping to create a just and fair community to drive real change for a better central Ohio for all.
We look forward to advancing this work in collaboration with you and this community.