Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development

The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development (ISED) is a left-of-center entity that lobbies philanthropies to fund issues and causes related to left-progressive visions of race and ethnicity. 1 ISED has set a goal that 80% of all philanthropic revenues go towards solving racial inequity issues. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website: www.sedinstitute.org
Location: New York, NY View on map
Tax ID: 47-5672323
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2025): Assets: $1,239,866 Revenue: $1,569,700 Expenses: $1,280,102

Contents

    ISED seeks to achieve that end through partnering with two other left-of-center racial-equity consultancies, Keecha Harris and Associates (KHA) and AW Strategies (AWS). 3 Together, they host the Presidents’ Forum, which is a gathering of large philanthropies. 4 The Presidents’ Forum spawned from a joint effort between ISED and KHA called Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Environmental Philanthropy (InDEEP). InDeep is a racial-quity professional development curriculum that serves 120 foundations with a combined $87 billion in revenues. 4      

    Leadership

    Celia Naylor is the president of Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development, a Columbia University graduate, and a professor of Africana Studies at Barnard College. She has written about African and indigenous peoples in the United States. She authored a book, African Cherokees in Indian Territory: From Chattel to Citizens. Naylor is working on a book about the experiences of slaves. 5

    Amanda Storey is the vice president of ISED, the executive director at Jones Valley Teaching Farm and a left-of-center food and agriculture activist. 6

    Partner

    The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development partners with Keecha Harris and Associates (KHA) in multiple ways and paid them $450k in 2018. 7 KHA and ISED both operate InDeep and the Presidents’ Forum. KHA independently works with large left-of-center foundations with a combined value of nearly $100 billion including the William and Flora Hewlett, Robert Wood Johnson, Schmidt Family, W.K. Kellogg, and David and Lucile Packard Foundations as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). 8

    Presidents’ Forum

    The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development authored publications from each of the three meetings of the Presidents’ Forum. 2 The forum convenes for the purpose of educating philanthropies on left-of-center approaches to correct historical and alleged continuing societal exclusions of people of color by eliminating past, present and future obstacles to equal opportunities. 9

    The forum claims that structural racism exists because of foundations in “whiteness” and white supremacy in places like Alabama. Examples of structural racism included purported voter suppression and gerrymandering. One of the six principles of the forum is that nearly every aspect of philanthropic giving touches on racial issues. It believes race drives funding into education, the environment, health, housing, the arts and more. 10

    The Presidents’ Forum was facilitated by Yavilah McCoy, a Black Lives Matter activist11 who has been a member of the steering committee for the controversial Women’s March. 12

    Funds

    InDeep

    The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development funds and facilitates with Keecha Harris and Associates a professional development curriculum for philanthropies called Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Environmental Philanthropy (InDeep). 13

    InDeep is a left-of-center environmental professional teaching series with a focus on left-of-center social and racial policies. It aims to drive environmentalist funders to support organizations led by minorities to create more ethnic diversity in the environmentalist movement. 13

    Donors

    William and Flora Hewlett Foundation14 is a multi-billion dollar left-of-center environmentalist and social policy foundation. 15

    The Libra Foundation16 was founded by left-of-center Hyatt and Marmon heir Nicholas Pritzker as a climate change and social justice firm. 17

    The David and Lucile Packard Foundation18 supported the Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development in 2019 with a donation towards the InDeep initiative. 19

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $1,239,866 $1,569,700 $1,280,102
    2024 $950,268 $600,000 $1,215,034 View
    2023 $1,565,302 $850,000 $891,881 View
    2022 $1,607,183 $1,500,000 $1,429,930 View
    2021 $1,537,113 $1,684,241 $1,316,411 View
    2020 $1,169,283 $1,850,830 $1,010,447

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Celia NaylorBOARD PRESIDENT$64,125

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $4,136,000
    • Number of Grants: 47
    • Number of Funders: 21

