It is quite common to see nonprofit organizations making visible commitments to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Many nonprofit organizations have DEI statements; some include the words in their missions. Many have DEI as part of their strategic plan. But when it comes to the composition and...

As nonprofit consultants, we’ve found the need for board guidance and support with regards to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) has been steadily growing over the years. When it comes to this important work, we know that just diversity, or recruiting board members from different...

“Time heals all wounds” is one of the most widely known and generally accepted expressions in our popular culture, but I’ve always felt that this statement – although not false – was incomplete, at best. I believe that time is necessary but not sufficient for healing. Time facilitates the healing...

There’s a lovely expression that many of us in the Black community use when we want to repair strained relationships with each other; it’s an expression that always moves me when I hear it. Whether the cause of the disagreement is related to something we’ve done (or not done), or something we’ve...

Today is the National Day of Racial Healing, which takes place each year the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This year, it also happens to fall on the day before we will inaugurate a new president – a momentous occasion in any context, but one that takes on particular significance as it...

There’s an old saying that every great victory is the result of many smaller victories that went unnoticed. As we undertake our individual and organizational racial equity journeys, I would suggest we slightly modify this adage. I think it's essential that we do notice the small victories –...

As a Black man who has worked with or for nonprofits for most of my career, I’ve become very familiar with how nonprofit boards recruit for board diversity; by my count, I have been actively recruited by the boards of 13 organizations. 

I can divide 11 of these 13 board recruitment experiences into...

A couple of years ago, I attended a national conference of government officials focused on advancing racial equity in their communities. The conference began with a number of local government leaders engaging in an informative but rather conventional panel discussion about their local strategies to...

The COVID-19 pandemic’s revelation of racial and gender disparities and the nationwide demonstrations about racism inspired by brutal police behavior have produced demands for major changes in our society and its institutions. Many call for new approaches to promote the welfare of a diverse...

One of Stephen M.R. Covey’s fundamental beliefs about leadership is that progress happens “at the speed of trust” —  that organizational work gets done with and through people, and that trust is the basis for every transaction and relationship.