Granting Equity: Q&A with Nonprofit Equity and Philanthropy Expert April Walker

The team at Grants Plus is proud to be part of the Conference on Equitable Grant Practices hosted by the Grant Professionals Association Greater Cleveland Chapter. In particular, we are proud to be acting as Keynote Sponsor in honor and support of a very special keynote speaker: April Walker, MSW, founder of Philanthropy for the People. April has been a nonprofit fundraising leader, a grant maker, and, since launching her consultancy, a consultant and advisor to nonprofits, foundations, and other entities engaged in understanding and improving the practices of grant making and grant seeking through a lens of #equity.

This includes Grants Plus. Our team of 30+ full-time staff is committed to activating a foundation of equity and access across all aspects of the firm. What does that mean? We examine and challenge our business routines and practices so we can reach towards an ideal of being an inclusive, equitable workplace. We strive individually and collectively to practice active #allyship, to be mindful of the spaces in our work and lives where we can engage our #privilege and power on behalf of others. We also interrogate our own place in the inherently biased and inequitable system of grant seeking, and seek to mindfully engage with our clients and do our work in ways that will help increase #access to grants for more nonprofits.

We are grateful that April has been a resource to our team as we have sought to activate a foundation of equity and access across Grants Plus. And we are excited for her to lead a vital discussion about equitable grant practices at the GPA Greater Cleveland Chapter conference next week!

In advance of next week's event, our CEO Dana Textoris learned more about April, her journey to found her firm, and her vision for a future of greater equity in grant making and grant seeking.