[NPFX Ep. 34] Diversity on Your Board Matters to Your Nonprofit's Mission (with Andrea Collier and Josephine Ramirez)

Welcome to The Nonprofit Fundraising Exchange, a podcast from IPM Advancement. Our mission is to empower nonprofits to succeed so they can make the world a better place.

Today’s topic: Diversity on Your Board Matters to Your Nonprofit's Mission

The lack of diversity on a nonprofit board is more than a perceptual problem. It impacts the nonprofit's ability to serve its community and fulfill its mission. In today's episode, we discuss what diversity on a nonprofit board means to the organization, mistakes nonprofits make when selecting diverse candidates, and how to bring new members into the mix to make your board stronger and more effective.

Time-Stamped Episode Shortcuts:

• Introductions [1:03]
• Defining what board diversity means and why it matters to your nonprofit [4:13]
• Diversity is a process not a goal [9:20]
• Communicating expectations to diversity candidates [11:18]
• How important is fundraising potential when choosing candidates? [13:50]
• "Community advisory board members" and the risk of inequity on the board [16:48]
• Preparing the board for new members who are different [19:43]
• What "equity" means on a nonprofit board [21:57]
• The importance of buy in when moving a diversity initiative forward [23:38]
• Why some nonprofits are experiencing DEI fatigue (and why some aren't) [26:08]
• Building a board and a nonprofit for next generation to inherit [30:47]
• How nonprofits can start the process of diversifying their boards [35:54]

Special Offer: Free 30-minute consultation for NPFX listeners

Additional Resources:

• IPM's free Nonprofit Resource Library
• If Your Board Looked Like Your Community by Josephine Ramirez
• Building a More Diverse Board with Intention by Andrea King Collier

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Guests

Andrea King Collier works with foundations and nonprofits on a host of issues including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to help them frame and communicate their work. She has also served on several local, state, and national boards over the past 20 years.

Josephine Ramirez is Executive Vice President at The Music Center/The Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County with extensive experience in programming, management, and grantmaking. Previously she was the Arts Program Director at the James Irvine Foundation, where she launched a new strategic direction supporting grantees’ organizational transformation through a focus on relevance, diversity, and sustainability. She has held philanthropic and research roles at The Getty in Los Angeles, and served multiple terms as a Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Commissioner and as a founding Commissioner of the El Pueblo Historic District.

Hosts

Rich Frazier has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years. In his role as senior consultant with IPM Advancement, Rich offers extensive understanding and knowledge in major gifts program management, fund development, strategic planning, and board of directors development.

Russ Phaneuf, a co-founder of IPM Advancement, has a background in higher education development, with positions at the University of Hartford, Northern Arizona University, and Thunderbird School of Global Management. As IPM's managing director & chief strategist, Russ serves as lead fundraising strategist, award-winning content creator, and program analyst specializing in applied system dynamics.