The InDEEP Initiative was a groundbreaking body of work launched in 2016 by the Institute for Strategic and Equitable Development (ISED), in partnership with Keecha Harris and Associates, Inc. (KHA), to help transform environmental philanthropy from the inside out. Through a professional development series and catalytic convenings, InDEEP engaged over 750 foundation leaders from the nation's leading philanthropic organizations to embed racial equity and social justice into their grantmaking. 

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Key focus areas included:

  • Increasing funding for organizations led by those with lived experience

  • Embedding a justice-centered lens across strategy and grantmaking

  • Strengthening grantee and field-wide capacity to build a more inclusive environmental movement

The initiative also sparked several influential offshoots:

  • Closing the Gap, a research-driven campaign that revealed a $2.7 billion annual gap in funding between white- and BIPOC-led environmental organizations, galvanizing funders to act.

  • Race to the Board, which cultivated a pipeline of Black leaders for nonprofit board service while supporting boards to become more inclusive and effective.

  • The Presidents’ Forum, a peer learning space for foundation CEOs to navigate the discomfort of not having all the answers, while leading with humility and integrity through transformation.

Although InDEEP has formally concluded, its impact endures through the practice shifts and leadership commitments it helped spark across the sector.