“Us vs. Them”: Shine a Light on Your Own Biases

January 27, 2012

Despite decades of diversity training, have our organizations and our society changed for the better?

Turn on or tune in to any media source, and your emphatic reply would be “No way.” The extreme polarization in our country is more and more frightening every day. The new cultural norm is to not merely express strong points of view but to thoroughly demonize others.

At least one practitioner says it’s time to address this crisis with a new, 21st century approach to diversity, inclusion and equity.

At the University of St. Thomas Diversity Insights program last Thursday, Howard Ross, founder of Cook Ross Inc. and a leading national expert on diversity, leadership, and organizational change, challenged his audience to look within themselves for solutions.

Ross homed in on the source of our animosity toward each other — essentially, primal fears that lead us toward unconscious, visceral negative reactions to cultural, group, individual and institutional differences.

He coached audience members to overcome the “us vs. them” mentality by developing our capacity to observe ourselves. Instead of pointing the finger at others, he said, we should shine a light on our own biases.  Recognizing our own foibles and faults will increase our compassion toward others.

Ross’s points reminded me of conversations we’ve had at MCF about diversity in philanthropy. When we developed our Diversity & Inclusion Action Kit to accompany MCF’s Working Towards Diversity IV research, we deliberately titled the worksheets ”My Actions.” We wanted to reinforce that grantmakers must take the first step by focusing on what they can do – not what others should do.

Ross concluded his remarks with some concrete steps we can each take to close the widening gulfs in our organizations and in society at large:

  • Shift your consumption of media to really listen to the other side.
  • Open a constructive dialogue in your organization, focusing not on the issues themselves, but on the way in which you’re talking about the issues.
  • Talk to young people about other points of view.
  • Take “the other” to lunch not to persuade, but to listen.

I haven’t cracked open Ross’s new book “ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance.” But based on his presentation, I expect I’ll find more than a few concepts that are applicable to the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.

Join the Conversation: When “us vs. them” differences arise in your own organization, what are your actions and reactions? Is there a chasm between grantmakers and nonprofits that could be narrowed by self-awareness?

- Wendy Wehr, MCF v.p. of communications and information services

Photo cc AAskew

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A Minnesota Innovative and Engaged Philanthropist Earns Award

June 8, 2011

“John Larsen has made significant contributions in advancing the issue of equity across Minnesota,” says Carleen Rhodes, president and CEO of Minnesota Community Foundation and The Saint Paul Foundation.

“John’s strategic, multi-faceted and outcome-oriented approach to philanthropy exemplifies the work of an engaged philanthropist,” adds Brad Brown, executive director of Social Venture Partners Minnesota (SVP).

For his work, John Larsen will receive the 2011 Engaged Philanthropist Award, a joint effort of Minnesota Community Foundation and SVP Minnesota that recognizes the most innovative and effective engaged philanthropists. The award, launched in 2010 with the late Winston Wallin receiving the inaugural recognition, will be presented at SVP Minnesota’s annual Engaged Philanthropy Conference on June 16, 2011, in Minneapolis.

Larsen is an original funder and a visionary behind Project 515, an organization with a mission to ensure that same sex couples and their families have equal rights and considerations under Minnesota law.  Project 515 has approached the issue of full equality for same sex couples through multiple avenues, including business outreach, education, research, advocacy and media.

Larsen serves as trustee and administrator of the John Larsen Foundation, a member of the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF). The foundation is a private grantmaking organization with a mission to better the lives of individuals and families, both traditional and non-traditional.  Program priorities derive from the active, passionate involvement of family board members in their own communities. Primary areas of focus are arts and humanities, community enhancement, education, environment, human rights and human services.

Larsen was a six-year member of MCF’s board of directors, is a current member of the strategic planning committee, and a leader of MCF’s LGBT Funders network. Larsen also serves on the board of directors for Project 515 and has volunteered with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, Headwaters Foundation for Justice and Together Minnesota. Earlier this year, Larsen was recognized with PFund Foundation’s First Annual Power of Philanthropy Award.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

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What Does It Take to Lead in Diversity and Inclusivity?

May 11, 2011

Who leads? How do they lead? These were among the questions we here at MCF asked ourselves and our members as we embarked on information gathering for our Working Towards Diversity IV research project.

