By Naomi Harris, JVA Consulting, LLC

Retrieved from: http://www.causeplanet.org/articles/article.php?id=155

As a consultant for nonprofit organizations, I have noticed an increased concern on the part of my clients to boost the diversity of their board, staff and volunteer corps and to embed inclusive policies into organizational practices. The more I have those conversations with clients, the more I am convinced that many organizations do not recognize the good work they already do in this arena. There is always room for improvement, but it is important to be cognizant of showcasing the activities you already do as you present your organization in proposals. Foundations are interested in your current environment, but they also want to know what plans you have for implementing new procedures. The following are common components of grant proposals that may trigger some ideas to consider.

(Remember: Always call your funder before you begin to customize your proposal! This will help inform your content.)

Cover letter

Invite a diverse community advisory board to review your boilerplate to make sure it is culturally competent and incorporate their suggestions. Use this as evidence in your proposal of community engagement. Consider including this in your cover letter and, if you have room, in your program description.

Organizational background

This section is a natural place to describe how your organization evolved from a group consensus of community members who worked to solve a problem, answer a need or offer a unique resource to the community.

Current programs

• Convene a community focus group or groups of the constituents you serve to elicit suggestions on programming and outreach strategies. Groups, for instance, could represent different ages, professions, cultures and sexual orientations. Include a description of this effort briefly in your program description. This is compelling to funders who want assurance that programming is relevant to diverse communities and that your organization is consulting the community in using effective outreach strategies to reach its constituents.
• Implement a standing advisory group that meets on a regular basis—i.e., biannually—to review, make recommendations and evaluate the organization’s programming. This is compelling to funders who want evidence of ongoing dialogue with constituents. It can also give rationale for how programming has or will evolve. Present specific evidence such as quotes or percentages to explain how or why programs have been created or have evolved during the past year(s).
• If you have adapted evidence-based programming in response to the cultural sensitivity of or feedback from your constituents, this would be excellent rationale to support your programming approach.

Evaluation

• Use community feedback and recommendations to make your site culturally/socially sensitive and physically accessible. This can be done through existing satisfaction surveys, interviews and/or focus groups and should be spelled out in the proposal. It will provide evidence to funders that your evaluation materials have been effective in improving services.
• Include questions in your evaluation materials about your constituents’ opinion of your staff’s cultural sensitivity, and welcome their comments regarding their challenges and recommendations for improvement.

Inclusiveness

Ask your funder if inclusive practices are a priority. If so, and if your organization does not have a clear approach, describe what progress you have made and concrete plans you have to begin moving toward inclusive procedures.

Governance and volunteer engagement

List or refer to your advisory group, focus groups and any in-kind professional development offered to your staff and board in your evidence of inclusive leadership and volunteer engagement. If you have heavy turnover, acknowledge that, and describe how you are working toward stability through increased leadership training, engagement and staff development.

Planning, promoting and sustaining your organization

• Show evidence that your strategic plans’ goals imbed efforts toward diversity, such as through marketing materials; engaging in outreach strategies; creating a welcoming environment; using focus and advisory groups; in the budget, such as honorariums for an advisory group and translation services; and professional training/development for volunteers and staff on cross-cultural competency.
• Explicitly tell funders about your efforts to create educational and program materials with language and terminology that are culturally/socially and visually appropriate.
• Tell your funders about active community outreach strategies, such as going to community leaders, churches and cultural events or speaking to affinity groups.
• Tell your funders about your strategies for increasing donors among diverse communities.

I often joke with my clients to make a point: Funders who prioritize inclusivity are not suggesting that organizations stand on street corners and drag in the next likely member of a given diverse group to sit on the board of directors. Rather than using tokenism, thoughtful practices encourage the participation of all members of your organization, offer vehicles that encourage a dialogue with community, and are reflective of the constituents that the organization’s mission serves.