Are Nonprofit Boards Perpetuating White Supremacy?

by Rachel Dukeman | Oct 9, 2020 | Thought Leaders

Are Nonprofit Boards Perpetuating White Supremacy?

Let’s start with a question: What are the main reasons nonprofits ask people to join their Board of Directors?

When I ask clients this question, I often hear answers that many nonprofits ask people to join their Boards for fundraising purposes — either that the person has the means to donate or is well-connected to those who do. I recognize that ‘not all Boards’ are guilty of this all the time. And, more pragmatically, some nonprofits have working Boards who volunteer and are heavily involved in programs.

Let’s move forward with the premise that many nonprofits look at Boards as a fundraising tool. How better to involve your highest level donors than by involving them in leading the organization, right?

The correlation between fundraising and a Board of Directors stems from nonprofits’ structure where the Board is the governing body — and with that governance comes fiduciary responsibility. A fiduciary duty means the person is accountable for the financial management of the organization. For nonprofits, one aspect of this means ensuring the organization spends money in the fulfillment of its mission.

We can talk more about other aspects of fiduciary responsibility later (in fact, we can probably have multiple discussions on ethics, checks and balances, conflicts of interest, and more). For right now, I want to hone in on how the premise that nonprofit Boards are fundraising tools perpetuates white supremacy.

(Yes, there are Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) with financial means. There’s plenty. And they should and do have roles on nonprofit Boards. That’s not the point.)

What’s important is that: By looking at fundraising acumen as the main criteria for members of a Board of Directors, nonprofits encircle themselves with people who benefit from generational wealth and privilege (read: inheritance of property or money, traditions of higher education, etc…. read: White people.)

When nonprofit Boards are majority White, they reinforce views of White people in positions of power. Who decides the direction of the nonprofit? Who is in the room where it happens?

By treating a Board of Directors as a nonprofit wallet, nonprofits belittle the Board’s fiduciary responsibility and, in turn, do not benefit from the financial management structure intended. Where are the checks and balances when the decision-makers are the main financiers?

The nonprofit industry needs to re-visit why nonprofit Board of Directors exist. Boards that comprise members who hold the nonprofit accountable to their mission, provide financial management, and improve program delivery, will better represent the audiences they serve thus becoming more diverse — and be more successful in fulfilling their mission.

Solutions to start with:

1. Stop judging the financial health of a nonprofit by 100% Board giving. Foundations need to stop looking at that as a metric. Donations do not equal financial management.

2. A nonprofit board is not a collection of funders or a fundraising department. Quit treating it as such.

3. No more “Give or Get” policies. That is not the measure of a Board member’s accountability or success.

4. Invite on and develop Board Members who will uphold their fiduciary responsibility.

That’s a good place to start. What else should we do??

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If anything in here has you raising your eyebrows, here is some further reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-wealth-gap.html

https://boardsource.org/fundamental-topics-of-nonprofit-board-service/roles-responsibilities/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/being-antiracist

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All opinions are my own and do not reflect or represent any of the organizations with which I work, have worked, or have been, am now, or will be affiliated. In an effort to get this done promptly, I favored publishing over perfection and as such welcome corrections, edits, additions, and constructive feedback.

Catapult Productivity With Core Values

by Rachel Dukeman | Oct 25, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing, Policy, Thought Leaders

Who doesn’t love Wegman’s?

The fresh produce. The large beautifully designed aisles. Carefully chosen offerings that are sustainable, healthy and delicious. Each decision that goes into making Wegman’s such an inviting space to load up on crunchy apples and aged cheddar is guided by the institution’s core values. Which means everyone from the CEO to the person stocking the prepared foods knows exactly the environment that Wegman’s strives to create – and more importantly doesn’t waste time with choices that run counter to those values.

What are core values, exactly?

Well, first a definition: Core values are attributes shared by key stakeholders in the organization. They embody the brand identity, are used in the tone of the value proposition, and describe standards held by the organization. Most simply, core values are adjectives or common phrases that describe the personality traits of the people involved with the organization – from staff to investors to the clientele. You with me?

How can core values increase productivity and efficiency?

Core values increase productivity by aligning personalities and standards in a work place. This increases efficiency by focusing attention on work that will be most productive or eliminating the work that is not.

It’s simple and you’re probably already doing it. Let’s say you’re hiring. In the interview process, you’re most likely going to look for someone who complements your existing team. If you acknowledge what traits your staff share that make them work together so effectively and look for those traits in a new hire, you know you’ll build a stronger team.

You’re already doing this, right? Keep going.

So take it a step or two further by keeping those traits identifiable to all stakeholders. Likewise, not taking on a client or vendor who doesn’t share your core values helps you avoid situations that won’t be a good fit.

