Our Focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 

WGC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Focus

We are enhancing our core values to better meet our mission by implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to all of our work, led by WGC’s DEI Committee co-Chairs Hina Naseem and Judy Smith.

• We are proud to be among a group of giving circles across the country that are investing in DEI.
• We’ve received national and local funding from the Gates Foundation-backed Philanthropy Together effort, and from the Horizon Foundation.
• We are collaborating with giving circles regionally and countrywide.
• We are actualizing our DEI efforts through a measurable action agenda, with a goal to ensure all WGC activities reflect the organization’s DEI commitment in practice, policy and governance.

The DEI Committee’s action agenda has two tracks:

• Track 1 – Learn and Reflect
• Track 2 – Act and Dive Deeper

Take a look at DEI Committee Co-Chair Judy Smith's July 2020 column in Her Mind Magazine, "Improving Our Philanthropy Through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion"

Overview of our efforts to date:

• We are proud to be among the many giving circles across the country that are investing in DEI.
• We committed last year to enhance our core values to better meet our mission by implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to our work.
• We’ve received national and local funding from the Gates Foundation-backed Philanthropy Together effort, and from the Horizon Foundation.
• Our Advisory Board has been reading and discussing Waking Up White, by Debby Irving.
• Our Advisory Board went through a DEI training session in March 2020.
• We made a statement on the May 2020 death of Mr. George Floyd.
• We made a statement on the June 2020 LGBTQ+ SCOTUS ruling.
• We began collaborating in July 2020 with giving circles regionally and countrywide and are participating in a 6-month Racial Equity Community of Practice through our partners at Philanthropy Together through December 2020.
• We made a decision in August 2020 to allocate $20,000 for social justice grants in 2021, which will be determined with the help of the DEI committee.
• We funded Black Philanthropy Month in August 2020 and highlighted local women philanthropists throughout August as part of our  “Our Giving, Our Stories” and kicked-off Black Philanthropy Month in early August with WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" happy hour and we had fun discussing our efforts on the Elevate Maryland podcast and in an August 2020 Her Mind Magazine column.