Fondation Béati Partners with New Power Labs on Data Partnership

New Power Labs is excited to celebrate the launch of a partnership with Fondation Béati. We are working with Béati to build our research on People and Capital Data survey, to map the diversity of their funding portfolio to help them access data around representation in how their funding flows. The objective is to support Béati's work to increase equity in how they disburse philanthropic capital, and in the first few months of our partnership, we've learned so much. 

We sat down with the team at Béati to understand their perspective on the work and why they're motivated to stay committed and accountable to their organization's equity, diversity and inclusion goals.

1. What excites you most about working in partnership with New Power Labs on the People and Capital Data research project? 

Our accountability and commitment to the work to be done are of particular importance to us. To do this well, we first need a clear understanding of where we currently stand concerning our equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) goals. It's one thing to envision the destination, the point we want to reach, but having the right data to map how far we have to go and what steps we need to take is entirely different. We feel privileged to be able to count on our partnership with New Power Labs to support us in this process. Our intentions are good, but what we need now are clear, transparent data and a concrete vision to point us in the right direction.

2. Why is it important for Fondation Béati to be involved in and lead equity-focused work? 

 Our foundation is fully committed to building a more equitable and inclusive society, and of paramount importance is shifting power to those directly affected. As part of our mission, it’s essential that we support diverse communities and maintain the integrity of our role within this process, which is supported by this current collaboration. Given that one of our selection criteria is based on the "for and by" principle, we make internal efforts to promote diversity within our teams, boards, committees and partners. We want to ensure that our investments, which represent 95% of our capital, are at the service of these groups so that our capital can act as a lever for action. We are tackling complex, systemic issues, and this diversity of experiences and expertise will allow us to reduce internal dead angles and identify complementary collaborations more effectively.

3. You’ve also opted to join the New Power Network, a cohort of practitioners looking to work together to flow capital more equitably. What prompted you to commit, and how do you think Fondation Béati and other capital deployers can benefit from joining the New Power Network? 

Like many actors working to build a more inclusive and equitable society, we recognize the complexity of the issues we’re tackling. As individuals, we all need to do internal work to understand our positionality. At the same time, we believe it’s through collective work and consolidated efforts that we’ll truly amplify our impact. It’s in this idea of the whole being greater than its parts that we see the value and relevance of the New Power Network. It strengthens our collective capacity to generate meaningful and lasting change.

4. What are the most urgent changes that need to happen in the philanthropic sector to shift power to communities?

We need to recognize where our power is rooted. Across foundations, the mission, practices, values ​​and financing objectives differ, but our investments represent 95% of our capital and have an invisibilized impact on our ability to support groups and initiatives. It is essential to remember that our money is not just distributed - it is also invested in markets, so it may be giving significant power to organizations at the root cause of various social problems.

To ensure we’re truly supporting the social causes linked to our mission, it is essential to carefully consider where our funds go. As a foundation, we must decide who we allocate our financial resources to and where we invest them. This diligence is essential to ensure our money is aligned with our values ​​and does not indirectly contribute to the social problems we seek to solve. By rethinking our investment strategies, we have the potential to use our resources more responsibly and actively promote the positive change we want to see in the world.

5. What are some early signs of change towards equitable capital flows that give you hope?  

To see the word is spreading across the organization and that more people are talking about it around us.

6. What is one key message you would like to share with the philanthropic community around working towards equity, diversity and inclusion? 

Become aware of your positionality and show accountability.

It is not enough to simply recognize the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion. It’s crucial to take accountability, to act with awareness to our positionality and the impact we can have. It's time to move beyond awareness to concrete action, integrating these principles into all facets of our philanthropic work.

As philanthropists, we have the capacity and responsibility to create lasting change and foster a more just and inclusive society. This requires a consistent examination of our privileges and positions of power, as well as a commitment to actively supporting equity-seeking communities and working towards conditions that help them to thrive.

7. Your mandate is centred on broadly improving social outcomes. What are some of the pain points that your foundation experiences around advancing equity, diversity and inclusion?  

One of the salient challenges in integrating principles of equity, diversity and inclusion is the need to relearn how to share space, communicate and listen. In the reconciliation process, it can be essential to deconstruct established patterns, but in doing so, we may encounter resistance. The language has evolved: inclusion is no longer an attitude or a state of mind but the way we work and our tangible actions, like the work to remove barriers and support real accessibility for all.