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Two Leadership Studies Confirm Racial Diversity Gap

Over 100 Nonprofit Leaders Commit To Action

Does your nonprofit leadership accurately reflect the diversity of the population you serve? If you answered "no", then you aren't alone. In the Baltimore-Washington region, a recent study commissioned by the Racial Diversity Collaborative showed that while 49% of the region's population are people of color, only 22% of local nonprofits and just 8% of nationally-focused nonprofits in the region are led by a person of color.

Supporting Leaders of Color and Increasing Nonprofit Diversity

These findings and others were announced at an event coordinated by the Racial Diversity Collaborative in Columbia, MD on March 31, 2010. The event entitled, "Finding Tomorrow's Leaders Today: Action Planning for Diversifying Local Nonprofit Leadership Summit Event," drew 110 nonprofit leaders who discussed the first systematic study of racial diversity of nonprofit organizations in the Baltimore-Washington Region. The key findings affirm perceptions that the leadership of the nonprofit sector does not reflect the growing racial diversity of the region's population. Interviews and focus groups with leaders of color and Caucasian leaders deepened the understanding of this sector and its challenges, and resulted in a commitment to action by nonprofit leaders of the region. The results of this study and the commitments to action offer ideas, inspiration and a strategy for leaders and communities with a goal of more inclusive leadership. To learn more about the Racial Diversity Collaborative, go to www.racialdiversitycollaborative.org.