As we learned more about the diversity and inclusion efforts of Minnesota grantmakers, Headwaters Foundation for Justice’s name kept rising to the top. Headwaters strives to be a catalyst for social, racial, economic and environmental justice and supports, through grantmaking and organizational assistance, grassroots groups addressing the root causes of injustice. One of the foundation’s longest-standing leadership initiatives is its community-led grantmaking process in which volunteers from the communities it seeks to support lead all aspects of the foundation’s grantmaking – they review proposals, go on site visits and make funding recommendations to the board.

“What does it take to lead in diversity and inclusivity?” we asked Headwaters program director David Nicholson. Read his full Voices article in our latest issue of Giving Forum, which focuses on “Diversity in Philanthropy: A Portrait of Minnesota.”

Here are some excerpts:

Q: Does leading in diversity and inclusivity require certain competencies?

Being humble is a core competency for any leader. Leaders must also recognize their own power and privilege and understand how to use these in respectful ways. This is critical. We all have privilege; how much changes depending on who’s in the room. The reality is, as foundation staff, we often walk into a room bringing a lot of privilege and thus a lot of power. At Headwaters, we emphasize using our power and privilege “with” rather than “to.” For example, we can convene – facilitating communities and individuals coming together for the common good.

Another competency is working with the “other.” While it is human nature to hang out with people who look and think like us and have similar backgrounds, we must push ourselves to have relationships with many communities. At Headwaters, we believe that difference is an asset that needs to be cultivated. We seek to be intentional about getting to know people and organizations, so we can identify strengths and resources from all communities.

Leading also means bringing people together to find common ground. Leaders also must be interested in advancing systems thinking, to understand how things work in our society.

Q: Is being a person of color a prerequisite for being a leader in diversity and inclusivity?

No. People are people, and anyone regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or sexual identity can have a closed and narrow mind. Your question implies that it is about “race,” when in fact, it is about values. More to the point, it is about ensuring that foundation practices reflect core values.

For example, I believe that gathering diverse viewpoints, people and ideas is critical to developing solutions that will work for more than just a few. The next step is intentionally creating processes that include all differences as equally valuable; that is the process of creating inclusivity. Philanthropy is the research and development labs of our society. When foundations are at their best, they can test assumptions and develop new insights and solutions to the most vexing social ills. To do that effectively, foundations and staff need to lead in diversity (bringing together different and varied parts) and inclusivity (integrating those differences into something stronger, better).

To flip your question is to ask, “How can people from a majority value include minority perspectives?” My recipe for that is rather simple; but it’s hard work. First, develop self-awareness, a deep understanding of your core values, assumptions and beliefs. Then, surround yourself with people who have very different values and beliefs; empower them to challenge you and how you see the world. If you have done your work well, you will truly see and understand “the other”; now you can choose to value it or not. If you choose to value the difference as your own, then the next step – seeking out difference (diversity) and integrating difference (inclusivity) – is easy. If you value the “other,” you will value their perspectives.

 - Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

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What Diversity Looks Like: Stories of Grantmakers Engaged in the Work

April 28, 2011

The Minnesota Council on Foundations just released its Spring issue of Giving Forum, which reveals key results of our ambitious research study to paint a comprehensive picture of the diversity demographics, policies and practices of Minnesota grantmakers.

Are grantmakers hiring and retaining diverse staff and boards? Do they have diversity and inclusion policies in place, and are they followed? Are grantmakers going the extra mile to build capacity in minority-led nonprofits that can truly make a difference in their communities?

The data in Working Towards Diversity IV answers many of these questions. To bring the data to life, we also gathered stories from Minnesota grantmakers about their engagement in diversity and inclusion work, where they’ve been, where they are now, where they want to be, and how they envision reaching their goals.

Among those we interviewed is Patrick Troska, executive director of The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota. Here’s more:

Grant Recipient Connections Guide Funding Decisions

“Good grantmaking is about being a good listener,” says Patrick Troska, executive director of The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota. So, it is critical that funders actively seek out direct connections with constituents. “At our family foundation, we build our knowledge by asking good questions, trying to understand the nuances of particular issues, and not approaching situations as the experts with the best solutions.”

Listening and learning stretch the foundation’s comfort zone, but yield much more impactful grantmaking. “Honestly, it would be easier if we only funded what we know or are comfortable with,” Troska admits. “When you seek diversity and inclusivity, such as exploring an issue that is not part of our own personal lived experience, the grantmaking can be much more complex.”

