The Wean Foundation is on a decade-long journey to rethink how it defines success, deploys resources and partners with the community. 

The result is a philanthropic approach grounded in data, accountability and – most importantly – resident leadership, says Jennifer Roller, president.

In 2019, the Wean Foundation adopted a five-year strategic direction that made racial equity and inclusion central to all aspects of its work. Success was defined as a future in which a person’s race has no influence on how they fare in society. 

To put it into action, the foundation adopted racial equity metrics and began separating outcomes by race, including the number of grantees that have both a staff and board composition of more than 50% Black, Hispanic or Latino, as well as the total dollar amount awarded to those organizations. Through this, the Wean Foundation gained sharper insight into where its dollars were going – and where they needed to go. 

In 2025, this commitment to transparency took another step forward with the launch of a public, online dashboard that tracks progress over time and holds the Wean Foundation accountable to its goals. 

The foundation disbursed more than $3.2 million in grants in 2025 to support its strategic priorities. This included more than $2.9 million of Community Investment and Capacity Building grants, which support established nonprofits. 

More than $1 million – or 35.3% – of these grant dollars went to Black-, Hispanic- or Latino-led organizations, up from just 20% in 2022, when the Wean Foundation began separating its grantmaking data by race.

But grantmaking alone doesn’t drive change, Roller says.

Recognizing the increasing strain on nonprofit leaders, the Wean Foundation expanded its investment in leadership development.

In 2025, it launched its first Nonprofit Leadership cohort, supporting 15 leaders through eight months of training focused on strategic, operational and personal leadership skills. Three participants were selected for a two-year Strategic Partners Fellowship designed to support under-resourced leaders.

The Wean Foundation also convened a Pay Equity Collective, bringing together nonprofit leaders to examine compensation practices and build more equitable workplaces.