Overcoming Barriers to Ethnic Diversification of the Board: A Fundraising Argument

This research explores current research on board roles and ethnic diversity, the board's relationship to the success of the organization, diversity's impact on team process and product, ethnic participation in American philanthropy, barriers to board diversification, as well as primary data from large arts organizations in major metropolitan areas. Through a comprehensive review of the literature as well as surveys sent to 74 major arts organizations in diverse communities in the United States, this research concludes that although fundraising is a barrier to diversification, it is likely not the primary barrier. While the topic of diversity is widely discussed in the nonprofit field, actual implementation of ethnic diversity on boards is severely lacking (Nonprofit Governance Index 2012). According to BoardSource, 82 percent of American nonprofit board members are Caucasian with nearly 30 percent of boards composed solely of Caucasian people (Nonprofit Governance Index 2012, 9). Also from BoardSource, "at best, one in five boards has made concerted efforts to increase board diversity" (Nonprofit Governance Index 2010, 30). This is in stark contrast to fact that minority populations are increasing at a greater rate than Caucasians (US Census 2010e). This research also makes a case for organizations to invest in ethnic diversity on their boards through the lens of fundraising. As communities become more ethnically diverse, donors will also become more diverse, and securing diverse board members will become a key way to attract ethnically diverse donors. The results show that diversifying a board takes a great deal of time and investment, but will yield excellent results on multiple fronts if managed well.