NPQ Webinar: Boards as Social Movement Spaces

On July 28, 2022, the Nonprofit Quarterly presented an intriguing and highly insightful webinar, Changing the Subject: Boards As Social Movement Spaces. It featured Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Makiyah Moody, Founder and President of Kairos & Heart LLC, and Jenifer Gager Holland, Founder of JLG Consulting. Below is […]

Anchoring Equity in a Mission Statement

Charitable nonprofits are organized and operated to further their tax-exempt missions. For some nonprofits, their mission statement is memorialized in their articles of incorporation and/or bylaws. For others, the mission statement can only be found on their public communications (e.g., website), fundraising materials, and annual information returns (Forms 990). In either case, organizational leaders may […]

Upswell Chicago: Equity in the Center

Equity in the Center’s Pre-Convening to Upswell Chicago was held on November 12, 2019 and provided a day-long, deep dive into how to build a Race Equity Culture. EiC described the convening as follows: Plenary sessions and workshops will focus on how to operationalize race equity, highlighting best practices from EiC’s Awake to Woke to […]

Governance and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – JFKU

I’ll be presenting on Governance and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for The Sanford Institute of Philanthropy and The College of Law at John F. Kennedy University on Thursday, May 2. Recent movements have energized the drive towards greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across our society. Nonprofits have played a major role in these movements, […]

DEI and Fiduciary Duties

The board of directors is the ultimate authority of a nonprofit corporation and ultimately responsible for its activities and affairs. Directors must each meet their fiduciary duties of care and loyalty in their actions and decision-making. They should do so with a focus on furthering the nonprofit’s mission in a manner consistent with the organization’s […]

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nonprofit Bylaws

Nonprofits should be at the forefront of encompassing diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) into their governance and operations. While discussions regarding DEI are increasingly prevalent in the nonprofit sector, the next, more difficult, step forward is to turn the discussions into action. How do we, as part of the nonprofit community dedicated to the benefit […]

Governance Documents: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Nonprofits

The Center for Effective Philanthropy reports that 70% of organizational leaders in the nonprofit sector consider staff diversity to be of great importance, yet only 36% believe they have actually achieved it. Nonprofit organizations that fight to improve social problems should consider incorporating explicit language on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in […]