Foundations Need to Step Up During the COVID-19 Crisis

Like most of my colleagues in the nonprofit sector, I was outraged by the brutal killing of George Floyd who died, like so many others, because of the color of his skin. The focus on Black Lives Matter sparked by Floyd’s death has gotten me thinking a lot about racial equality in different areas of my life, particularly in the nonprofit world. One of the questions I’ve contemplated is this: How does it feel for a person of color to work in the nonprofit sector, where white women are the dominant culture? That question planted the first seed for this blog. I’ve been thinking about this for the past few months and decided that now is the time to write this post. Now is the time to dig deeper, not to look the other way. In fact, this moment in history reminds me of a speech that most people have never heard or long ago forgotten. Before Martin Luther King inspired the world with his Dream speech, during the 1963 March on Washington, a lesser known man took the stage. Rabbi Joachim Prinz called on this audience to look at what was happening in the United States and take action. Rabbi Prinz told the thousands gathered on the Mall that day: As Americans we share the profound concern of millions of people about the shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice which make a mockery of the great American idea... When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned… that bigotry and hatred are not “the most urgent problem.” The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence… America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent. Not merely black America, but all of America. Rabbi Prinz’s words ring as true today as they did over half a century ago. Silence and inaction are unacceptable. Especially in the nonprofit world. My friends and colleagues in the nonprofit sector are among the most good hearted and open-minded people I know. But, when it comes to race and equity, many of us (and I definitely include myself) are still waking up to how much work there is to do. If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably been involved in conversations in recent months about the realities of race in the US, your local community, and the nonprofit sector. Talk may be cheap, but it is often an essential first step in the right direction. Some of your conversations may have been spontaneous, others may be by design. I’ve had both. In June, I invited two Saltzberg Consulting Associates, Monica McCann and Dondra Ward , who are both African American, to join me for open conversation on Zoom about our personal experiences with race in the nonprofit sector here in Maryland. The conversation was so inspiring that I wanted to share a few of the highlights here. Self-Segregation Among Nonprofits I asked Dondra and Monica how they felt about being Black women working in a field where white women are the norm. I was surprised by their answers. They basically said the same thing: It wasn’t an issue for them, because they grew up in Prince George’s County, which is predominantly African American, and most of the nonprofits they’ve worked with are made up of people of color. That gave me pause – and got me thinking about how self-segregated many nonprofit are. I know of a number of organizations where the entire staff and board are all white or all Black or all Jewish. Segregation Between Leadership and Staff While most nonprofits aren’t uniformly one race, religion, or ethnicity, there’s a troubling pattern in many of the nonprofits I’m familiar with. All too often, upper-management and board members are predominantly white, while middle-management and support staff are more likely to be people of color. Dondra, Monica, and I discussed why we think these different forms of self-segregation happen and agreed that in the past it may have been somewhat unconscious. As human beings, we seem to be wired to surround ourselves with people we have something in common with – a tendency that gets reflected in hiring practices. But with increasing emphasis on the importance of diversity, it’s hard to imagine that nonprofits are unaware that this is happening. But being aware isn’t always enough. Many of these organizations have been sweeping the issue of diversity under the rug for years – because they don’t want to talk about it, don’t want to prioritize it, and/or they don’t know what to do about it. Benefits of Diversity What’s unfortunate about the lack of diversity in the nonprofit sector is that it’s not benefiting anyone (outside of creating cozy comfort zones). There’s plenty of research to prove that diversity leads to greater innovation and efficacy. Here’s just one example: An article in the Harvard Business Review described testing that was done over a number of years on the way teams interact. The results consistently showed that diverse teams were able to solve problems faster than cognitively similar people. And other studies have shown that workers in diverse workplaces are more engaged and turnover is lower. This is all great news for the non-profit sector! By inviting greater staff diversity, organizations could increase effectiveness and deliver better outcomes. Creating More Diverse Nonprofits One