By Tiana Cobb
Do you believe in your board’s ability to maintain meaningful connections and create opportunities for sustainable change? It is important to discuss the reasons diversity, equity, and inclusion is so vital to nonprofit success, as well as how you can do this work in the current environment. Stay tuned, this blog is full of practical facts and benefits of implementing DEI practices into your organization culture, with a tool to help you get started!
Tiana’s Perspective
As part of my internship at Partner for Better, I was given the opportunity to complete a passion project. I instantly knew I would choose the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion, and I wanted to create something tangible and accessible for nonprofit professionals to use to improve their work environment and culture. I was inspired by my role as the current coordinator of the Diversity and Inclusivity team at my on-campus job, which has filled me with much purpose and passion, to show how being mindful of fostering a sense of belonging in the workplace really matters.
As a student, I have noted that newcomers to the nonprofit sector like myself and my peers look for community within the leadership of organizations doing real, impactful work. Emerging nonprofit professionals look for green flags such as a diverse environment, intentional onboarding, and thoughtful succession planning. Opportunities to create change are essential for satisfaction and reliability. Strong DEI practices help foster healthy mindsets and increase the capacity of board members and staff to steward newcomers into leadership roles within their organization.
What is a Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Board?
Diversity includes the unique experiences and social, ethnic and other intersecting identities of a person. It acknowledges the differences of individuals in a setting, and offers space for inclusivity and equity to thrive.
Nonprofit boards do important foundation work that is translated into everyday operations. A successful board will responsibly define the statements of mission, purpose and values, select and support the chief executive, monitor programs and services, secure financial resources and develop goals within an annual budget, and ensure legal compliance. Due to this essential work, it is vital board members bring a wealth of diversity to the team.
A diverse, inclusive and equitable board is one which reflects varied identities and experiences, and ensures fair access to leadership and decision-making by fostering a culture where all voices are valued and empowered. You will see advancement in the organization mission with these qualities on your board.
What does the Current Landscape Show Us?
Board Source’s 2021 Leading With Intent data report tells the reality of diversity in nonprofits. A quick summary of that data includes:
- Racial and Ethnic Inequity: Only 29% of board chairs feel the board represents the communities they serve, and 45% of board chairs are not satisfied with racial and ethnic diversity on the board.
- Race is a significant aspect to consider, as many marginalized community members are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)
- Data also reveals that all-White boards struggle to commit to DEI work in their organization
- Sexual Orientation: Further data shows only 6% of board members and chairs are members of the LGBTQ+ community
- Disability: Only 3% of board chairs and 5% of members are reported to have a disability
Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices (Washington, D.C.: BoardSource, 2021) https://leadingwithintent.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-findings/
It is easy to become paralyzed, dwell on the facts and reckon with the work ahead of us to correct disparities, but it is important to take steps forward. Our goal should be to change these statistics, leading to improved organizational structure and increased funding wins.
Benefits of Change
So, why change up a ‘perfectly’ established board for the sake of diversity? Well, perfection is not real in the communities we serve, and there is always room for improvement.
Board Source identified four major outcome benefits from a research study done by Indiana University, linking financial success and mission impact to a diverse board makeup.
- More women members = increased fundraising performance and public policy advocacy
- Younger members = greater commitment and engagement in oversight and governance
- Older members = higher levels of engagement with potential donors and involvement in board related activities
- Board with revenue over $5 million participate more in advocacy and engage with policy makers
White, Angela. The Impact of Diversity on Board Outcomes. (BoardSource, 2020) https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/the-impact-of-diversity-on-board-outcomes
Often, that means shifting a few things around to achieve proven these correlated benefits:
Being reflective of communities the organization serves = Improved decision making
Representing target demographics such as age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and indigenous heritage are vital to showing commitment to the mission. Diverse boards make decisions in the best interest of the community because they know the needs from experience! They are stronger advocates for the mission and result in bigger impact programming.
Improved organizational outcomes
Implementing changes toward increased diversity increases community connections due to genuine engaging conversations and shared experiences. This network drives employee and client satisfaction from empowering interactions. From the growing network you will notice more partnerships producing creativity, collaboration and resources, which will attract top talent to recruit.
Embracing the Differences
As an undergraduate senior at the University of Missouri who completely changed my academic major three times, I know a thing or three about the benefits of change. I am excited to create a strong impact in my post-graduation career path.
An informative class I took about diversity in the workplace is based on the book “Difference Matters” by Brenda Allen. The book dives into how power structures and systemic barriers influence workplace culture, a must-read for leaders looking to deepen their understanding of how each identity contributes to a working environment.
The wealth that comes from embracing our differences is invaluable, get comfortable with being uncomfortable! Efforts towards improving diversity will be worth the less awkward dynamics, stronger community, and equitable and inclusive environment worth showing up for. Start today by accessing the DEI resource tool!