BPA’s weeklong salon on nonprofit racial diversity continues with a guest post about investing in career development for nonprofit clients.
The Leaders Among Us
by Tanya Simpson, Vice President, Program Quality & Innovation, The Corps Network
Within direct service organizations across the Capital region, there already exist thousands of Black nonprofit leaders. Their stories are told in grant proposals, during fundraising galas, and at public hearings held throughout the year. Within organizations with limited funds for outreach, they are the recruitment strategy. While their faces are found in countless publications and on numerous websites, they tend to be missing from the board and management team photos. They understand the needs of the community and are deeply vested in its transformation. They make the greatest sacrifices to advance the mission of various organizations just by showing up. Without them, many direct service nonprofits would not exist. Despite their experience, contributions, and passion they are often overlooked for leadership positions within the nonprofit sector. Who are they? Their titles vary from one organization to the next: participant, client, beneficiary, alumni, and the list goes on. In order to increase the presence of Blacks in leadership positions across the region, there needs to be a strategic and financially supported effort to empower and equip our program participants to become nonprofit professionals.
Let me be clear. What I am describing is much more than simply hiring someone into a paid position at a non-profit. I’m certain that a closer look at the survey respondents from direct service organizations and their staff would reveal that a significant number of employees are in fact current or former program participants. While there are many individuals like myself who fell in love with the nonprofit sector based on the programs and services I participated in and benefitted from, most participants have little or no support in navigating the steps and strategies necessary to establish a nonprofit career. And as the sector becomes more and more professionalized, despite their experience and passion those participants without a Bachelors or Masters degree are not viewed as competitive as their more educated counterparts.
Just as professional learning opportunities are (or at least should be) provided by organizations to its staff, similar efforts should also be made available to program participants who are interested in transforming their experience as a participant into a career as a nonprofit professional. Donors and philanthropic organizations can support this effort by earmarking funds to grantees specifically for participants to complete post-secondary education programs, attend conferences/networking activities, participate in career coaching, and other efforts that would help interested participants become competitive professionals.
Program participants are the lifeblood of our organizations and it is critical for us to devise new strategies to invest in their career development to ensure diversity across the nonprofit sector.
