Part IV: Make Room for Us: Changing the Racial Composition and Culture of Your Board

Presented by: Christal M. Cherry, Principal and CEO, The Board Pro 

At a time of great change, we have morphed into a new age where collaboration and inclusion are becoming more important for nonprofit growth. The issue of diversity needs to be addressed.

Since 2010, 96% of all U.S. counties registered an increase in their percentage of nonwhite residents. Although the U.S. is becoming more racially diverse, the people who lead nonprofits in the U.S., including board members, remain disproportionately white. In fact, less than 15% of board members are people of color and 90% of Board Chairs are white.

As stewards of the public good, boards must act to alter and eliminate beliefs, practices, and policies that perpetuate structural and institutional racism and exclusion. This means being intentional about changing the racial composition of its members and adapting cultures that alienate and exclude others from feeling welcomed.

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In this session, attendees will learn how to work to ground organizational values and recruitment practices so that their boards are inclusive. They will redefine their roles by accepting accountability for setting the tone with deliberate and strategic action to have an increased presence of people of color on boards. A few takeaways from this seminar include:

• Understand why board diversity matters and accept how board demographics are changing
• Empower leaders of color in nonprofits to move towards race-equity on boards
• Discover hiring policies that reveal bias, using an equity lens when hiring the Executive Director
• Locate sources to recruit diverse members
• Recognize the impact of diversity on fundraising