Race Conscious

Description: Argues for race/ethnicity as a variable in public policy and program design, notably in understanding how outcomes reveal disparities among people of color

Purpose: To ensure that policies, programs and practices account for how racial inequities shape outcomes of well-being

Critiques & Limitations: Some race-conscious proposals rely on racist stereotypes; play down or dismiss the intersection of race, class, gender, sexuality and others; and may not be rooted in solutions that examine the root causes of racial inequalities

As it relates to grantmaking: Grants and grant strategies address how race and ethnicity shape experiences with power and access to opportunity

As it relates to LGBTQ grantmaking: LGBTQ grants and strategies explored for relevance to specific outcomes, specifically on LGBTQ people of color

Sources: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Race Matters (Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2006); and GrantCraft, Grant Making with a Racial Equity Lens (New York: GrantCraft and Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, 2007).

	"Race matters; almost every indicator of well-being shows troubling disparities disproportionately by race. Disparities are often created and maintained inadvertently through policies and practices that contain barriers to opportunity. It's possible—and only possible—to close equity gaps by using strategies determined through an intentional focus on race." —Race Matters Toolkit, Annie E. Casey Foundation

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