By Debbie Swanson, CFRE IDEA Committee Chair
We all know that most organizations have embraced DEI training as a norm, whether because of true social consciousness or to avert a social media crisis. And it isn’t any surprise to hear that DEI training isn’t very effective in changing attitudes in a long-term way, as many social scientists are now proving. But DEI training is not going to go away. If an organization truly wants to see DEI training be effective and to create desired change, it must also implement changes to their systems - mentorship and accountability systems, mainly - to see any long-term success.
Ivuoma Onyeador, an assistant professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, has provided 5 suggestions that will help any organization see more success from DEI training in securing a more diverse workforce and diversity among leadership. They are:
Read the whole article here: https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/improve-diversity-training
By Katie Edson, IDEA Committee Member
While foundations and nonprofit organizations have made meaningful advances in diversity, equity, and inclusion, the concentration is often focused on ethnicity, gender, race, and LGBTQ+ diversity, rarely does the conversation include disability as an area of focus in board, leadership, and staff positions. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov), 1 in 4 adults in the United States live with some type of disability. So why is disability missing, even among organizations who have strong DEI initiatives? To find an answer, RespectAbility, “A diverse, disability-led nonprofit that works to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities, and that advances policies and practices that empower people with disabilities to have a better future,” conducted a study in 2018 on disability in philanthropy and nonprofits. Their study, assisted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy and The Nonprofit Times, looked at foundations and nonprofits, assessing the state of disability inclusion. The full study can be found on RespectAbility’s website. RespectAbility’s website also has a free Inclusive Philanthropy Tool Kit which provides tips and simple steps nonprofits, and foundations can take to make their organizations more inclusive.
By Courtney Deuser, MPA - IDEA Committee Member
The words “white supremacy” often makes us white folks uncomfortable, especially women. Patterns in society that have always favored us are often not recognized because we have reaped the benefits without giving the institutions from which they came little to no thought. In the following article, Heather Laine Talley, Co-Director of Organizational Strategy and Practice at the Amy Madel and Katina Rodis Fund, dives into how white women are perpetuating white supremacy in our nation’s nonprofits. Follow the link to learn more about these toxic and often overlooked patterns and for information on how to truly begin to make culture shifts.
Read article here
I’ve written for this newsletter for about a year now on the value of IDEA. This year, I have vowed to do something differently. Now is the time to simply start practicing it.
You all have heard the statistics – how people of color are undervalued and experience racism, how different gender and sexuality expressions receive less support, how donors who are different than us are often overlooked for giving opportunities based on our assumptions, etc. I’ve done a lot of research and it’s pretty clear what the problem is. So what do we do with this knowledge?
Setting up corporate awareness learning experiences are only a tiny movement forward. Nothing will happen until each of us individually firmly decides – even without knowing exactly how – to operate differently.
For me, that means I vow to be my authentic self and recognize I cannot experience what people different from me experience. I will acknowledge that to them, and will let their experiences be a catalyst for all manner of different ways to do work – good work! What I will seek is what I do as a fundraiser – to be an authentic friend – to know each person well, to be a vulnerable and yet a safe person, especially when others are vulnerable.
As I gain their friendship, I recognize that I will make people who are different from me cringe as I ask dumb questions and get schooled. I offer my apologies in advance, but more importantly, will offer them in person as well, as it sucks for them to be put in that position. I will not deny that I am a white privileged person that simply has chosen to ignore the pain of others for a very long time. My humility is not a salve to others’ pain and honestly I deserve whatever anger and frustration comes at me when I try to learn about others. (Anger and frustration, yes – but it’ll be a hard no on hostility.)
Companies and organizations that have programs to “fix” inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility issues will not see much change if individuals don’t want to learn. It’s probably not smart to take those programs away, but we don’t want to fool ourselves easier.
So all I can do is to challenge you, individually, to consider what it really means to embrace and bring people different than you into your inner circle and your friendship. Are you willing to sacrifice? To listen to pain and recognize and acknowledge your part in it? Are you willing to be a force to get others to do the same?
This year, I want to change myself so that people who are different than me are willing take me on as a friend and a colleague and together we can change the world to be a better place. I don’t want to just encourage someone to “try this program” or say “you’d fit doing this.” Instead, I want to walk alongside someone as we both explore how to improve ourselves to be positive world change agents. Only then will the concepts of I.D.E.A. actually gain traction.
A November 2020 study in the Nonprofit Times shows that while most nonprofits have much to say about increasing the diversity of their leadership, very little has been done to actually make that happen.
