Giving Compass' Take:

• Sherece Y. West-Scantlebury from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation writes about how stagnation and inaction has led to a lack of diversity among nonprofit boards.

• What is your organization doing to ensure more diversity in the top ranks? And is there a way to urge more foundations to be better at putting words into deeds?

• This is the second part of a BoardSource series that looks at leadership. Here's the first part, which lists five ways to be better at diversity.

Do you remember the study that came out in 2014 that found three-quarters of whites do not have any non-white friends? The study was conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and made headline news. When asked to name their closest friends and family members, 75 percent of white Americans did not name even one person who was non-white.

What does this have to do with the board compositions of foundations? Perhaps everything.

I am not surprised that BoardSource’s Leading with Intent study found that a significant number of foundations reported that their boards are all white and that they do not prioritize diversifying their boards — even though some say they want to. Quoting Antoine de Saint Exupery, “A goal without a plan is a wish.” Quoting my momma, “You just don’t want to do it.”

The implications for inaction speak loudly and what you are, in essence, saying is:

  • Your foundation does not need a racially and ethnically diverse board of directors to achieve its mission.
  • The diversity of viewpoints that come from different life experiences and cultural backgrounds will not strengthen the deliberations and decision making of your foundation’s board.
  • Having demographically diverse board members is not relevant in helping your foundation understand the context in which it works and how best to prioritize resources and develop relevant strategies.

You most likely do not know that foundation boards that are not diverse are stagnant; therefore, they are not catalyzing change, which is a major role of philanthropy. And chances are you don’t know that you need to cast a wide net to recruit ethnically and racially diverse board candidates.

Read the full article about diversifying foundation boards by Sherece Y. West-Scantlebury at BoardSource.