In the early 2000s, through work with East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS) in Minneapolis, foundation trustees became aware of female genital mutilation in the Somali community. Troska was tasked with learning more and determining if there was an education initiative the foundation could fund. After developing a connection with ESNS, an ESNS contact brought together a group of Somali women willing to discuss the topic. “This issue isn’t even discussed between Somali men and women, much less between a white male and Somali women, many of whom don’t speak English,” Troska notes.

Despite being an uncomfortable situation, the group talked for three hours with the help of a translator. “I just listened to them tell their stories and asked only a few questions,” he recalls. “We learned that female genital mutilation was culturally embedded and that, for the most part, women make the decision, not men. A small grant was not going to make a big difference in changing cultural norms, but information could be provided to women about the medical and physical aspects of the practice.”

This led to a grant to ESNS for Somali Women in Minneapolis (SWIM) focusing on support groups for Somali women. Troska explains, “The focus was not to say female genial mutilation is wrong, but rather to provide a safe place to learn and share, so that women could make decisions informed by medical, as well as cultural, knowledge.”

Troska emphasizes that only reading about this cultural practice would not have been sufficient to make an impactful grant. Fully understanding the practice by learning directly from those affected honed in on a focus for foundation funds that was not immediately obvious and underscored that successful grantmaking requires engagement with constituents.

Visit Giving Forum online to read more Giving Stories based on interviews with Minnesota grantmakers and MCF members, including General Mills Foundation, Grotto Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Marbrook Foundation, Minnesota Community and The Saint Paul Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, Travelers Foundation and West Central Initiative.

Join the conversation: Have you, as a Minnesota grantmaker or a nonprofit working with a grantmaker, had success in diversity and inclusion work? Or has your organization been involved in the work, but not had the hoped-for outcomes? What were the challenges? What was accomplished? Will progress continue? What did you and/or your organization learn? We invite you to share your stories.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

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Gain Traction for Your Board’s Diversity and Inclusion Efforts: BoardSource Grant Applications Due Nov. 15

November 5, 2010

Don’t miss a terrific opportunity to participate in BoardSource’s pilot “Diversity in Action” program offered exclusively to Twin Cities’ nonprofits and foundations. With resource grants provided by Target Corporation, participating organizations will have the opportunity, at no charge, to assess their board’s diversity and inclusion practices and receive recommendations and resources to help the board affect the desired changes in policies, practices, and board culture and dynamics.

During her talk at the MCF 2010 Annual Convening during the plenary “Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion As Assets for Innovation,” Vernetta Walker, director of consulting and senior governance consultant with BoardSource, invited Twin Cities nonprofits and foundations to apply to participate in this pilot.

Find more information and the simple grant application on the MCF website.

Applications are due Nov. 15.

Participants in the pilot will:

  1. Complete a confidential survey, which takes about 15 minutes, to provide individual perspectives about board practices and dynamics that impact diversity and inclusion.
  2. Receive a data report with survey results and an interpretive memo with key findings.
  3. Receive a step-by-step toolkit with templates and exercises focused on policies, practices, board culture and dynamics, to help guide the board in its transformation to becoming more diverse and inclusive.
  4. Best of all, strengthen your leadership and enhance your ability to serve your organization’s mission, promote dynamic decision-making and a culture of inquiry, and thoughtfully craft a board development plan of action for 2011 and beyond.

BoardSource is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of nonprofits by strengthening their boards of directors and trustees. Its products and services mobilize boards so that organizations fulfill their missions, achieve their goals and increase their impact and external influence. BoardSource is a 501(c)(3) organization.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

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Why My Daughter Walked Away From Her Pizza Joint Job (What’s Really Important About Diversity and Inclusion)

November 2, 2010

Little did I know that I’d be able to make a connection between a plenary at last week’s Minnesota Council on Foundations 2010 Annual Convening and the turmoil of my teenager walking away from her highly sought-after, much-coveted part-time job.

A couple of months ago, my daughter outlined her expectations for the ideal part-time job, while I thought to myself, “You better take what you can get. You’ll be lucky to find anything in this economy.”

She was looking for: 10 hours a week during school, more during the summer and vacations; within a 20-minute drive from home; shifts that end by 9 p.m. on weeknights; no frying.

