Yesterday, Seattle Foundation CEO and President Alesha Washington weighed in on the current state of giving. Here’s part 2 of our conversation.
Where might AI make the biggest difference in the immediate future? How (do) we start to engage those tools to better connect donors with organizations directly, but then also help donors as they’re trying to do research across issues? I think AI and a lot of tools are going to start to speed up that process.
How are political divisions across the U.S. influencing giving? On one hand, diversity, equity, and inclusion have become really weaponized in a way that pulls away from their kind of core meaning — which is how do we create opportunity for all of us to succeed in this nation and not just for some. But the challenge does create a situation where some donors get nervous — even some institutions get nervous — about engaging in work that is explicitly that. So, that is one course of action that directly impacts nonprofits doing the work. Their funders are strongly suggesting that they pull back in order to still be eligible for funding.
Is there an alternate reaction you’re seeing within the DEI context? There’s another path here where you see funders continuously leaning in and finding ways to really grow their institutions and donors. (It’s) through the sense of “It’s under the First Amendment. It is my right and my freedom to give in charitable ways, and so I choose to do that and will continue to choose to do that.” So, we see a mix playing out across the sector. I think we’ll continue to see this mix for a time while we see how dynamic the environment is in this space. But what we hold important is that diversity, equity, and inclusion is about creating opportunity for all of us. We all are in a position where we want to see our communities thrive and be their absolute best. We want to invest in ways that nurture and foster the conditions for that to happen.
Would you say that there are nonprofit sectors where the current climate is a boon to business? It’s hard for me to see any entity benefiting in the current environment that we’re in. If anything, we’ve yet to see the full impact of what is going to play out in our communities beyond just the nonprofit sector.