Case Study Strategic Planning

Start From the Ground Up – Increasing Support for Girls of Color

March 12, 2019 Micah Gilmer, PhD Jessica Barron, PhD
“This was personal. Our research team were entirely folks of color and the majority were women. Most of us were girls of color at one point in our lives, and this directly resulted in very different research questions than previous research on this topic. We were not interested in understanding girls of color in relation to a deficit with white girls–or in competition with boys of color, which is commonplace in philanthropy. Instead, we asked girls of color to define themselves and their needs, and then we elevated their solutions.”
—Jessica Baron, Consultant

Our Role

To deepen and improve its investment in girls of color, the NoVo Foundation engaged Frontline to design and facilitate a process for identifying ways to engage the philanthropic sector. During the launch phase, we served as the lead partner in the initiative, which brought together the latest research, data, news, and insights to promote collective strategizing and partnership across philanthropy. We used targeted interviews and survey development as well as other methods to explore philanthropic barriers and opportunities. We also conducted original research on the issues girls of color face. As a result of this iterative design process, we made recommendations for the NoVo Foundation’s guiding values/principles, core functions, organizational infrastructure, and early implementation.