On November 7th, the Leaders of Color Collective partnered with AMPT: Advancing Nonprofits for LoCC in at AMPT, an event where nonprofit leaders of color came together for a panel discussion and community building.
The panel consisted of five leaders from a diverse set of organizations: ángela munguía, Executive Director of AMPT; Jamyle Cannon, Executive Director of The Bloc; Christina Bourné, Director of Development at Forward Momentum Chicago; Sheerine Alemzadeh, Co-Director and Co-Founder of Healing to Action; and Edwin Martinez, Executive Director and Co-Founder at Centro Sanar.
At the forefront of the discussion was the effort of undoing “white bias”, which can pervade every aspect of an organization’s existence. For example, philanthropy often dictates to nonprofit organizations of color that they must have the right results before funders will provide resources, leading organizations to prioritize metrics over the process. This same malefaction can also cloud an organization’s culture. The status quo of top-down leadership and lack of attention to staff care lead to leadership feeling isolated and team members feeling devalued, ultimately crippling the work.
In discussion of how to untangle from these long established and unhelpful yardsticks, each panelist had unique perspectives to share based on their challenges and successes as nonprofit leaders. A common theme was humanization: seeing each other as people first, rather than a metric or goal; centering the people who do the work through collective decision-making; and challenging the “great man theory” through co-leadership models that allow leaders to be vulnerable and lean on each other for support. Watch their conversation in-depth here.
The leaders left energized to go back to their respective teams and talk about what they learned. Many shared that they felt a renewed gratitude for the power of community. “We need each other,” one attendee wrote post-event.
Be on the lookout for the next event in 2025. There are several discussion topics in the works for following events: cultivating an engaged board, organizing community-led fundraising, and continuing to build collective power to make positive changes in the philanthropy sector.
The Leaders of Color Collective is immensely grateful to the panelists who shared their insightful experiences, to AMPT for collaborating on the event, and to all of the attendees who contributed to the energy and vulnerability in the room.
If you are a nonprofit leader of color and you would like to get involved with the Leaders of Color Collective, please reach out to Jessica Jones-Lewis at jessica(at)loganfdn(dot)org.