The Philanthropy Swamp Audit
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." — Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
Six years after George Floyd's murder, foundations spoke up in 2020. This audit asks: what happened next? Democracy in Color grades ten of the largest racial justice commitments—and holds the sector accountable.
Executive Summary
The Gap Between Words and Money
In 2020, foundations pledged $16.5 billion for racial justice. Only $3.4 billion moved that year. Racial justice—power-building in communities of color—never exceeded 1.4% of institutional giving.
$16.5B
Pledged in 2020
Total commitments across the sector
1.4%
Peak Share
Max share for racial justice, any year 2019–2023
$3.4B
Actually Moved
Confirmed grants in 2020
90%
Language Drop
Decline in "racial justice" grant descriptions by 2023
The Retreat
The Backing Away
When the political weather turned, many foundations retreated — in dollars, in language, and in silence. One in twelve scrubbed race-related language from their websites. 73% said nothing about the 2025 assault on civil society.
The Dollar Retreat
Black-focused funding peaked at 2.3% in 2021, fell to 1.2% by 2023—below early-2010s levels.
The Language Retreat
NCRP found 73% of the 230 largest foundations silent on the 2025 attacks on democracy and civil society.
The Accountability Retreat
Candid shut its racial equity funding tracker in May 2024, before most multi-year pledges had run their course.
The Report Card
Ten Foundations Graded
Each foundation graded on four criteria: rhetoric reaffirmed, money delivered, staff and board, and endowment. Money counts double. Grades are provisional, pending foundation responses.
| Foundation | Grade | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| David and Lucile Packard Foundation | A | Rhetoric: reaffirmed racial justice by name in July 2025, amid the federal attacks on race-conscious work. Money: converted its five-year, $100 million fund into a permanent U.S. Racial Justice initiative. Staff: hired a director and program officers. Endowment: deploys program-related investments ($37.7M in 2024) but discloses no manager roster. |
| Mellon Foundation | A− | Rhetoric: 2020 framing was “social justice,” not “racial justice”; not walked back, and forcefully defended in August 2026. Money: doubled the Monuments Project to $500M; over $250M paid. Staff: not yet tabulated. Endowment: undisclosed. |
| MacArthur Foundation | A− | Rhetoric: president said in 2025 that this is “not a time to step back.” Money: delivered the $80M pledged; raised payout to 6%+ and spent over 7% in 2025. Staff: not yet tabulated. Endowment: undisclosed. |
| Bush Foundation | B+ | Rhetoric: reaffirmed in substance. Money: built both $50M community trust funds it promised; disbursing since 2022. Staff: not yet tabulated. Endowment: undisclosed. |
| Ford Foundation | B+ | Rhetoric: no reaffirmation yet located under new president Heather Gerken. Money: $1B social bond fully paid, majority to POC-led groups. Staff: not yet tabulated. Endowment: undisclosed. |
| The Wallace Foundation (New York) | B+ | Rhetoric: race-explicit language kept through 2025–26, though never the words “racial justice.” Money: $53M (2021) to $100M (2022) to $107M (2026) for arts organizations of color. Staff and endowment: not yet tabulated. |
| Bloomberg Philanthropies | B | Rhetoric: Black-wealth framing sustained. Money: Greenwood Initiative — $100M (2020) and a separate $600M (2024) to HBCU medical schools; institutional gifts, not power-building. Staff and endowment: privately governed; undisclosed. |
| William and Flora Hewlett Foundation | C* | Rhetoric: new president silent on racial justice since taking office in September 2024. Money: behind pace on $150M; 2022 shift from external grants to internal integration with no public ledger. Staff: director role filled, but twice turned over. Endowment: $0 in program-related investments; manager roster undisclosed. Cooperated with this audit; responses pending. |
| Gates Foundation | D | Rhetoric: dropped race eligibility from the Gates Scholarship two weeks after an IRS complaint (April 2025). Money: $100M 2020 education pledge never itemized. Staff: not tabulated. Endowment: undisclosed. |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | F | Rhetoric: website scrubbed. Money: $500M five-year racial equity commitment (Dec. 2020) abandoned. Staff: DEI team eliminated. Endowment: not applicable (LLC). |
Case Study
A Tale of Two Foundations
Hewlett and Packard share the same origin, same valley, same summer of 2020. Both made nine-figure racial justice commitments. Six years later, two very different records.
David & Lucile Packard — Grade: A
In July 2025, Packard converted its fund into a permanent U.S. Racial Justice Initiative — naming Black communities and the Fourteenth Amendment. It hired a director, staffed the work, and put $37.7 million in program-related investments to work in 2024.
William & Flora Hewlett — Grade: C
In July 2025, Packard converted its fund into a permanent U.S. Racial Justice Initiative — naming Black communities and the Fourteenth Amendment. It hired a director, staffed the work, and put $37.7 million in program-related investments to work in 2024.
Hewlett Deep Dive
When Priorities Are Real
Hewlett's own initiatives reveal what the foundation can do when it treats something as a true priority. The racial justice line runs below its own promise.
Cybersecurity (2014–23)
Economy & Society (2020–)
Racial Justice
(2020–)
Committed ($M)
Traced/Trajectory ($M)
The Cybersecurity initative exceeded its target. Economy & Society doubled. Racial justice trails—at roughly $58 million traced against a $150 million, ten-year commitment.
The Endowment Question
The 95% Nobody Talks About
A foundation is, fundamentally, a pool of capital. Roughly 95% sits in the endowment, never touched by the 5% payout requirement. Who manages it? What does it cost? Does any of it serve the mission?
Who Manages the Money?
Firms owned by white men manage 98.6% of U.S. assets. A study done by the Knight Foundation found no performance difference between diverse-owned and non-diverse-owned firms. White male managers don't outperform—they're simply chosen.
What Does It Cost?
Hewlett's six investment staff earned $62.3 million from 2020–2024 — roughly equal to all racial justice grants moved in the same period. The CIO earns 5× what the president earns.
Does the Corpus Serve the Mission?
Hewlett: $0 in program-related investments, five years running. Packard: $37.7 million in 2024. The Nathan Cummings Foundation moved 100% of its endowment into mission alignment in 2018.
The Remedy
How to Raise a Grade
Every foundation on this report card can earn a better grade by May 25, 2027. Here is what that requires—organized around the four criteria, plus one lever nobody has pulled.