Representatives from large left-of-center philanthropies hosted a panel Tuesday instructing nonprofit leaders on how to effectively avoid racial discrimination lawsuits while continuing to give preference to some groups, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The panel, hosted by the grants management platform Fluxx with speakers from left-of-center philanthropies Hello Alice and the Kresge Foundation, informed leaders they could continue to make race-based decisions “under the radar” by implementing “little tweaks in the language” present on websites or marketing materials, the Free Beacon reported. Hello Alice grants director LaToya Ratlieff has changed the description of one of the grants her organization offers from “only open to black entrepreneurs,” saying now that “preference will be given to black entrepreneurs.”
“Little tweaks in the language like that also helped us,” Ratlieff said, according to the Free Beacon. “But most importantly, it kept us under the radar because you can’t get a lawsuit for giving ‘preference.’”
“You can’t, hopefully, get under attack for giving that preference,” she reportedly continued.
Hello Alice has an “obsession” with providing resources to “female, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, military connected” or disabled entrepreneurs, according to its website.
Another strategy Ratlieff proposed to help nonprofits evade discrimination lawsuits requires organizations to partner with other grantmakers that don’t condition funding on race, the Free Beacon reported. This way, if an applicant believes they are denied on the basis of race, the nonprofit can direct them to their partner.
“So, at any point in time, you can say, ‘here’s another opportunity that aligns with your particular goals,’” Ratlieff said, according to the Free Beacon. “So it’s not necessarily a denial. It’s a, ‘hey, we have a partnership with this business, with this organization … that can potentially help you to do exactly what you need to do.”
Over 100 lawsuits seeking to defeat allegedly racially biased initiatives have been filed since 2021. Some litigation has been successful, including efforts to defeat the Farm Loan Forgiveness Program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which discriminated against white business owners.
Meta Platforms, which operates Instagram and Facebook, was sued for alleged racial discrimination in its hiring process.
Ratlieff also recommended using artificial intelligence to review terms and conditions so that language opening grantmaking organizations up to anti-white discrimination suits can be removed, the Free Beacon reported.
The Kresge Foundation had over $4 billion in assets as of 2022, according to tax forms, making it one of the largest philanthropic outfits in the country. The foundation has involved itself in a number of liberal initiatives, including being a funder of a collaboration with the Biden-Harris administration aimed at reducing community violence, according to Influence Watch.
Fluxx also has some deep-pocketed clients, including the Ford Foundation, Knight Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, which together disburse hundreds of millions of dollars in grants each year, according to tax filings.
The Kresge Foundation, Hello Alice and Fluxx did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Flickr/Tony Webster
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