Please email us at JEDI@foundant.com with any questions or comments.

Foundant Technologies, as a partner and service provider to the philanthropic community, is doing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work alongside many others in the sector. In June 2020, we formed a DEI committee with functional representation across the company to steward our efforts. Through that committee, we are currently in a long-term engagement with The Montana Racial Equity Project (MTREP), a nonprofit based in our home office location of Bozeman, MT,  to help us do the internal work to ensure we are taking actions to be an organization that has equity and inclusion built into the foundation of our culture. 

It is important to transparently state that Foundant is at the beginning of this journey, but is dedicated to understanding the path that enables us to truly embody our core values and mission as it relates to racial justice, equity, and inclusion for all at Foundant. We ascribe to the philosophy that Maya Angelou eloquently stated: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” 

Our work with MTREP has led us to create foundational definitions of what Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice mean at Foundant, as well as articulate our Mission and Vision for our work. We have since renamed our DEI team and associated initiative to JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) and are in the middle of an internal cultural assessment. The definition, mission, and vision work, along with the assessment, are part of the second phase of six bodies of work with MTREP. The subsequent phases will lead us through the development of social and racial equity education for leadership and team members, development of a strategic plan with measures of success and associated timelines, implementation of the strategic plan, and then a re-examination of our results, what worked or did not work, and adjustments for us to continually improve and carry the work forward in perpetuity.

Outside of the internal work we are doing, as a partner to our clients, and philanthropy overall, Foundant recognizes the responsibility we have to make intentional efforts to include and elevate diverse perspectives across the content we create, educational webinars we host, and the Foundant platforms we own. We are incorporating a diversity lens across all of our planning for webinar panelists, content creation, and the content we highlight across our platforms. As with the internal work we are doing, this is a journey and we are learning along the way where we are doing well, and more importantly where we fall short.                  

Foundant JEDI Mission

Embedded within Foundant Technologies’ mission to “maximize the impact of the philanthropic community” is a promise to seek out, invite, and elevate the myriad of people, identities, beliefs, values, experiences, and organizations across the philanthropic space. The JEDI Team upholds Foundant’s mission and integrity by educating, advocating, inspiring, empowering, and holding ourselves accountable to this promise. 

Foundant JEDI Vision

We recognize Foundant’s role in the greater philanthropic sector and work within that community to promote and elevate openness and accountability for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice.

We believe having diverse perspectives informing and making decisions makes us stronger and better able to achieve our mission. We honor our team members’ experiences, perspectives, and unique identities in these activities.

We recognize that historic and systemic barriers continue to exist for marginalized communities and we commit to working for inclusion, equity, and justice for the underserved and underrepresented.

We are on a journey to create and nurture a culture that empowers others to show up as their full, authentic selves and strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve. 

We continually ask whether our culture requires us to adjust in order to fit in or if we are simply required to be who we are in order to belong.

Please email us at JEDI@foundant.com with any questions or comments.