HOME

SUBSCRIBE TO ZIMNOTES

• NEWS

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the paucity of people of color on the boards of prominent New York City cultural institutions. Here are some sobering numbers:

• American Museum of Natural History - 57 board members; 2 people of color
• Museum of Modern Art - 40; 4
• Carnegie Hall - 60; 5
• New York Public Library - 45; 6

These numbers are particularly troubling given New York's extraordinary racial diversity. While your nonprofit may not operate in such a heterogeneous community, chances are that your board is not reflective of your community and your constituency.

Let me offer a few hypotheses concerning the limited number of people of color on all too many nonprofit boards:

• The wealthiest one percent of people in the U.S. are overwhelmingly white, and boards that raise money go where the money is.
• Many boards that have traditionally been white have great difficulty with racial diversification.
• Boards have little idea of how to identify those men and women of color who could be effective members.
• Some organizations are unconsciously patronizing; their board members assume that they know what is best for their constituency even if they are not of that constituency.

In the face of these challenges, what can you do to increase racial diversity on your board?

First, it's important to realize that, though great wealth in this country is held by whites, there is a significant and growing population of people of color in the upper middle class, and a few have penetrated into the very topmost class. While it would probably not be worth your while to pursue Oprah Winfrey or Bill Cosby to join your board, it would certainly behoove your board and staff to brainstorm about people of color in your community who are committed to your organization's vision and who have the resources to give that vision life. And they need not be wealthy, either: highly motivated people in the early or middle phases of their careers can have an enormous positive impact on your organization's fundraising.

Second, even boards that are dragging their heels about diversity will listen to a very potent economic argument: more and more donors will only consider making contributions to those nonprofits whose boards are diverse. As Gordon J. Davis, the founding chair of Jazz at Lincoln Center, said in the aforementioned New York Times article: "It can be very important to these kinds of donors that the staff and board reflect the mission of the organization and the growing heterogeneity of American society."

Third, if your board is having trouble identifying prospective members of color, have them take a look at any of a variety of websites that are useful in this regard. I recommend www.boardcafe.org, www.philanthropy.com, www.afpnet.org and www.tgci.com. In addition, many cities and towns boast a variety of minority-focused professional organizations, including the Latino MBA Association, the Black MBA Association, Latinos in Finance and Accounting, and traditionally black sororities and fraternities. And when I "Googled" "racial diversity in nonprofit boards of directors," I found almost 40,000 sites! There is a wealth of good information out there to point your board in the right direction.

Finally, make sure that your board understands the importance of having constituents as board members. Patronizing attitudes on the part of board members should have gone out with leisure suits, but these attitudes hang on stubbornly in some quarters. If board and staff members cannot develop strategies to add "consumers" to your board, you might want to ask a consultant to come in and facilitate a diversity discussion or lead a recruitment strategy session focused on identifying diverse board candidates.

Please Note : If you have wrestled with the issue of board diversity- and particularly if you have been successful in bringing diversity to your board- we would love to hear from you! With your permission, we will publish a few of your comments. Please send your comments to zl@zimmerman-lehman.com.

Copyright 2007 Zimmerman Lehman.

This information is the property of Zimmerman Lehman. If you would like to reprint this information, please see our reprint and copyright policy.