Workforce Diversity Committee
Initiative for Nonprofit Sector Careers > Workforce Diversity Committee
Year One Plan-of-Action
Workforce Diversity / Inclusion Plan of Action
by Paul Schmitz, President and CEO Public Allies
Chair, Committee on Workforce Diversity and Inclusion
The Case
The nonprofit sector is vital to American democracy, and must include and empower the voices and perspectives of diverse Americans to best serve communities, advocate for social causes and bring people together to improve their communities, country and world.
Yet mounting evidence appears to show that despite its purpose, intentions, and demographic realities, the nonprofit sector is not advancing diverse leadership for our communities and country. For example, a recent Compasspoint study of 2,000 executive directors in 8 cities found 82% Caucasian when 67% of the general population is Caucasian. More stunning, they found that younger executive directors were no more diverse than their older colleagues, which would indicate that we are losing ground. The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition believes that much more research is needed on the demographics of the nonprofit sector and its leadership, but anecdotal experience and studies indicate that this is an important issue the nonprofit sector must face.
As a major leadership transition is underway in the sector, it will be important that the nonprofit sector is intentional about developing diverse leadership, especially among people of color. As America becomes increasingly diverse by race and ethnicity, the sector will have to do a better job at recruiting, retaining and developing diverse workers if the sector is to thrive. The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition recognizes that diversity can be defined many ways, and that women, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities and others face challenges in the workplace that must be addressed. We have chosen, however, to focus our initial efforts on race and ethnicity, believing that by focusing on these groups to begin with, we can build a platform for a more inclusive sector that will be better for all.
In what the private sector describes as “the war for talent,” the nonprofit sector must do more to build diverse pipelines into the sector and into the sector’s leadership. The private sector is being more intentional in its pursuit of diverse talent. For example, Procter & Gamble, General Motors and other companies have stopped recruiting students from the University of Wisconsin because its lack of diversity limits their pool of potential employees and limits the exposure of students to different cultures leaving them less prepared for the global environment. Wal-Mart has stopped hiring law firms without diverse senior partners which has shifted millions of dollars away from firms with limited diversity. Companies compete vigorously to make Fortune and Diversity Inc.’s lists of the best companies for diversity.
The Idea
The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition believes that a vehicle is needed to better promote diversity in the nonprofit sector and demonstrate results. In the private sector, Fortune Magazine and Diversity Inc. have created vehicles in which large corporations compete vigorously to be recognized for excellence in diversity. It has prompted companies to pursue policies and practices to improve their performance not just for the recognition benefit but because they want the best talent for the global marketplace and wish to remove artificial barriers that prevent the best talent from entering their companies.
The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition will pursue a set of strategies to stimulate better practices and results for the sector’s recruitment, retention and advancement of diverse talent. This approach begins with a need for more research and data that gives us a better understanding of diversity within the nonprofit sector at various levels and better information on best practitioners in hiring, retaining and advancing diverse talent. The Nonprofit Workforce Coalition also seeks to identify and promote best practices, engage organizational commitments to improve diversity and create a vehicle to promote diversity and hold groups accountable for results. We believe that accountability is key. Millions have been spent on diversity initiatives with few results because there is no mechanism that makes groups accountable for results. We believe that just as Guidestar has created a mechanism for better financial accountability, a vehicle is needed that can promote better racial and ethnic diversity.
We ultimately envision an Internet-based vehicle that would serve as a public recognition of organizations committed to improving diversity in the nonprofit sector. Those who wish to be recognized will agree to implement certain policies and practices and to publicly share their results – a demographic analysis of their organizations that will be hyperlinked to their signature on the pledge. Organizations could receive a pledge logo to place on their own website that links to their signature so they can promote their commitment to diversity.
The site will also profile best practices and resources for improving diversity. The site could be promoted among job hunters through websites like Idealist, Monster, Black Planet and others so that talented people of color use it as a resource in their job search, and therefore create the market incentive for organizations to sign the pledge. The site may also be a resource for donors and members who wish to understand that diversity within organizations they support. By placing the commitments and results in a public website, organizations will have a powerful incentive to improve their diversity.
Following are the details of how we intend to put this together:
Construct the Pledge
We will construct a pledge that organizations can sign that commits the organization to policies and practices that are well recognized as critical to a successfully diverse and inclusive environment. The pledge will take into account different contexts in which organizations operate – who they serve, where they are located, etc. Robin Grinnell, Director of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, is leading the effort to develop a pledge with a group of nonprofit professionals in Michigan.
Complete demographic report form
We will create a form that will allow organizations to report demographic information on their organizations. The information will be segregated by Board, CEO, direct reports to the CEO, Highest paid staff members, All Supervisors, and All staff. National nonprofits will be able to include information for the national office and branch offices and individual branch offices may separately sign the pledge. The form will also describe the primary demographic groups served by the organization and the demographics for the community served by the organization for comparison sake. It will also allow for a brief narrative in which the organization can explain its current demographics and diversity efforts.
