Enabling People with Disabilities to Achieve Jobs and a Better Future
Fully 1-in-5 people have a learning, mental health, physical, sensory or other disability that is a barrier to everyday living. People can be born with a disability, or acquire one due to an accident, aging, gun violence or in military service to our nation. It is time for people with disabilities to be seen for their tremendous human potential — and what they CAN do.
Because people with disabilities always have to find work-arounds, they become natural innovators. Thomas Edison had learning disabilities, Harriet Tubman had epilepsy, Stephen Hawking used a wheelchair and EY co-founder Arthur Young was deaf. Today JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola, Walgreens, Microsoft, EY and others realize that hiring people with disabilities leads to a better bottom line. RespectAbility and our partners have introduced replicable stigma-reduction and proven employment practices that have helped lead to a 4-fold improvement in jobs for people with disabilities. At the same time, it is helping employers because people with disabilities bring innovation, loyalty and great work. But more people with disabilities need education, skills and jobs for the future.
Today only 65 percent of students with disabilities graduate high school and only seven percent complete college. Despite the fact that studies show that more than 70 percent of working-age people with disabilities want to work, only 1-in-3 Americans with disabilities has a job. This leads to poverty, prison and poor health outcomes. Philanthropists have the opportunity to fight implicit bias and failed systems, as well as to enable millions of people with disabilities to have a better future. Together we can lift up marginalized people so they can achieve success.
RespectAbility is philanthropy’s partner to enable funders to have the maximum impact they desire, whether that is in education, training, employment, criminal justice, health, the arts access or other key issues. We encourage you to learn more by reading the resources below. Whenever you need free help and/or partners, reach out to us. We are here for you! Email Franklin Anderson at FranklinA@RespectAbility.org today!
Watch this short video to hear from diverse people with disabilities themselves:
Free Resources: Inclusive Philanthropy Toolkit
- How RespectAbility Can Help in Your Work
- Etiquette: Interacting with People with Disabilities
- Terminology Tips: Using the Appropriate Lexicon
- Common Acronyms
- Disability FAQ
- Learn More About Specific Disabilities:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)/Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Amputation/Amputee
- Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Blind/Vision Loss
- Cerebral Palsy
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing
- Down syndrome
- Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities
- Epilepsy
- Little People/Dwarfism
- Mental Illness: Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Depression
- Mobility Impairments Requiring the Use of a Wheelchair
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Inclusive Philanthropy Resources
- Resources to Fight Racism and Unconscious Bias
- RespectAbility National Leadership Program
Ensuring Accessibility
Key Reading
- How Foundations Can Ensure Diversity Efforts Include People With Disabilities
Chronicle of Philanthropy – December 20, 2016 (Subscription Only) - Ignorance is the Enemy Within
Ford Foundation Newsletter – September 12, 2016 - Ford’s Push on Disability Rights Should Be a Model for Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy – September 12, 2016 (Subscription Only) - Inclusive Philanthropy
EJewish Philanthropy – April 17, 2016 - A funder asks potential grantees: “How Inclusive are you of People with Disabilities?”
EJewish Philanthropy – April 6, 2016 - Respect is Key to Inclusive Funding
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy – July 7, 2015 - Celebrating ADA: It’s Time to Add a Disability Lens to Our Philanthropy
D5 Blog – June 18, 2015 - Rethinking Disability – Donors Launch an Experiment That Could Spark Seminal Social Reform
Philanthropy Roundtable – Spring 2017 - Making Jewish E-Learning Accessible to All
EJewish Philanthropy – April 30, 2015 - Lessons From Failed Giving to Charity
Huffington Post – September 12, 2014 - 5 Reasons Why Philanthropy Does Not Follow The Disability Sector
Beyond Impact – February 6, 2014 - Is Philanthropy Sufficiently Proactive on the Issues of People with Disabilities?
Nonprofit Quarterly – June 20, 2013 - Diverse Managers – Philanthropy’s Next Hurdle
Council on Foundations - Nonprofits that treat people with disabilities equally awarded $145 million in funding from MacArthur Foundation
February 15, 2018 - Rice 360 Gets $15 Million Investment from MacArthur Foundation; Will Be Inclusive of People with Disabilities
March 19, 2018 - As Oksana Masters, a woman with disability adopted from overseas, wins U.S. Paralympic Gold, MacArthur Foundation paves way for other youth with disabilities in orphanages to have better future
March 15, 2018
Disability Funders and Inclusive Statements
- Council on Foundations: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Disabilities Funders Group
- Change Philanthropy
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Questions?
Contact Franklin Anderson at FranklinA@RespectAbility.org.
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