Diversifying Boards Means Ceding Control Are White Nonprofit Leaders Ready?
Saturday, November 30, 2019
November 30, 2019 - From Nonprofitquarterly
For most nonprofit organizations, board diversity remains an unfulfilled aspiration, often spoken of but seldom realized. Year after year, study after study, confirms this. Leaders know their boardroom tables should look more like the communities they serve, but somehow the indicators of change seem frozen.
Under the banner of the Building Board Diversity initiative, nonprofit leaders in Springfield, Illinois, spurred by Forefront and the United Way of Central Illinois, are taking on this challenge. For the past year, they have been working to break this logjam. The United Way chapter’s CEO John Kelker recently explained the importance of this effort to the Illinois Times:
You don’t know what you are missing until you get other people’s opinions at the table. To have a little bit of disagreement, a little bit of devil’s advocate, just makes every conversation richer. If everybody looks alike and thinks alike, it’s a boring conversation. Every one of us brings in a different circle of influence. So it’s even good to say, “Who else would be good to be our next board member?”
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