Joining Forces for Equity

Joining Forces for Equity

Over the last several years, Maryland Philanthropy Network has evolved in our understanding of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and in our advocacy for equity in the philanthropic sector. Maryland Philanthropy Network has elevated its efforts to deepen our community's understanding of racism and the actions we can take individually and collectively to recognize and disrupt bias, challenge our own norms and practices, and support other organizations in doing the same. Please click here to read more about how we are advancing equity.

As we continue to explore strategies to support the field in incorporating equity in our practices, we are excited to announce that we are partnering with several other Philanthropy Serving Organizations (PSOs) from across the country to advance the learning and practice of equitable evaluation among our members. This new collaborative known as Associations Advancing Equitable Evaluation Practices (AAEEP), supports the important equity-focused work to which many of our members are already committed and striving to implement. Our joint agreement as AAEEP partners states our commitment to helping our networks understand equitable evaluation and to digging deeper into how to create change in our own foundations.

Together with the other PSO partners, the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, PEAK Grantmaking, Philanthropy New York and Philanthropy Northwest, we are co-host a webinar facilitated by experts from the Equitable Evaluation Initiative (EEI) to expand our understanding of equitable evaluation and provide context for what this work could look like going forward. We invite you to join us on September 18, 2 PM Eastern for Evaluation as a Tool for Equity – A Primer on Equitable Evaluation.

What we do next will be informed by you! Have you already started doing equitable evaluation work? Are you interested in diving deeper on practical strategies? Are you looking for a shared learning space with other evaluators?  The webinar in September will provide you with some context, but no need to wait. Share your thoughts with us by emailing Elisabeth Hyleck at ehyleck@marylandphilanthropy.org.

We look forward to continuing to learn with you on the journey to equity.