Accessibility Statement

1. Our Commitment to Accessibility

The Embassy Row Project, a philanthropic initiative founded by James Scott and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is committed to ensuring that its digital platforms are accessible to the widest possible audience, including individuals with visual, auditory, motor, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. Accessibility is not an afterthought in our development process - it is a foundational principle that reflects our broader mission of empowering communities worldwide and ensuring equitable access to information and services.

We believe that every individual - regardless of ability - should be able to access information about our 59+ specialized institutes, submit grant applications, explore our research platforms, and engage with our philanthropic ecosystem without barriers. This commitment extends across all of our digital properties, including embassyrowproject.org, embassyrowproject.com, embassyrowproject.net, and embassyrowproject.ai.

2. Conformance Standard

This website is designed and developed to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the internationally recognized standard for web accessibility and is referenced by accessibility legislation worldwide, including Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (United States), the European Accessibility Act (EU), and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (Canada).

Conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA means that this website satisfies all Level A and Level AA success criteria. While we strive for full conformance, we acknowledge that some third-party content or newly added features may temporarily fall below this standard. Any such instances are documented in the Known Limitations section below and are prioritized for remediation.

3. Accessibility Features Implemented

The following accessibility features have been implemented across the Embassy Row Project website to ensure an inclusive experience for all users:

3.1 Structural and Semantic Markup

All pages use semantic HTML5 elements - including <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, <section>, and <footer> - to provide a logical document structure that assistive technologies can interpret. Heading levels (h1 through h6) follow a strict hierarchical order on every page, ensuring screen reader users can navigate by heading level to quickly find the content they need.

3.2 Color Contrast and Visual Design

Our color palette - black, grey, white, and gold - has been carefully calibrated to meet WCAG 2.1 AA minimum contrast ratios. Body text maintains a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text (18pt or 14pt bold) maintains at least 3:1. Our gold accent color (#7F6320) on white backgrounds achieves a 5.07:1 contrast ratio, exceeding the AA requirement. On dark backgrounds, the gold (#D4A843) achieves a 9.17:1 ratio against near-black (#0A0A0A). All interactive elements have distinct visual states for hover, focus, and active interactions.

3.3 Keyboard Navigation

Every interactive element on the website - including navigation links, buttons, form fields, dropdown menus, search functionality, and modal dialogs - is fully operable using keyboard-only navigation. Visible focus indicators are maintained on all focusable elements, and the tab order follows a logical reading sequence. The mobile navigation menu uses the inert attribute to prevent focus from entering hidden content, ensuring keyboard users are never trapped in off-screen elements.

3.4 Images and Non-Text Content

All meaningful images include descriptive alternative text that conveys the purpose and content of the image. Decorative images - such as background patterns, gradient overlays, and visual embellishments - are marked with aria-hidden="true" or use empty alt attributes so they are ignored by screen readers. Hero images include contextual alt text that describes the scene and its relevance to the page content.

3.5 Forms and Interactive Elements

All form fields - including the contact form and grant application form - have associated labels, clear placeholder text, and descriptive error messages that identify the field in error and explain how to correct it. Required fields are programmatically indicated. Form validation errors are announced to screen readers, and focus is moved to the first error field to assist users in correcting their input.

3.6 Responsive Design and Zoom

The website is fully responsive and functions correctly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Users can zoom the page up to 400% without loss of content or functionality, as required by WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.10 (Reflow). The viewport meta tag does not restrict user scaling, allowing browser-level zoom and text resizing to work as expected.

3.7 Navigation and Wayfinding

The website provides multiple navigation mechanisms: a persistent top navigation bar with mega-menu dropdowns, breadcrumb trails on interior pages, a comprehensive footer navigation, and a site-wide search function. All navigation links use descriptive text that clearly indicates the destination - generic link text such as "click here" or "learn more" has been replaced with contextual labels. The site also provides a complete XML sitemap for search engines and assistive technology crawlers.

4. Testing Methodology

The Embassy Row Project employs a multi-layered testing methodology to identify and remediate accessibility barriers. Our approach combines automated scanning, manual expert evaluation, and assistive technology testing to achieve comprehensive coverage.

