Anti-racism funding practices: Transforming public and private philanthropic funding

In 2018, it was estimated that health inequities cost the United States economy $451 billion, the equivalent of 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product (LaVeist et al., 2023). The disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrates the monetary and human cost of persistent inequities that permeate all systems including emergency response. Racial and ethnic minority individuals had higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths because they were more likely to work in jobs that required them to go into work, their workplaces did not implement health and safety protections, and they lacked access to Covid-19 tests and treatment compared to white individuals (Yearby & Mohapatra, 2021). These health inequities are due in large part to racism, which has produced differential conditions between white individuals and racial and ethnic minority individuals, including access to opportunities, health care services, and resources. (Yearby, 2020; Williams et al., 2019; Jones, 2018; Smedley et al., 2003). 
This report builds on the expertise of researchers and community members who have experienced and studied health inequities. A compilation of the perspectives of the Anti-Racsim Consortium, IHJE, and community leaders, the report summarizes the inadequacies of traditional funding practices that prevent much of the funded work from addressing racism and eliminating health inequities. 
For example, historically, instead of funding research that investigates the impact of racism on health outcomes, funders have supported research to address health inequities, which is either focused on individualized solutions or on social factors. Additionally, in their calls for proposals and grants, funders have advantaged high-resourced institutions and nationally focused organizations, prioritized traditional research paradigms, excluded marginalized communities, and restricted funding autonomy.
To address these inadequacies in funding practices, the report suggests that funders adopt the following recommendations: 1) create a plan for anti-racism funding with marginalized communities; 2) remove barriers in the application process; 3) support participatory research and require authentic community partnership; 4) provide funding flexibility; and 5) transform the review process. These recommendations, if implemented and sustained, will transform how funders partner with racial and ethnic minority communities, empowering the communities as well as advancing justice and human dignity for all. (author summary) #P4HEwebinarSeptember2024