The owner of a nearby pizza place asked her to come in for an interview – at 5 p.m. She stood at the edge of the pizza assembly line as the staff scrambled to turn out pizzas to meet the dinner rush. The owner, standing at the front of the line, asked a few questions while overseeing the chaos, including, “Would you be willing to stand out on the street corner in a pizza costume, hold a sign and wave at cars?”

If you knew my daughter, you would know that this was nothing short of a horrific request, but she said she only made a slight grimace and answered, “Sure.”

Her first (and only) two weeks on the job went something like this: Sat in back room to watch training video, but only got through the first 10 minutes, because the store got busy and she never got a chance to finish viewing it; spent breaks sitting in her car, because she didn’t know what else to do, since she doesn’t smoke and that’s what everyone else did; “re-directed” (interpreted as “yelled at”) to use proper technique to spread pepperoni; mastered the pepperoni, but then was “re-directed” to correctly re-stack the boxes (who knew there was protocol for box stacking?); learned to ask questions to make sure proper procedure was followed, which was typically met with sighs; luckily didn’t have to wear the costume; was never conversed with, only spoken to.

When she quit, she didn’t tell the owner why, nor did he ask.

Back to the convening and the plenary, “Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion as Assets for Innovation,” led by Tawanna Black, MCF diversity fellow and president of Innovations By Design, LLC.

Board culture is the most important factor influencing both the positive and negative experiences of nonprofit board members of color, pointed out speaker Vernetta Walker, director of consulting and senior governance consultant with BoardSource. Culture can include factors such as: Board communications geared to the dominant group; board talking about need to be more inclusive but failing to take action; insensitive or offensive comments or jokes from board members; power maintained by a dominant group and not open to everyone.

This was part of Walker’s presentation of preliminary findings from BoardSource’s research report, Vital Voices: Lessons Learned from Board Members of Color.

Underestimating the critical role of culture may be the reason there has been little change in the number of board members of color in the past 15 years, despite all the talk in our sector about the need to diversify, the focus on recruiting board members of color, and organizational strategies developed to highlight diversity and inclusiveness. According to BoardSource’s Governance Index, in 1993, nonprofit boards were 86 percent Caucasian and 9 percent African American. In 2010, those numbers were 84 percent and 8 percent, respectively.

I implored my daughter to “just be glad you have a job, because not too many people are going to hire someone with no prior work experience,” but that wasn’t enough to get her to stick with it. In the end, even though the job met all her original criteria, she just didn’t like being there, felt alone, and didn’t feel valued. In her words, “I don’t think they care if I quit.”

In the same way, it’s not enough to just invite people of color, offer a seat at the board table, say “We tried” when it doesn’t work out, and move on to the next recruit. The best strategies and intentions can either be undermined – or advanced – by board culture, so we can’t overlook it.

The pizza joint probably doesn’t realize it lost an honest, hard-working, conscientious, personable, smart teenager who would have been a great asset to the business, if only that business had a culture where a complete newcomer felt more like a needed team member and less like a distraction.  

If, in our nonprofits, we create a culture that doesn’t value diversity and inclusion, we all lose too - especially when that culture exists at the leadership level.  

The statistics didn’t budget from 1993 to 2010. What will they look like in 2027?

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Note: The PowerPoint presentation, group discussion questions and resources cited during this plenary can be found on the MCF Convening website.

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Don’t Proscribe, Collaborate: Strengthening Ties Between Native Americans and Grantmakers

August 6, 2010

Just over five billion dollars is awarded each year in the United States, yet less than 1 percent of these funds is targeted toward Native American communities. A new report released by One Fire Development Corporation examines this disparity.

Created with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, an MCF member, and the San Francisco Foundation, “Context Is Everything: Reflections on Strengthening Partnerships Between the Philanthropic Community and Native Americans,” includes interviews from Native American nonprofit leaders, as well as experienced foundation staff who reflect on the gap and what strategies are needed for grantmakers to work effectively with Native communities.

It finds that the causes of underfunding are complex, but much can be attributed to lingering negative stereotypes about Native people, as well as grantmakers’ lack of cultural competency and predilection for narrow, targeted funding emphasizing individual achievement, a focus that is often discordant with Native problem-solving strategies that value a collaborative, democratic approach emphasizing building meaningful relationships.

