A few months after I joined the Urban Institute in May 2022 as Urban’s inaugural Chief Equity Officer, Blue Avocado asked me to write about the role of the chief diversity officer (“CDO”) and why nonprofit organizations need such a role. Once I accepted the request, I immediately felt a heightened sense of responsibility to answer this question as clearly and convincingly as I could — because we are living in a moment in which the resistance to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in general and racial equity in particular seems to be growing in our country.

I offer these facts to support my assertion:

Given these facts, among others, it feels especially important to establish why nonprofit organizations, with the possible exception of those with very small staffs, need chief diversity officers to keep making progress on this important work within organizations.

To illustrate why nonprofits need chief diversity officers I’d like to share something I experienced at a DEI-focused workshop about three years ago. A white female executive director of a nonprofit shared with the audience the story of her board’s and organization’s DEI journey — a  journey that had included a few missteps but had ultimately resulted in considerable progress after three years of concentrated DEI efforts, with plans for continued  initiatives as the organization moved forward. Most of the audience appreciated the story that this leader shared, as well as the fireside chat in which I interviewed the executive director after her presentation. But during the break that took place afterwards, I was approached by another executive director of a nonprofit that focuses on environmental initiatives. She said to me, “Jim, that was a really interesting presentation and discussion. But I’ve got to ask you: does this DEI work apply to my board and organization?  You see, we’re just a nonprofit that focuses on the environment; we’re not involved in the hard core [emphasis added] work of affordable housing, community development, poverty, education, or health. So does this really apply to us?”

The answer I gave her is the answer that I’ll also share here: yes, it does apply to you.  I reminded her of the various ways in which environmental inequity and injustice plagues people of color. R.D. Bullard’s 1993 “Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots” is often cited as a seminal work in the field of environmental justice and provides a historical overview of the ways in which minority communities have been disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards.

Examples of environmental inequity and injustice include the water contamination crises in Flint, Michigan and now in Jackson, Mississippi, and higher exposure to air pollution and greater proximity to landfills and hazardous waste sites for communities of colors.

On a broader scale, all of us in the nonprofit sector should be dedicated to creating equitable conditions that lead to a just society. I would argue that this is core to the mission and purpose of the nonprofit sector.  And that means a focus on DEI and racial equity applies to you and me. We shouldn’t look for ways to opt out of DEI and racial equity work — we should be looking for ways to opt in.

Which brings us back to the rationale for why nonprofits need a chief diversity officer. Here’s my answer:

Nonprofits need a chief diversity officer because the chief diversity officer can keep the organization accountable. The chief diversity officer should assess the organization’s current status on DEI and racial equity as a whole; listen to the perspectives of staff members; amplify their concerns to senior leadership colleagues; and then participate in the organization’s decision-making processes to ensure that DEI and racial equity are always considered before any important decision is finalized.  In this way, the chief diversity officer can serve as the consistent conscience of the organization and help to ensure that  others do not lose sight of DEI and racial equity objectives over time or become distracted by other emerging objectives that may feel more urgent to them.

Read the full article about DEI in nonprofit organizations by Jim Taylor at Blue Avocado.