For example, one of the core values at R&R Creative is creativity. If someone approaches us with a project where there’s absolutely no room to propose new or innovative solutions then chances are we won’t be happy doing the project. Unhappy teammates make for an unhappy work environment which could result in our product suffering. The beauty here is that clearly stating our core values increases efficiency because they enable us to say no, and focus on what will end up being more productive in the long run.

What’s next?

Now, if you don’t know your core values or those of your organization I suggest you find out. If their answer is: what core values? Then maybe it’s time to make the case. Lucky you, R&R Creative knows just where to start. We can show you how to feature those values throughout your organization and marketing strategy to make sure you are attracting the right vendors, customers and team members, which means winning half the battle right from the start.

What is Fractional Marketing and why you should consider it in 2016?

by Rachel Dukeman | Jan 19, 2016 | Marketing, Thought Leaders

As we enter 2016, many of us are considering changes and new approaches. Perhaps that involves spending more money on marketing and communications, or outsourcing content development. Whatever the case may be, if you find yourself needing a hand, Fractional Marketing might just be your best friend.

What is Fractional Marketing?

For most small to mid-size organizations, a full time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is out of financial reach. Additionally, many find their marketing needs vary from project to project, season to season. In an age where organizations need to be working smarter, not harder, a fractional marketing plan fills in the gaps providing the knowledge and know-how of a full time CMO on-demand and within budget, only when and where you need it.

And they rarely work alone.

Fractional CMOs enlist the skills and experiences of their networks of in-house personnel and subcontractors to assist in the implementation of strategic marketing plans.

So in short…

Fractional Marketing means you get the skills and experience of a full-time CMO AND access to their network of marketing professionals to tackle all kinds of projects, from content strategy and execution to impartial executive marketing development.

Sound Interesting?

It is estimated that for non-profit organizations operating below the million dollar mark, there is only one full time employee dedicated solely to marketing.[1] This can make things difficult as reaching and retaining audiences becomes more and more time consuming. Marketing professionals struggle with creating interesting, informative, engaging and impactful content on time and on budget. For small to mid-size organizations, this can mean a loss of big picture planning or the ability to implement strategic marketing initiatives. This is where Fractional Marketing becomes a way to have your cake and eat it too. When it comes to marketing in today’s world having the tools and expertise to market you and your organization is absolutely necessary for long-term success. Utilizing tools like fractional marketing is just one way to meet and exceed your goals in the coming year.

R&R Creative excels at providing fractional marketing plans for the organizations on-the-go. Get the personalized attention of a highly qualified marketing professional and the resources of a marketing firm for a fraction of the cost. Schedule a consultation today to discuss options.

[1] http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/freemembers/2015NonprofitCommunicationsTrends.pdf

If I Could Be Mindy Kaling For a Day

by Rachel Dukeman | Apr 9, 2015 | Marketing, Social Media, Thought Leaders

One of my guilty pleasures is binge-watching TV shows on Netflix, and I recently caught up on the first three seasons of The Mindy Project. For those of you who know me, that’s strange – I’m much more what Netflix might label the “Dark, Gritty Crime Dramas with a Strong Female Lead” type. Since watching The Mindy Project, and suddenly finding myself interested in how this oddly affirming show came to be, the marketer in me decided to a little research.

Mindy Kaling, like her character Mindy Lahiri, is witty and sarcastic and terribly intelligent. She’s beautiful and confident and abashedly unashamed of her enjoyment of pop culture and junk food. Rather than take a self-deprecating approach to her comedy, as women who don’t look like Ana Faris are often asked to do, Mindy is ALWAYS outrageously confident. She loves to say things like, “I have the right to life, liberty and chicken wings,” and “It is so weird being my own role model.”

It is with this mix of abundant confidence and a ridiculous commitment to being hilarious that Kaling has also become a marketing powerhouse in the entertainment industry. From a fashion blog that lists details about each gorgeous ensemble she wears on her show to her Facebook feed filled with merciless teasing of her colleagues and articles about how she is revolutionizing television, Kaling has leveraged the cult interest in her show effectively and with style. One of the busiest women in television (she created, writes, stars in and produces The Mindy Project) Kaling has built a creative social media empire that is equal parts serious and frivolous without losing sight of her brand or what her audience wants.

In spite of her current success Mindy Kaling’s journey has never, ever been easy. This isn’t the first time Kaling has had to create and produce a show so that she would have space to write the characters she wanted to play. She was even offered a sketch show at one point, but the now-defunct network decided she was not funny or pretty enough to play herself. Seriously.

Kaling’s unrelenting belief in her work could teach us a lot about how to survive in a highly competitive arts industry: be resilient, create the brand you wish existed, give customers what they want and don’t compromise your vision just rework your plan. In Kaling’s own words:

“…write your own part. It is the only way I’ve gotten anywhere. It is much harder work, but sometimes you have to take destiny into your own hands. It forces you to think about what your strengths really are, and once you find them, you can showcase them, and no one can stop you.”