It is important to note that in reporting diversity, context is important. An organization in a predominantly white rural community may have no people of color and still take the pledge while recognizing in its narrative the demographic realities of their area. There are many considerations and that is why sharing demographics of their community, of the people they primarily serve and enabling a brief narrative are critical to understanding how organizations work. We will take drafts of the form to HR directors at large organizations and executive directors of smaller to medium sized organizations to ensure it is user friendly and that compiling the data is not too burdensome an activity.
Jenna Cullinane, Program Assistant for the Institute for Higher Education Policy, is leading the effort to develop the matrix in which groups will supply their information on their organization’s diversity.
Recruit high profile first pledgers
For this to go live effectively, we will need major name brand organizations to take the lead in both signing the pledge and providing demographic data. By recruiting many pledgers before the site goes live, we can ensure that it makes a big bang and provides additional incentive for organizations to be recognized. The goal is to get 50 well known organizations to sign the pledge to begin the process and to publish those first 50 signers.
Launch effort with the Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle of Philanthropy plans to survey organizations on their diversity this Spring for an issue of the newspaper. They may use a version of our demographic information form for their surveys. Perhaps we could get an ad in the Chronicle with the first 50 signatories and announce the effort at that time. Because we are not likely to have a website live by then, perhaps we could encourage groups to get the logo and demographic form and the initial deal is that groups can acknowledge their pledge on their home pages with a link to the document with their demographics and a brief description of the project on their website.
Identify best practices and resources to profile
There are many resources for nonprofit organizations on diversity that can be linked to the site and best practices that can be profiled. Michael Watson, SVP for Human Resources at Girl Scouts, is leading the effort to define best practices in terms of categories of practice (recruitment, outreach, diversity in employee orientation, communications, management, staff development and other resources?), identify who should select best practices, how often practices are selected and how they are recognized. Additional resources could be linked to the eventual website by topic or region for groups seeking to learn more.
Seek marketing partnerships for the site’s link
We will reach out to various job hunter websites, search engines and associations/organizations geared to young people of color and young professionals of color to promote the site. It will be imperative that job seekers are aware of this resource so that the incentive exists for full participation.
For example, the Chronicle of Philanthropy could promote the site and begin increased coverage of diversity within the sector. It could compare the demographics of directors and officers of the Philanthropy 400 with the Fortune 500. They could recognize the best organizations through an annual competition like Diversity Inc. They could profile the issue more directly.
Identify a partner to build and operate the site
We will reach out to groups like Idealist, Guidestar, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Diversity Inc., NPower and others to explore partnerships to build and manage the website and gain advice on the development of such an engine. Public Allies will staff the development planning effort for the Nonprofit Workforce Coalition.
Create a High Profile Advisory Group
To give greater credibility to this initiative, gain more publicity, and to have some objective outsiders endorse the pledge and criteria by which best practitioners are selected, we could create an advisory board of prominent leaders. This groups could include diversity officers at major companies, public officials, well known leaders of color, and others. Paul Schmitz suggests working with Tavis Smiley, a former board member of Public Allies, to put such a group together with the committee identifying ideal candidates.
Raise funds to build and sustain the website.
We believe that the companies recognized each year by Fortune Magazine and Diversity Inc may be the best market for funding this initiative. These are companies who have been recognized for excellence in diversity and who are seeking recognition of their diversity efforts. The site could enable these companies to get additional recognition for their diversity efforts.
Create a timeline for the launch and rollout of this initiative
A rollout process will likely be used with initial self-recognition of groups within the network and then a public website eventually linking all signatories together.
October 24 Pledge completed and ratified
Best Practice categories, criteria and selection process defined
Roll out plan confirmed
December 1 First 50 organizations signed on to the pledge
Pledge logo and policy for promotion defined and ready for implementation
January 15 Awareness campaign “A New Year for Nonprofit Leadership” launched with media releases to Chronicle of Philanthropy, PNN, Nonprofit Times, SNPO and national organizations and intermediaries for newsletter publication.
January 31 Revisit goals, participation, strategize next wave of promotion
Identify partners for launch of the website and core prospects for funding
March 31 Achieve funding for the website and be ready to begin development
Advisory Groups announced
Workforce Diversity Committee Members
Upcoming Committee Conference Calls (for Committee members only)
September 26 at 1:00pm CST
October 17 at 2:00 CST
November 14 at 2:00 CST
December 19 at 2:00 CST
Relevant Documents for Download
Workforce Diversity Committee Year One Plan-of-action
Diversity and the Future Nonprofit Workforce
