Featuring
Cheryl L. Dorsey, President, Echoing Green

In Conversation With
Orlando C. Watkins, Vice President for Programs, The Boston Foundation

With the advent of the COVID-19 crisis, philanthropy stepped up and addressed the immediate funding needs of community organizations. But a question remains: Will philanthropy show up to address the long-standing issue of funding disparities for POC-led organizations and communities of color?

Cheryl L. Dorsey, President of Echoing Green (1992 Echoing Green Fellow), and Orlando C. Watkins, Vice President for Programs at the Boston Foundation (1994 Echoing Green Fellow), will discuss Cheryl’s research on racial bias in funding and the ways her organization has endeavored to mitigate the issue. Their conversation will also detail Orlando’s efforts to tackle the issue as a Black executive in philanthropy and how the philanthropic sector in Greater Boston can reform its funding practices with a racial equity lens.


Learn more about Echoing Green and Bridgespan's collaborative research on the depth of racial inequities in philanthropic funding: 

Racial Equity and Philanthropy: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table

Overcoming the Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding