Resource Library

Who Is at the Table: Disability Representation on Philanthropic Boards

May 14, 2025
by Rebecca Cokley

Laying the Foundation: An Early Experience with Disability-Inclusive Boards

When I was coming up in the disability rights movement, I had the pleasure of serving on an advisory board for the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF). MEAF is a foundation committed to supporting the leadership and development of young people with disabilities, and they live their values by recruiting these very same young people to serve as advisors. This was the first time I had ever worked with a foundation, and staff were serious about ensuring we were supported with the information we needed to perform our responsibilities. We had clear points of contact, an orientation that included a focus on the organization’s grantmaking strategy, and constant support in asking questions. There were several of us young people providing feedback and insight on organizations seeking funding, and I can definitely remember when our unique perspectives actually impacted the decision-making regarding a proposal. It was a solid opportunity to learn how budgets work and understand how grantmaking can be tied to specific priorities or strategies.

Maintaining the Commitment: Advancing Inclusive Leadership Across Industries

That experience, and the deep and meaningful conversations we had about the choices we encouraged the foundation to make, stuck with me. I reflect on it now as a funder, and as the program committee chair for The New York Women’s Foundation. We talk about the beautiful diversity of women who live across the five boroughs. We talk about their experiences, the type of jobs they have, the communities they live in, the families (chosen and biological) that they care about. We read about the organizations in need of support, learn about where they are located, who is impacted by their work. And we bring our own knowledge and experience to the table to help inform our decisions. For example, knowing that 75% of New York City’s 472 subway stations lack elevators means that economic opportunity for many people with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses in the city are impacted by an inability to access potential employers, educational opportunities, supports, and services. 

My guiding philosophy has always been “people are policy, it matters who is at the table.” I’ve seen that be the case in every job I’ve ever had, from managing Victoria’s Secret stores in the Bay Area to the White House and the Ford Foundation. Bringing together people with the widest varieties of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives contributes to a result that reflects the complexities of the community being served. Having staff who spoke multiple languages benefitted the stores I managed because clients could communicate more easily and, as a result, wanted to spend more money. In D.C., finding candidates for boards and commissions who were from the very communities being discussed–for example, the Mississippi River Commission–meant the recommendations being proposed were grounded in the values of that community and the reality of the people who lived there. I think about when planes invaded Capitol airspace and hill staff and Members of Congress had to evacuate. Senator Gregg refused to leave his intern who used a wheelchair. The next week, he pulled together a bipartisan group of disabled policy experts to think about solutions. Several of us who had disabilities had ideas and strategies because of our own experience that the non-disabled individuals hadn’t thought about and informed the process moving forward in critical ways. 

Spreading the Knowledge: How to Increase Disability Inclusion on Your Board

It is very likely that your board membership already includes a person with a disability or chronic health condition. It’s also very likely that they do not feel safe self-disclosing or expressing access needs. So foundation board leadership should think about what it would look like to ensure that person (and anyone else) can be as effective of a board member as possible. That means ensuring that they have the accommodations and support that they need. Funders often talk about the lack of engagement of board members, so there is a benefit to thinking through how improved access may result in improved engagement. Providing the option to attend meetings remotely, preparing board books in accessible formats, or integrating captioning into convenings–these are examples of the curb cut effect, which are changes that, while intended to accommodate a disability, actually benefit many more than just the individual with a disability. 

Increasing the participation of disabled board members also means preparing your board. It is bad for business to recruit someone into a space where they’d be approached with hostility, inappropriate comments, bias, and/or inaccessibility. I remember being asked to give remarks about a bill’s introduction at a big press conference made up of multiple industry and advocate groups, and when I arrived at the venue, there was no stool or accessible lectern, both of which I had requested. So I delivered my remarks from behind the lectern, with about half an inch of my head showing and nothing more. It was clear that the host organization had thought about how to include us in the content of the event, but not the physical space. If we want to be as effective as we know we need to be, we must meet people where they are. ❖

Ready to take the next step in increasing disability inclusion on your foundation board? Click here to learn more about the Disability Inclusion Pledge!

---