Toward Racial Equity

The Community Foundation’s commitment to racial equity starts with an acknowledgment that deep systemic racism has historically existed in our community and continues today. The evidence of systemic racism can be found in the persistent disparities that affect Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in Rochester. Yet, behind every disparity lies an opportunity. Our work builds on the strengths and rich assets that our communities possess to make sustained and intentional progress towards a more equitable and vibrant region.

The list below summarizes some of the steps we’ve taken so far; items in bold are actions you can take, too.

  • In 2013, our largest discretionary grant up to that point helped the Rochester Museum & Science Center bring the traveling exhibit “Race: Are We So Different?” to 45,000 visitors. This exhibit proved to be a powerful catalyst for community conversation and action.
  • In 2013, the African American Giving Initiative published The State of Black Rochester book (available for purchase), a local version of the national Urban League’s The State of Black America, to help identify where to focus its grantmaking dollars. In 2024, the Community Foundation collaborated on an update of the original book, this time as a multimedia exploration. Through individual interviews and compelling storytelling, a 45-minute video offers a powerful glimpse into the joys and struggles that shape the multifaceted Black experience in our region. Visit stateofblackrochester.org to watch the video and read essays by contributors.
  • Racial equity has been an explicit goal of our competitive grantmaking since 2014. Learn about our equity grants — including names of grantees, grant purposes, and dollar amounts — on our Recent Grants page and in this list of grants from our last two fiscal years. While our grantmaking in education and poverty may address racial equity in important ways, funding that is wholly dedicated to racial equity lags behind these other action areas. With that in mind, we created the Racial Equity Growth Fund to increase BIPOC representation among the community’s organizational leaders, support and create innovative solutions to the challenges BIPOC face due to systemic racism, and provide training opportunities on diversity, equity, and inclusion, particularly to small businesses. Learn more through this one-hour webinar called “Working Together to Innovate & Amplify Lives of All Communities.” This fund ultimately became permanently endowed, and renamed to the Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund. At the height of the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement, the Arts Prevail Fund promoted racial equity in the arts and the use of art forms to document that historic moment in time. Check out our webinar called “Working Together to Support Vibrancy and Equity in the Arts” to learn more.
  • In 2017, we reorganized our Community Programs department to include a full-time program officer for equity, overseeing our leadership and grantmaking in three action areas: closing educational achievement and opportunity gaps, fostering racial and ethnic understanding and equity, and upward mobility. Around the same time, the Community Foundation started an internal conversation with staff about the difference between being a non-racist and anti-racist organization. One of the most helpful resources for taking the first step in this work is right here in Rochester — the Urban League’s Interrupt Racism Initiative. Members of the Foundation’s non-management staff forged a grassroots committee that created recommendations for hiring, retaining, and advancing people of color. These were presented to the leadership and incorporated into HR practices. In 2023, we established out first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion staff position.
  • In 2019, members of our board and staff were in an early cohort of community foundations in the Equity Network to learn from each other how to advance equity in our communities and shape the practice and thinking of the broader community foundation field.
  • We have presented “Rochester: Structural Racism and Community History” to multiple audiences across our community. You can view the talk here and share what you learn with others to help them understand the proximity and urgency of racism right in their own backyard.
  • The Community Task Force on School Climate, which we are proud to support, concluded a successful advocacy campaign to remove police officers from Rochester City Schools. The Task Force also has helped the district achieve a dramatic reduction in suspension rates and academic gains.
  • For over 10 years, we have worked with partners to increase public awareness of racial inequities. Learn more in our 2019 op-ed in the Democrat & Chronicle and the latest in a series of polls on racial understanding.
  • In the aftermath of widespread protests and calls for racial justice in 2020, we listened closely to residents, neighborhood groups, and community partners for their first-hand experience and assessment of community needs. We believe listening to community voices allows us to respond directly and authentically. We know that racial equity is an area ripe for innovation and collaboration to develop new strategies. Share your new ideas and approaches with our team at Grants@racf.org.
  • The Latino Giving Circle was established on Oct. 19, 2022, in recognition that focused giving would provide support to organizations, initiatives, and programs created by and for the Latino community to empower Latinos in greater Rochester. By building a meaningful network of committed members, the Latino Giving Circle will inspire and assist projects geared toward improving the quality of life of those in nuestra comunidad (our community).
  • In 2023, the Foundation worked with a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant on a yearlong process of discovery, vulnerability, and growth. As our organization grew and we brought on new staff, we recognized the importance of building up the knowledge and skills of every employee. An audit of our practices, policies, and approaches set down a roadmap for the work ahead and staff developed a “toolshed” with resources to guide us on our way. We established identity-based employee groups to serve as safe spaces for learning and sharing and formed anti-racist book clubs for deep and empathetic discussions.
  • In 2024, the Foundation published a land acknowledgement, to publicly recognize our operation on the ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee People, to honor the enduring stewardship and cultural contributions of local Indigenous peoples, and to use our platform to create visibility for ways to support Indigenous communities. We are on a journey to increase our impact for racial diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn more and join us in supporting and sustaining Indigenous communities in our area.