Our most recent comprehensive accessibility audit was conducted in February 2026, achieving a Lighthouse Accessibility score of 93 out of 100 and an SEO score of 100 out of 100. Issues identified during audits are triaged by severity and remediated according to the following timeline: critical barriers (preventing access to core functionality) within 48 hours, major issues within 2 weeks, and minor issues within the next scheduled release cycle.

5. Assistive Technology Compatibility

This website has been tested for compatibility with the following assistive technologies and browser combinations:

We recommend using the latest versions of these assistive technologies and browsers for the best experience. If you encounter issues with a specific assistive technology not listed above, please contact us so we can investigate and address the compatibility gap.

6. Known Limitations

While we strive for full WCAG 2.1 AA conformance, the following limitations have been identified and are being actively addressed:

We are committed to addressing these limitations on a rolling basis. Users who encounter barriers related to any of these areas - or any other accessibility issue - are encouraged to contact us so we can provide alternative access to the content.

7. Technical Specifications

The accessibility of this website relies on the following technologies to function correctly with the particular combination of web browser and assistive technologies installed on your device:

• •HTML5 - semantic document structure and landmark regions
• •WAI-ARIA 1.2 - accessible rich internet application attributes for dynamic content and custom widgets
• •CSS - visual presentation, responsive layout, focus indicators, and reduced-motion support
• •JavaScript (React 19) - client-side interactivity with progressive enhancement principles
• •SVG - scalable vector graphics for icons and decorative elements with appropriate ARIA roles

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used. The website is designed to degrade gracefully when JavaScript is unavailable, providing access to core content and navigation through server-rendered HTML.

8. Organizational Measures

The Embassy Row Project has adopted the following organizational measures to ensure sustained accessibility across our digital platforms:

• •Accessibility is included as a requirement in all design and development specifications
• •Automated accessibility checks are integrated into the continuous integration pipeline and run on every deployment
• •All new features undergo manual accessibility review before release, including keyboard navigation and screen reader testing
• •Content authors follow an accessibility style guide that covers heading structure, alt text writing, link text, and color usage
• •Accessibility issues reported by users are tracked, triaged, and resolved according to severity-based timelines
• •Periodic comprehensive audits are conducted to identify and address emerging accessibility barriers

9. Applicable Legal Framework

As a Washington, D.C.-based organization with a global reach, the Embassy Row Project's accessibility efforts are informed by the following legal and regulatory frameworks:

• •Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (United States) - requires federal agencies and their contractors to make electronic and information technology accessible
• •Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III (United States) - prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation, which courts have interpreted to include websites
• •European Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882) - establishes accessibility requirements for products and services, including websites and mobile applications
• •EN 301 549 (European Standard) - harmonized standard for ICT accessibility, referencing WCAG 2.1 Level AA
• •Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (Canada) - requires organizations to make their websites and web content conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA

While the Embassy Row Project is a philanthropic initiative and not a government entity, we voluntarily adopt these standards as a reflection of our commitment to universal access and our role as an advisory resource to governments and international organizations.

10. Feedback and Reporting Barriers

We welcome and actively encourage feedback on the accessibility of the Embassy Row Project website. If you encounter an accessibility barrier, have difficulty accessing any content or functionality, or have suggestions for improving accessibility, please reach out through our contact page. When reporting an accessibility issue, the following information is helpful (though not required):

• •The web page URL where you encountered the barrier
• •A description of the problem and what you were trying to accomplish
• •The assistive technology and browser you were using (if applicable)
• •Your preferred method of contact for follow-up

We aim to acknowledge all accessibility feedback within 2 business days and to provide a substantive response - including a remediation timeline where applicable - within 5 business days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate the matter through the appropriate enforcement body in your jurisdiction.

11. Continuous Improvement

Accessibility is an ongoing effort, not a one-time achievement. The Embassy Row Project is committed to continuous improvement of our digital accessibility through regular audits, user feedback integration, and adoption of emerging best practices. As web technologies and accessibility standards evolve - including the forthcoming WCAG 3.0 - we will update our practices and this statement accordingly.

This Accessibility Statement was last reviewed and updated on February 15, 2026. We review this statement at least annually, or whenever significant changes are made to the website's structure, design, or functionality.