Intra-group and Inter-group Racial Disparities in Nonprofit Funding: Insights from Stratification Economics

Abstract

Recent research has increasingly examined nonprofit funding disparities between White and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, especially after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. However, limited attention has been paid to funding disparities among different BIPOC sub-groups. Drawing on stratification economics, this paper investigates intra-BIPOC disparities and their relationship to White-BIPOC disparity in nonprofit funding. Using a national dataset of human services general support grants from 2018 to 2022, the study finds that racial disparities in nonprofit funding exist not only between White and BIPOC communities—as well documented in existing literature—but also among different BIPOC sub-groups. Moreover, intra-BIPOC disparities either sustain or exacerbate White-BIPOC disparity, thereby perpetuating racial hierarchies in nonprofit funding. These findings enrich our understanding of racial disparities in nonprofit funding and underscore the need for actions addressing the nuanced group dynamics both within and beyond BIPOC communities.