When compared to a similar study done in 2016, there are severe drops in confidence of non-white, non-traditional sexuality in having skills or interest to be a leader in a nonprofit. More people of color are leaving the nonprofit sector to pursue work in the for-profit world. The increase of mentorships for white traditional nonprofit worker still far outpaces mentorships for those of color or differing gender or sexual identities.
Here's the kicker: A third of those who represent a different color or sexuality are usually called upon to represent organizations in the community, to show the DEI efforts of the organization. It’s a major source of frustration. And it sucks away good talent from the organization. Most telling is the statistic that 42% of people of color had less desire to work in white-dominant organizations. That statistic grew to 58% in 2019.
“Race equity isn’t a problem you solve,” says Frances Kunreuther, co-director of the Building Movement Project. “Race equity is not a checklist. It is a change in culture and practices — who has power, who has say in organizations, how they operate. If you are not making those changes, it does not matter that you are saying all these things.”
Indeed, if we are not changing the paradigm of how we see diversity, equity, and inclusion as it fits in our organizations, we are not doing the actual work of DEI.
Read the full article here: https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/hr/dei-efforts-within-nonprofits-lag-in-practice/#
Debbie Swanson, CFRE AFP SOCO IDEA Committee Member
My first job in the advancement arena was as a prospect researcher. The internet was still fairly young, and it was shocking how much information you could find about people if you were very clever with your search functions – back in the day of Dogpile, AskJeeves, and AltaVista! The internet was WIDE open with no blocks to information, and everything was still free!
Back then, we could afford to be choosy about deciding what to use in determining the viability of a donor prospect. And we practiced a lot of biases. Divorced? Not going to be a big giver, since there would be alimony and child support payments. Lived in a sketchy part of town? That person would be set aside as well.
I’m a little ashamed of some of the very conscious biases I practiced doing that work. It was my first job, so I’m going to give myself a break. After years of living out my career, I see the foolishness of making assumptions based on outward appearances. That is why our most successful work comes from building solid relationships over time. However, to say that today we (I) don’t make quick decisions on the viability of a potential donor is not true either. Unconscious bias still exists and is ingrained to the point that we (I) would never recognize it without a little help.
Here is a fantastic little test to take, just to open your eyes a little. It’s found on AFP Global’s website and is a resource for any nonprofits and fundraisers who just want to check. It’s Harvard University’s Project Implicit Test at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html. Once you take the test, if you need more resources that help you navigate through the honest biases that exist, and to help you be more genuinely anti-racist, check out AFP Global’s web page for resources at https://afpidea.org/antiracisminitiative/resources.
Let’s face it – I’m a white female Boomer – I have biases that I’ve lived with for years. The first step to getting rid of them is honestly owning up to them. I admit, I feel waves of panic as my sense of “right and wrong” is dismantled, even if I consciously would say I knew better. Living it is very different. But! I love this challenge and embrace it. I hope you do too!
By Emily Loof IDEA Committee Chair
Giving USA Foundation released their much-anticipated report, Giving USA 2021, on June 15. This year’s report, which offers an annual comprehensive and data-driven look at the state of philanthropy in the U.S., was perhaps even more anxiously awaited than its predecessors, given the effects that the tumultuous last year had on philanthropy. Here are some IDEA-related takeaways, synthesized from the reactions of experts in the philanthropic sector.
Corporate giving declined--and was funneled into IDEA
Corporate giving was down 6.1% in 2020 compared to 2019, and many corporations redirected their giving to IDEA-related initiatives that they had previously not supported. As Katrina Klaproth, Emily Christaldi, and Carole Arwidson from BWF reported, “Corporate giving declined, and most found themselves addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice issues head on in the wake of social unrest and heightened awareness of systemic racism and calls to once and for all address it. Many corporations will be reviewing their giving programs based on DEIJ considerations, which will likely impact particular appeals, grant opportunities, and campaign priorities.”
Retention will be key for organizations who experienced an influx of donors
Some small-budget nonprofits experienced an unprecedented increase in donors in 2020; this was especially true of community or grassroots organizations that are involved in social and racial justice work. Eric Javier, Principal & Managing Director at CCS Fundraising, reported that some of these organizations saw their budgets increase 10 or even 20 times over. Going forward, solid retention strategies will be the way for these organizations to attain sustainable growth, as conventional wisdom states that only 27 percent of first-time donors to an organization ever give again.
Interest in planned giving increased, thanks in part to changing demographics
As Eden Stiffman, senior editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, reported: “Giving by bequest increased 9 percent in 2020. This category of giving is historically volatile. While some of this was because of the pandemic’s deadly toll, changing generational demographics were the biggest driver.” Stiffman cited professor of charitable financial planning at Texas Tech University Russell James, who explained that as Baby Boomers, (who are more likely to be charitably inclined than their predecessors) age, interest in planned giving will continue to spike.
