Our Framework
In 2018, ECFC’s Steering Committee named racial equity as a priority area, and adopted racial equity as a targeted learning-to-action issue for 2019-2020. A Racial Equity Workgroup was established to lead the work, made up of a small group of ECFC members who have diverse and relevant experiences in understanding, guiding, and facilitating racial equity development, leads the initiative on behalf of ECFC.
ECFC's Racial Equity work launched with a member deep dive in September 2019 shaped around three practices: Learning, Practice and Collection Action.
As part of our racial equity and justice learning journey, ECFC and Native American's in Philanthropy launched the Indigenous Early Childhood Workgroup in 2021.
And demonstrating our commitment to centering racial equity and justice as fundamental principles in our work towards long term systems change, racial equity and justice principles are at the core of our 2023-2028 Strategic Plan.
Our Scope
Our working definition of racial equity focuses first on racialized outcome gaps, including analysis of their historical root causes, the explicit U.S. laws and policies that created and sustained those outcome gaps, and proactive strategies to dismantle structural racism and advance racial equity. While we start with race, a racial equity approach serves as the foundation for further understanding outcome gaps by gender, geography, wealth, ability, and other common inequities.
Our Work
Workgroup Initiatives:
- Centering Black Leadership in Philanthropy summarizes research commissioned by ECFC to learn more about the experiences of Black leaders within the early childhood sector with philanthropy.
- Centering Native Voices: Lessons from Philanthropy and Community provides rich feedback and recommendations for philanthropy partnering with Native communities.
Tools:
- Equity Tools: A collection of racial equity tools for funders developed by ECFC members and partners
- Championing Equity: A toolkit for funders seeking to invest in immigrant and other dual and multilingual children (2021)
- What Can Philanthropy Do? Coming Together for Children in Immigrant Families in a Changing Policy Landscape (2017) in partnership with Grantmakers Interested in Immigrants and Refugees
- Our Unwavering Commitment to Advancing Racial Equity and Justice, ECFC statement on Statement on Affirmative Action (July 2023)
- In Support of Inclusive Early Childhood Programs and Developmentally Appropriate Practices, ECFC Statement and Philanthropy Sign-On (June 2023)
- Standing with Black Children and Families (June 2020)
- ECFC Statement on Family Separation and Detention (June 2018)
Connect With Us
ECFC's Racial Equity Workgroup is co-chaired by ECFC members, Kellie Brown, William Penn Foundation, and Ellen Roche, Trust for Learning. ECFC members interested in learning more about participation in our racial equity focused workgroups can contact:
- Racial Equity Workgroup - Keami Harris
- Indigenous EC Workgroup - Shannon Rudisill