Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

From the Answer Desk: Diverse Donors

Q: Can you point me to useful resources about cultivating funding relationships with prospective donors from diverse backgrounds?

A: Yes! This is a timely question; increasing donor diversity is an important consideration for today's nonprofit organizations. The following resources should be useful in thinking about this topic and understanding what it means for your organization:

• The Philanthropy Journal article, "Engaging Diverse Donors," (2007) provides a few tips.
• The Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers takes on this topic in The New Landscape of Philanthropic Giving (2005), which devotes an entire section to diverse donors.
• The American Society of Association Executives' web site features "$ense and $ensitivity: Keys to Attracting Diverse Donors" (2003) by Diana Newman, author of the book, Opening Doors: Pathways to Diverse Donors (2002), available at all five Foundation Center libraries.
• The Council on Foundations provides a thorough examination of the topic in Cultures of Caring: Philanthropy in Diverse American Communities (1999).

Use the Foundation Center's Catalog of Nonprofit Literature to find additional resources about diversity in philanthropy located in Foundation Center libraries and elsewhere.

Do you have a question? Ask Us!

(This post is from Katie Artzner, the Foundation Center's online librarian)

In the News: Nonprofit Board Diversity

A recent article in the Plain Dealer (6/22/08) provides some illumination on a hot topic: nonprofit boards lack diversity and the attempts made by nonprofit leaders to recruit minority professionals often fall short. Citing statistics from a 2007 Urban Institute survey showing that nonprofit boards are overwhelmingly white, of the more than 5,000 charities surveyed, just over half were entirely white. 

The article features remarks from the experiences of African-American, RPM International executive Randell McShepard who says that nonprofits are not digging deep enough to recruit the many qualified candidates working in the community. As evidence, he points to the 22 invitations he alone received last year to join nonprofit boards. "There is no honor in that for me," said Mr. McShepard. "It saddened me to see so many organizations...that can't see the many talented people who are out there."

The article mentions organizations that are working to increase board minority representation in the Greater Cleveland area, including the Minority Board Member Pipeline, and Business Volunteers Unlimited. 

You can find books and articles about diversity in nonprofits in the library at the Foundation Center-Cleveland, including these:

• Berkshire, Jennifer C. "Ideals in Action: How Five Nonprofit Organizations Made Progress on the Road Toward Inclusion.” Chronicle of Philanthropy (18 October, 2007) p. D-7-D-13.
  Abstract: Profiles the work that five nonprofits have done to increase diversity within their staff and boards, as well as in the nonprofit community at large.

• Fox, Mark. "Tools for Improving Your Board's Diversity.” Nonprofit World (September-October 2007) p. 8-11.
  Abstract: Notes the benefits of a diverse board, and provides a model for a diversity and skills matrix that can be used to evaluate a board’s diversity while avoiding tokenism.