You can view the entire Giving USA 2021 report by subscribing to Giving USA for an annual fee of $139.95. To do so, visit here: https://store.givingusa.org/pages/annual-subscription AFP SOCO is not affiliated with Giving USA Foundation and does not receive any portion of subscription revenue.
By Debbie Swanson, CFRE IDEA Committee Member
Taken from AFP Global article, Why Diversity and Inclusion Are Critical to Fundraising Success, September 26, 2018 (https://afpglobal.org/why-diversity-and-inclusion-are-critical-fundraising-success)
One of the principles in AFP Global’s Statement of Principles for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) is that AFP is committed to “exploring potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.” This is a daunting task, as it means several undesirable truths about our selves that must be confronted. False assumptions related to diverse donors, established approaches to fundraising, and the diverse talent in the advancement profession are destructively self-perpetuating. The advancement profession, like most professions, needs continued creative thinking about building pipelines of diverse talent. A variety of barriers—many unconsciously self-imposed—make identification and recruitment of diverse professionals a challenge for many leaders.
In 2019, the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy and Aspen Leadership Group (ALG) released a whitepaper that introduced research that broke down assumptions which impede progress. It also outlined proactive strategies to help advancement leaders across all sectors address diversity and inclusion at their organizations and make real change.
Nonprofit leaders have been reluctant to accept that their organizations are falling short in the area of workplace diversity. Equipped with knowledge, nonprofit professionals and volunteers need to engage in courageous conversations about why diversity is essential to fundraising success, how biases— many of them unconscious—create barriers to progress, and how change in the composition and behavior of leaders is so important to sustaining improvement in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The paper outlines eight strategies for success in talent development and management that will work toward creating sustainable change within an organization. The following are just a few of the suggestions:
By Emily Loof AFP SOCO IDEA Committee Chair
It’s no secret that we are all pretty tired of Zoom hangouts.
Fourteen months into this pandemic, we’ve all had to adjust to conducting all or most of our business and leisure activities online. As vaccinations ramp up and as Governor Polis and local officials begin to relax the health-based restrictions that were put into place to protect the public, many are returning eagerly to the in-person experiences they missed, including our fundraising events and programming.
But one thing I hope we do not lose sight of in this moment of transition is how important it is to make sure these events and programming are accessible to all our audiences. The pandemic has highlighted how truly doable it is to move our events online, which has allowed our audiences to grow as the barriers to access have been lowered.
Those barriers are varied and can include physical disabilities such as Deafness or Blindness; geographic barriers; and cost barriers. The pandemic has shown us that virtual or even hybrid events are a way to mitigate these barriers and open the aperture for involvement with our organizations.
Do you have other thoughts or ideas on how we might prioritize accessibility going forward? I would love to speak with you. Please feel free to reach out to myself and the rest of the IDEA committee anytime by emailing idea@afpsoco.org.
March is Women’s History Month in the United States, and March 8th was International Women’s Week. It seems appropriate to write about our profession and what our professional association has to say about women fundraisers at this time, while, of course, the issues women fundraisers have experienced are not reserved for this month alone.
AFP released its most recent findings on pay equity on March 8th (in conjunction with International Women’s Day)1. In it, it found that women fundraisers are paid 10 percent less than men for the same job positions. While this fares better than the national average of all women’s pay compared to men (which is 19 percent), it still is a gap in pay for equal work. AFP Global, as part of its commitment to adhere to the principles of IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access), has launched a series of initiatives to address IDEA, including the Women’s Impact Initiative (the other being Emerging Leaders Initiative and the Anti-Racism Initiative). As part of the Women’s Impact Initiative, AFP Global is committed to accurate and timely research, creating awareness through social media and sharing stories, educating our members, and raising women to be leaders in the profession.
There has been a lot of work already done at AFP Global. Since 2018, the AFP Women’s Impact Initiative has:
Women in fundraising need the same consideration for fairness as other members of minority populations. AFP Global has given access to some amazing information and training tools for AFP members to use to increase their awareness on the need to apply IDEA in all of our lives. Below are some options for you to consider looking into:
While these speak to not only our need to consider women worthy of equal pay, they are powerful reminders of how easy it is to go with the status quo. Being IDEA savvy is an intentional process that must be trained into us. The question is whether we are willing to be trained outside the status quo.
While it’s good the work of women is highlighted for this month, let us not lose sight of what we hope to accomplish with equity for women in the workforce and remember that it is not women alone who still need to be noticed for inclusivity, diversity, equity and access.
Debbie Swanson, CFRE AFP SOCO Board Member & IDEA Committee Member
