Philanthropy Northwest is a network of charitable organizations that promotes left-of-center causes in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The network receives funding through both government grants and donations from corporations including Microsoft, Boeing, and JP Morgan Chase. The philanthropic consulting organization Arabella Advisors, which manages four major nonprofits that promote left-of-center initiatives, is a dues-paying member of the Philanthropy Northwest network.1 Other members include the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, prominent left-of-center donor organizations.2
In February 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Philanthropy Northwest CEO Kiran Ahuja to serve as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages the federal government’s civilian employees.3 In April 2021, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced her nomination with a 7 to 5 committee vote. Ahuja did not receive the support of any Republicans on the committee.4
Background
According to Philanthropy Northwest, the philanthropy sector in the Pacific Northwest started growing in the late 1970s due to major corporations such as Microsoft and Boeing, which began promoting philanthropic activity in the region. Philanthropy Northwest was founded in 1976 and was originally known as the Pacific Northwest Grantmakers Forum. Philanthropy Northwest adopted its current name in 2000.5
Initiatives
“Strengthening Philanthropy” is a Philanthropy Northwest project to boost the impact of left-of-center grantmaking organizations. The organization offers resources and training on how companies can make profitable investments in nonprofit organizations to advance left-of-center causes. The organization also connects its member organizations with causes in need of funding and other nonprofits. Philanthropy Northwest claims that members of its network make up nearly half the charity resources in the region.6
In 2008, Philanthropy Northwest launched the Mission Investors Exchange, a separate network of foundations to promote left-of-center “impact investing.” In 2016, Philanthropy Northwest ended its fiscal sponsorship of Mission Investors Exchange and awarded it a grant of more than $590,000 to support its transition to an independent organization.78 Since then, Mission Investors Exchange has promoted far-left policy on race, including calling for the elimination of any policies or societal norms which may result in disparate outcomes for people of different races. The organization also promised to start selecting its board members partly on the basis of race.9
Philanthropy Northwest also runs the “Racial Equity Speaker Series.” In 2018, the organization invited far-left racial-issues scholar Ibram X. Kendi, who claims that all racial disparities are the fault of policies and institutions and argues that any policy that creates disparate racial outcomes is racist, as a speaker.10
In 2019, Philanthropy Northwest distributed more than a dozen grants between $10,000 and $80,000 to local left-of-center groups in order to support their efforts to boost participation in the decennial U.S. Census.11
Leadership
Kiran Ahuja is the chief executive officer of Philanthropy Northwest pending her nomination to head the Office of Personnel Management in the Biden administration. Ahuja was the OPM Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama. She also oversaw the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.12
During the race protests and riots during the summer of 2020, Ahuja wrote a statement on behalf of Philanthropy Northwest. The statement claimed that the United States is a fundamentally racist country and cited an article by Ibram X. Kendi, which claimed that government policies that do not discriminate based on race but result in disparate outcomes are still racist. Ahuja instructed readers to donate money to the Black Lives Matter movement and to bail funds for rioters who had been arrested. Ahuja also pressured readers to identify an “Accountability Person” who would remind them of their own supposed “complicity” in creating disparate outcomes based on race.13
Mares Asfaha is a senior manager for programs at Philanthropy Northwest. She previously worked for the left-of-center Economic Opportunity Institute.14
JulieAnne Behar is a senior manager for programs at Philanthropy Northwest. She previously worked as a grant manager at the left-of-center Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she oversaw global vaccination and domestic education initiatives.15
Financials
Prior to 2014, Philanthropy Northwest averaged less than $3 million per year in donations and received just over $3 million in 2014. In 2015, this increased to just over $6.7 million and increased further to more than $10.8 million in 2016. Since then, donations have declined significantly and in 2018, the organization once again received less than $3 million in contributions.16
Philanthropy Northwest's recently adopted mission is to;grow philanthropy's capacity to do transformative work toward redistributing resources and;power to underinvested communities in the Northwest and beyond.Our mission is;grounded in the belief that philanthropy must support their grantee;partners to self-determine and drive their work on behalf of the communities they seek to serve. We believe community-defined solutions will;ultimately achieve more equitable quality of life outcomes for all people, regardless of race,;ethnicity, and other intersectional identities. And yet,;our sector has under-invested nationally in many of the communities present in our region:; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and;Pacific Islander (AANHPI) -led organizations received 0.4% of foundation funding in 2021, or 0.2% over the five-year period 2017-2021.Black populations received 1.5% of foundation funding in 2021, or 1.2% over the five-year period 2017-2021.Disabled populations received 2.5% of foundation funding in 2021, or 2.7% over the five-year period 2017-2021.Latinx populations received 0.8% of foundation funding in 2021, or less than 0.7% over the five-year period 2017-2021.LGBTQ+ populations received 0.5% of foundation funding in 2021, or about 0.5% over the five-year period 2017-2021.Indigenous populations received almost 0.9% of foundation funding in 2021, or almost 0.7% over the five-year period 2017-2021*(*Source: Candid, 2021)Following a year-long strategic development process in 2023;informed by input and feedback from more than 240 members and community partners in our six-state region (Alaska, Idaho,;Montana, Oregon, Washington and;Wyoming), we learned the following:;There is a;growing commitment to center equity in the sector's work and demand for support and assistance to operationalize and actualize this commitment. ;Funders are at distinct stages in their transformational journeys and use varied language to describe this commitment and deploy a range of;approaches;across our diverse region.An increasing recognition of the need to intentionally change practices, policies, and organizational culture to distribute more equitable funding and devolve decision making power to those closest to the work.Philanthropy Northwest is uniquely positioned to respond to this demand by:; ;;Surfacing and uplifting the;<u>collective wisdom</u>;present in our Northwest region to advance our sector's learning.Exercising our;<u>trust, credibility, and leadership to contribute to shaping practices</u>;of the field.Leveraging our platform to;<u>surface and scale equity-centered practices</u>; andUsing our unique convening power to;<u>explore new funding partnerships and models</u>.Work and;Approach.;We work with philanthropic partners who share a commitment to;transforming philanthropic practices to advance greater equity and;racial;justice for all communities.