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $250,0002025 Robert Wood Johnson FoundationTo create a leadership development space and engagement strategy for chief executive officers of foundations to advance equity in their individual organizations.
    $250,0002023 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $250,0002022 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $200,0002024 The Schmidt Family FoundationAdvancing diversity and equity in the environmental movement
    $200,0002022 Rockefeller Brothers FundFor the implementation of the U.S. Racial Equity Executive Order
    $150,0002022 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR ENHANCING THE DIVERSITY OF CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION BOARDS
    $150,0002021 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR ENHANCING THE DIVERSITY OF CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION BOARDS
    $150,0002021 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR ENHANCING THE DIVERSITY OF CLIMATE AND CONSERVATION BOARDS
    $123,0002020 The David and Lucile Packard FoundationFor general support
    $100,0002025 SURDNA FOUNDATION INCGENERAL SUPPORT
    $100,0002023 The Schmidt Family FoundationGeneral operating support
    $100,0002022 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundationin support of its project the Presidents’ Forum on Racial Equity.
    $100,0002022 The Schmidt Family FoundationGeneral operating support
    $100,0002022 The Schmidt Family FoundationGeneral operating support
    $100,0002021 The William and Flora Hewlett FoundationFOR SPONSORSHIP OF THE PRESIDENTS' FORUM
    $100,0002020 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationIn support of the Presidents’ Forum on Racial Equity.
    $88,0002020 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation IncTo support Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Environmental Philanthropy (IndEEP)
    $75,0002022 Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncPROJECT SUPPORT
    $75,0002021 Amalgamated Charitable Foundation IncGeneral operating support
    $75,0002021 The David and Lucile Packard FoundationTo support the Presidents' Forum for Racial Equity in Philanthropy
    $75,0002020 The David and Lucile Packard FoundationTo support the Presidents’ Forum for Racial Equity in Philanthropy
    $50,0002026 SURDNA FOUNDATION INCThe purpose of this grant is to support the Sankofa Series
    $50,0002021 The California EndowmentTo support the convening of foundation leaders to advance racial and health equity within the philanthropic field across the country and in California.
    $50,0002021 The Ford FoundationCore support for the Race to the Board program to bring sufficient levels of Black leadership to the boards of environmental organizations
    $50,0002020 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

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    References

    1. “The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative.” The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative, 2019. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b730c10fcf7fd8757b4d7d4/t/5cdc0a295607bb0001dc01b1/1557924395816/Presidents Forum Mar2019 Report v1.pdf.
    2. “The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative.” The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative, 2018.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b730c10fcf7fd8757b4d7d4/t/5c5453b3c83025d06e72f622/1549030331108/Presidents Forum Dec13 2018 Report v4.pdf.
    3. “Partners.” Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.sedinstitute.org/partners.
    4. “The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative.” The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative, 2018. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b730c10fcf7fd8757b4d7d4/t/5c5453b3c83025d06e72f622/1549030331108/Presidents Forum Dec13 2018 Report v4.pdf.
    5. Marshood, Tamer. “Celia E. Naylor.” CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL DIFFERENCE. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL DIFFERENCE, January 25, 2017. https://www.socialdifference.columbia.edu/faculty-/celia-e-naylor.
    6. Helmer, Lauren. “Amanda Storey: FACES of Birmingham.” StyleBlueprint, January 24, 2016. https://styleblueprint.com/birmingham/everyday/amanda-storey-faces-of-birmingham/.
    7. A 990-PF: The Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2018, Section B https://www.guidestar.org/profile/47-5672323
    8. “Government.” Keecha Harris and Associates. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://khandassociates.com/government/.
    9. “The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative.” The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative, 2018. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b730c10fcf7fd8757b4d7d4/t/5c5453b3c83025d06e72f622/1549030331108/Presidents Forum Dec13 2018 Report v4.pdf.
    10. “The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative.” The Racial Equity Leadership Imperative, 2019. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b730c10fcf7fd8757b4d7d4/t/5d291ac5e26e6d000197e10d/1562974919763/Presidents Forum June2019 Report v1.pdf.
    11. Cohen, Debra Nussbaum. “The Jewish Activist behind the Black Lives Matter Platform Calling Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians ‘Genocide’.” haaretz.com, April 10, 2018. https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/americas/.premium-the-jewish-activist-behind-the-black-lives-matter-platform-calling-israels-treatment-of-palestinians-genocide-1.5422310.
    12. “Yavilah McCoy Addresses the Women’s March in Washington, D.C.” Jewish Women’s Archive, February 28, 2019. https://jwa.org/thisweek/feb/28/2019/yavilah-mccoy-addresses-womens-march-washington-dc.
    13. “Investing Funders.” InDEEP Initiative. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.indeepinitiative.org/investing-funders.
    14. A 990-PF: THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION, Return of a Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2017, Part 15
    15. [1] “Discover The Networks.” Discover the Networks | William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/william-and-flora-hewlett-foundation.
    16. “Grantees.” The Libra Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.thelibrafoundation.org/grantees/.
    17. “Nicholas Pritzker.” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://ballotpedia.org/Nicholas_Pritzker
    18. “Discover The Networks.” Discover the Networks | David and Lucile Packard Foundation (DLPF). Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/david-and-lucile-packard-foundation-dlpf.
    19. “Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development.” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2020. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/institute-for-strategic-and-equitable-development-4/.