Co-Impact Statement on Justice, Equity, and Inclusion

The global impetus to fight systemic racism and discrimination, reinforced by the brutal murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others in the US, and a growing understanding of the insidious impact of anti-blackness and deep-seated racism across the globe, is long overdue. All over the world, people are taking to the streets to express outrage and demand change. We find ourselves in a moment of reckoning. What we do next – over the coming months and years – will determine whether we succeed in turning this moment into decisive and lasting change.

We are mindful of the fact that those with wealth have disproportionate power and privilege, reinforced by prevailing political and socio-economic systems. Grappling with the reality of structural racism, economic and social inequality, and other forms of discrimination raises critical questions about the role philanthropy has been, is, and should be playing.

At Co-Impact, our core work is to support partners to drive systemic change to achieve better outcomes for all women, men, and children. A major reason why systems do not work for people is that discrimination is baked into their core design and functioning. As funders, if we do not actively fight discrimination, we in effect support unjust systems. If we are serious about equity and inclusion, therefore, our approach and actions need to be actively anti-racist, gender equitable, and inclusive across every facet of our work.

Since our launch in 2017, we have been leaning into deep-seated issues of systemic exclusion and inequity, and working to continuously learn and improve our practice. And we need to do much more and are committed to doing so. We also know that actions speak louder than words. Accordingly, we commit to the following actions:

• Across all aspects of our programs, we will further develop and apply an intersectional framework to address inequities related to gender, race, and class and other forms of discrimination. We will use it to review our approach, including how we structure and source our grants, assess proposals, award grants, support partners, strengthen organizations, measure success and share lessons. We will fulfil our commitment to  make 100% of our country-level anchor grants to organizations rooted in the Global South and at least 50% to organizations led by women. We will actively seek to advance women; and Black, Indigenous, and people of color and from other historically disadvantaged constituencies in leadership at all levels, especially in senior management and governance.
• In our work to influence philanthropy, we will actively promote anti-racism and gender inclusion, and grantmaking that addresses discrimination in all its forms. We will advocate for increased resources towards organizations addressing systemic discrimination and inequality, and that are led and governed by women and other underrepresented groups. We will seek to advance the representation and participation of women and leaders from the Global South in philanthropy, and we will work to promote better funding practices.
• In our organization, we will make clear that to be part of Co-Impact means to actively advance gender equality, and to strive to be anti-racist and against all forms of discrimination. We will work to increase representation of women, people from the Global South, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color at all levels among our staff and boards, and to foster a work environment where everyone is respected, taken seriously and supported to thrive. We will take measures to deepen our individual and collective learning and growth. We will enhance our policies and tools to codify and promote these commitments and reflect them in our Handbook and website.

Building on our current practice, some of these actions will start immediately and others will take time to achieve. We will continue to grapple with how we can do better and will periodically review and strengthen our commitments. We will regularly seek feedback and listen with care, internally and externally, so that we can continue to learn and improve. Finally, to hold ourselves to account, we will report on progress on these commitments at least once a year.