Throughout our work in this sector, we have been seeking out resources to help us understand BIPOC nonprofit leadership, from statistics around numbers of leaders, to how those nonprofits are funded, to first-person accounts of being BIPOC leaders, especially in primarily white nonprofit organizations. What we have seen, and continue to learn, is that leaders face different challenges depending on their background, and this is particularly true of BIPOC leaders. Yet, most research and other resources lump all leaders of color into one category, not separating out data points or suggested solutions by race. For example, in looking for statistics specifically around nonprofits led by Black leaders, we found much of the data is out of date, and there were few calls-to-action that took into account the specific ways in which Black leaders have been silenced. Addressing the varying inequities leaders of color face will require differentiated approaches; research and advocacy that fail to recognize the distinct ways marginalized communities are oppressed will certainly fall short.

Below are some resources - by no means comprehensive either of what’s available or of what there is to say - that we have found useful. We hope that as these conversations continue at a global scale, more research will be conducted that will help drive solutions to inequitable nonprofit leadership.

Anti-Blackness in the nonprofit sector:

Nonprofit Quarterly: Black Women in Nonprofits Matter

The Grio: An open letter on racism in philanthropy and the trials of a Black founder

The Grio: Do Black Lives Matter enough for you to hire them for leadership positions?

A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities: The Case for Funding Black-Led Social Change

Experience of BIPOC nonprofit leaders:

Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Challenges of Being a Woman Leader of Color

New York Times: Philanthropists Bench Women of Color, the M.V.P.s of Social Change

Nonprofit AF: Why more leaders of color are leaving their positions and what we need to do about it

Educators for Excellence: Nonprofits need women of color in leadership and to disrupt the structural barriers to their advancement

Chronicle of Philanthropy: Leaders of Color Speak Out

Statistics around BIPOC leadership and funding:

Our Clients

A selection of our past search and leadership transition clients