Melissa Brown of Melissa Brown and Associates visits the SnapCast to talk about the work she did with the Association of Fundraising Professionals to produce the IDEA Report (Assessment of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access).
Key points include:
Collaborative study with NINE organizations participating including African Americans in Development Offices; AFP; CFRE, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy; and more, with sponsorship from DonorPerfect.
Bad behavior is too common – 34% of study participants reported experiencing some type of bias in the prior year. Bias from co-workers is far more common than from constituents — and both are vastly underreported at the workplace, with maybe half of the people who experienced bias saying they notified a supervisor or HR staff member. We asked about far more than race — including age, religion, bias based on physical appearance (tattoos, size, hair style), and so on.
People leave jobs because of bias they have experienced. The NP sector is losing talent because in a high percentage of organizations people are either blind the realities, or possibly “just too nice” to admit this is a problem.
To address bias: NP leaders must be strong in their statements and actions to show no tolerance. Provide time and funding (for facilitation ) of discussions that are themselves inclusive. Have a team of diverse (whatever that means where you are) staff and volunteers to create written policies and procedures. The report has links to some examples. Then be sure that EVERY staff member (and volunteer) is empowered to recognize, name, and take action in the event of bias.
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