of the valuable aspects of our conversation were the concrete ideas that came up for addressing some of these issues (most of which came from Monica and Dondra) including: Address White Privilege Skillfully: It’s good to keep in mind that people may not notice when they have privilege. An example was given of people who rely on lipreading and how they are having a really hard time with everyone wearing masks due to COVID-19. Being able to hear is a privilege that most people have and probably don’t think about. Talking about white privilege can make people defensive. It’s ok to talk about it anyway. Stay Open: The main tools for addressing ignorance and injustice are an open mind and an open heart. Fighting against other people’s opinions generally doesn’t work. Know Who’s at the Table : It’s important to have people with diverse points of view “at the table” – so one group of people isn’t trying to guess what another group of people needs. It’s valuable for nonprofits to literally look around the table at management and board meetings and see how well the communities they serve are represented – to see who’s missing and figure out how to include those missing voices. Follow the Money: Grant makers are playing an important role in advancing systemic change simply by asking nonprofits to respond to questions about equity and inclusion. Nonprofits that don’t take this seriously may disappear in the long run, due to a lack of funding. Enlist a Diverse Interview Panel: To achieve greater diversity among staff and board, start with a diverse panel of interviewers. Create Affirmative Action: Nonprofits can institute their own version of Affirmative Action, where they set quotas to intentionally diversify their organizations. Empower People to Grow into Their Roles: Instead of saying, “We can’t find a person of color to take this high-level position,” consider hiring someone with the training, potential, and enthusiasm to grow into the job. Create a Career Ladder: To create long-term, lasting diversity, nonprofits can create career ladder training opportunities for workers in entry level positions and support them as they move up through the organization. Empower Expression: To help convince leadership of the need to give more people a voice within the organization, nonprofits can create forums where staff can express the challenges they face because of a lack of diversity and lack of opportunities for advancement. Start Small: It’s important to keep in mind that this is a huge issue. It’s ok to take little steps, as they will eventually lead to larger change. Book Clubs… and Beyond Another Zoom conversation I participated in recently was hosted by the Maryland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). It was an informal gathering of fundraisers and nonprofit executives who wanted to talk honestly about our experiences with race and equity and our aspirations for the future. The first thing that struck me about the group was how small it was – less than a dozen people. I expected such an important discussion would be well attended. I realize that everyone is busy and not everyone is excited to add another Zoom call to their schedule. Nonetheless, I think it’s telling that this was not the conversation that most white people were prioritizing. That said, it was a great discussion with a wide range of experiences and perspectives presented. I came away feeling both inspired and hopeful. Towards the end of the call, we talked about practical action steps that nonprofits, and the businesses that serve them, could take to raise awareness and shift organizational culture towards greater diversity. The reality is that Maryland nonprofits fall along a very broad spectrum, in terms of their interest and willingness to embrace change. Some organizations are ready to invest in consultants to help them move towards greater diversity or have already done so. Others are barely aware of the issues. For them, just starting a book club to discuss titles like So You Want to Talk About Race, White Fragility, and How to Be an Antiracist would be a major breakthrough. I applaud AFP for prioritizing this issue and hosting this discussion. They also did a great job of curating resources that organizations can use to move forward – regardless of their starting point. You’ll find their list at the bottom of this post. Final Thoughts I wrote this blog to remind myself and my readers that creating greater diversity and equity in the nonprofit sector is a big job, but we need to make it happen. I may not have an answer to the question that prompted this post, but I do know that we need to keep raising issues and moving forward until lasting change has been achieved. Resources Recommended by the Maryland Chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals: https://www.patreon.com/thegreatunlearn/posts https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/158-resources-understanding-systemic-racism-america-180975029/ https://www.racialequityinstitute.com/ https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary# Associated Black Charities ( http://www.abc-md.org ) What Do You Think? I’d love to hear your thoughts about race and equity. Please use the Contact Form to reach me directly.