In June 2024, Sandy Ho assumed the role of executive director of the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, a philanthropic network of organizations committed to dismantling ableism. Ho succeeds inaugural Director Emily Harris.
The Disability & Philanthropy Forum formed after the Ford Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation convened foundation leaders in 2019. Those foundation CEOs in turn established the forum, responding to calls from disability activists and also investing in disability communities through the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy where Ho previously served as program director.
The forum includes nearly 900 individual members, over 75 signatories of the Disability Inclusion Pledge, an employee resource group for Disabled individuals and champions of disability inclusion working in philanthropy, a staff of Disabled professionals, and a President’s Council of affiliated foundation leaders.
It aims to dismantle ableism by increasing funding for disability justice, amplifying the leadership of Disabled people in the sector, and educating philanthropy to build a culture of inclusion. The forum provides learning resources, advocates within the sector and sustains peer networks at all professional levels from program and support staff to executive leadership.
Ho proudly comes from movement organizing. She was a member of the inaugural 2023 Obama Foundation USA Leaders program, as well as a 2022 Disability Futures Fellow supported by the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
IP recently spoke with Ho about her story, work and hopes for philanthropy. Here are some excerpts from the conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell us about your background.
I’m a Disabled woman of color and the child of immigrants. My mother is from northern Vietnam and my father is from Hong Kong. My parents always ensured they were advocating for me and what I needed to succeed, and I definitely absorbed that growing up. After my grandparents immigrated, they worked for the Boston Public Library, so I grew up in public libraries. That has a lot to do with my love of reading and curiosity.
I was born and raised in Massachusetts and spent most of my life in Boston. We did not come from wealth; we lived in Section 8 housing growing up. I benefited from the Massachusetts public school and healthcare systems. With Massachusetts being the model for [the Affordable Care Act], that definitely had a lot to do with how I experienced my disability and advocate for myself now.
What did you learn about philanthropy growing up?
My first understanding of giving came from family. Being Chinese and Vietnamese American, the Lunar New Year tradition between elders and younger generations is to give red envelopes with money as a symbol of good fortune.
Like many other children of immigrants, I was often the translator for my parents. I remember writing letters to local nonprofits sharing my story as a child with a disability and explaining the impact it would have on my family if we had an accessible minivan or a ramp to the house. That’s how I learned there were these organizations that had resources that my family did not, and the song and dance to acquire those resources.
When I got older, I started to realize that families of color needed to turn to organizations because our own government support systems were not enough. I wish I had known a lot sooner that I was not the only one experiencing these inequalities. It wouldn’t be until after graduating college that I found more of a place in the disabilities community.
Can you share some highlights from your movement work as an activist with a disability?
I hope to never lose that lens of coming to this work as somebody who is and was a Disabled community organizer in movement. What that means to me is creating places where people with disabilities can feel comfortable showing up as their whole selves.
I started in disability community work through being a program manager of a mentoring program for young women with disabilities. That started my critical thinking around the intersections of disability and gender. I kept asking questions and connecting with older Disabled mentors.
Prior to philanthropy, I was a disability policy researcher in academia. I was the rabble-rouser community organizer building the bridge between community and the importance of data driven, community-led research. How do we get the community’s stories in front of decision-makers of policy and resource allocation? I saw how not having more Disabled people in decision-making positions continues to be such a gap in our country, whether it’s in policy, health or philanthropy.
Can you talk about joining a sector where there aren’t as many openly Disabled executive leaders?
Prior to philanthropy, I’ve had the privilege of only working for and with teams that are oriented around disability community issues. It was my workplace norm to not be the only one in the office who is openly Disabled. When I arrived in the sector via Borealis Philanthropy, I was at one of the few Disabled-led funds that resource disability communities nationally. The current position I’m in as executive director for the Disability & Philanthropy Forum was made possible because of the disability rights leaders who came before me who pushed the sector. I also credit so much to Ryan Easterly at WITH Foundation as well as Rebecca Cokley at Ford Foundation, Catherine Townsend [also at Ford] and Adela Ruiz [formerly at Ford].
Part of the work of dismantling ableism in philanthropy is pushing community priorities into the sector, but it’s also about getting the sector more conditioned to leaders with disabilities in the field. Visibility is important; this is something I’ve learned from the queer and trans movement. I know there are many other folks in the sector who are not ready to identify publicly. We need to change the sector’s systemic problems around why it’s difficult to receive disability accommodations at work. How can we make philanthropy a welcome space, not just for those who are already in it, but for those who come in after us?
What excited you about the opportunity to lead the Disability & Philanthropy Forum?
The Disability & Philanthropy Forum is trying to mobilize the sector to move more funding and resources directly to Disability-led organizations. Historically, philanthropy has contributed to harm, ableism and eugenics. We need to recognize this harm and where we’ve been to know where we are going. We know this from peer movements, such as queer and trans, racial justice, and Black liberation movements. I’m excited to continue the momentum of advocacy that has already been laid out by former executive director Emily Harris.
Sometimes when we say that we’re going to prioritize an issue area, folks interpret that to mean we have to perfect it and solve it right now. I think sometimes that holds us back. Prioritizing doesn’t mean perfecting it. We are here as a Disability & Philanthropy Forum team to learn together. The opportunity to bring more people together and strengthen the bridge between disability movement and funders is something I hope to build into more deeply.
What are some promising trends in philanthropy?
I want to highlight the Black Disabled Liberation Project at Borealis Philanthropy, which moved a million dollars to resource 10 Black Disabled organizations doing disability justice work. The Borealis Philanthropy team shifted their potential grantee approach from written narratives to more relationship-centered interviews. The project was stewarded with two disability justice organizers who are Black women with disabilities: Yomi Young and India Harville.
Community participatory grantmaking, ensuring that resources are allocated in a way that’s reflective of community, is very much a disability-inclusive movement principle. Funders can do a lot by just saying they welcome proposals from disability communities or organizations doing disability community work. When communities see themselves in the request for proposals, they’re more likely to apply.
What’s your biggest hope for philanthropy moving forward?
When we are talking about social justice and equity, we need to be mindful that this includes disability community and dismantling ableism. When we talk about systemic change, that requires us to orient our political analysis to ableism and how it is intertwined with anti-Blackness, white supremacy and racism in this country. The ways in which racialized work is being targeted is not separate from how that impacts the Disabled community, particularly when we know that there is a higher prevalence of disability in communities of color.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Check out the Disability & Philanthropy Forum website. There is a Disability Inclusion Pledge. Change starts when a commitment is made, and organizations can take a look at the grantmakers and philanthropy-serving organizations that have already signed the pledge.
For community and advocates, know that we will continue to be open to hearing and centering the priorities of movement, and doing our best to bring funders together and excite folks about the work. I’m looking forward to all the change that can happen!
Michelle Dominguez (they/them/elle) is a Queer and Trans professional born to Colombian immigrants on Tongva Land, known post-colonization as Los Angeles. After a decade-long career in higher education student affairs, they switched to the nonprofit and philanthropy sector in 2021. You can find them on LinkedIn.