The report concludes that the journey to successful grantmaking in “Indian Country” starts first with building respectful relationships with members of the community and continues through a process of co-creation and cultural understanding.

The spirit of the report’s recommendations for effective funding are summarized well by the words of June Noronha, strategic planning officer at the Bush Foundation (an MCF member), who has worked for many years with Native people:

  • Listen, don’t talk;
  • Don’t proscribe, collaborate;
  • Have infinite patience;
  • Don’t define success in a linear or quantitative fashion;
  • Acknowledge the rich intellectual and expertise capital in Indian Country;
  • And, always remember that relationships matter.

In addition to this more general advice on grantmaking in Native communities, the report also contains some very concrete recommendations on next steps that need to be taken to further the cause of strengthening Native communities in the United States. The report can be downloaded for free at the OneFire Development website.

- Cary Lenore Walski, MCF web communications associate

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What Difference Does Difference Make?

June 24, 2010

Difference is everywhere I look. I see difference in size, shape, gender, race, perspective, background, locale, income, wealth, achievement, commitment, attitude, and age to name a few. I see difference. This difference and the work I do each day prompt me to ask myself, and now you, when does difference make a difference? When I ask myself this question in relation to my own life I’m forced to dissect the answer into the types of difference that I experience and present each time I show-up in the world.

The truth is, difference makes a difference quite often, but the extent to which it makes a positive or negative difference depends on the situation. There are times in my life when being the youngest in the organization or board made the biggest difference. At other times, it has been being the only person of color in the room. Still others it’s been being the only woman, or the only person from another state, or the only person in a certain socioeconomic class. Most recently, it seems that being a new Minnesota transplant is making the biggest difference in my life. It seems difference is always making a difference…So, what do we do about it?

Years ago, in our efforts to create a color-blind, gender-blind society, we worked to erase difference. Women wore pants, took manufacturing jobs, cut their hair short and used other tactics in order to fit in. People of color in majority environments changed the way they spoke, dressed, and styled their hair to avoid seeming different. And Caucasians in urban environments did the same again, in order to fit in.

Sometimes individuals made these changes because of perceived ism’s, and sometimes the changes were mandated. Looking back on it, we realize these changes did very little to erase difference. In fact, they perpetuated the fallacy that the only real differences were in superficial things such as clothing, hair, and dialect, overshadowing the rich and vibrant differences that actually make us who we are and contribute to stronger communities and organizations.

Today, we’re starting to realize that difference can make a positive difference, if we allow it to. Diversity of thought is a valuable asset for every organization, and when we realize that diversity of thought comes from not only diversity of educational background and experience, but also diversity in gender, race, class, geographic background, sexual orientation, age and other facets of identity, we realize that our organizations can be much more successful when we are inclusive of all of these differences.
But, even at that point of awareness, it takes more than an open door. I’m a member of a membership based organization with over 600 members, and yet less than 2% of members were people of color. Even fewer members come from low or low-to-middle income backgrounds.

The organization has an “Outreach Statement” that essentially stands as a no discrimination policy and for years the organization relied on this policy to invite and welcome in members from diverse racial backgrounds. When this noble outcome wasn’t achieved, leaders decided that women from other races were simply not interested in joining, when in fact; the perception was that that women of other races were not allowed to join.

I assert that until the organization is actively assessing why it has not been perceived as welcoming of certain differences and made concerted efforts to thoroughly reach-out to new segments, this outreach statement should actually be called an “Open to Considering” statement.

I don’t doubt that many of our philanthropic organizations also struggle with acknowledging difference in ways that translate into inclusive practices. Successful organizations must be places where difference is allowed to thrive.

Organizational leaders must become experts at engaging all types of people and differences and at leveraging those differences for greater organizational impact. When we master this, everyone in the organization can bring their lens to the work, and we begin to see we’re all better for it. But, it’s not easy. What differences make a difference in your day-to-day work? What about in your neighborhood? What are you doing to make difference make a positive difference in your organization?

- Tawanna Black, MCF diversity fellow

Tawanna Black

Tawanna Black supports the inclusivity initiatives of MCF and its members. As a part of her fellowship, Tawanna will be sharing her insights with us on the topics of diversity and inclusion in the field of philanthropy in her bi-monthly blog posts. Stay tuned for future posts!

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