Data show no improvement in nonprofit board diversity

• Published date: 01 November 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30380
• Date: 01 November 2017

NOVEMBER 2017

7

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

(See DATA on page 8)

Industry News

Data show no improvement

in nonprot board diversity

The latest research from BoardSource shows that

nonprots have made little headway in terms of

board diversity, and aren’t taking the steps necessary

to improve on that front in the near future.

As outlined in BoardSource’s Leading with Intent:

2017 National Index of Nonprot Board Practices,

a biennial study of nonprot board composition,

culture and performance, some 90 percent of non-

prot CEOs and board chairs are white, as are 84

percent of general board members. That’s almost

unchanged from the 2015 survey, which found 89

percent of CEOs, 90 percent of board chairs and

80 percent of general board members to be white.

What’s more, the number of nonprot boards that

are all white inched up from 2015, at 27 percent now

compared to 25 percent two years ago.

In fact, the number of nonprot board members

For the rst time, Charity Navigator and Guid-

eStar will combine their resources and knowledge

of nonprot organizations to compile a more com-

prehensive database of impact-related information

and metrics, making it easier for the public to see

what a charity has accomplished alongside its for-

mal Charity Navigator ratings.

Starting on Giving Tuesday, Charity Navigator

will publish results information gathered by Guid-

eStar. According to the groups, Gold and Platinum

GuideStar Seal of Transparency holders will have

their results and programmatic information pub-

lished on their Charity Navigator prole pages for

donors to review.

The collaboration will make it easier for charities

to share their results and impact-related informa-

tion with the largest possible audience, reaching

a combined 20 million people each year, Charity

Navigator said.

Though both groups compile information

on nonprots, their databases don’t completely

overlap.

GuideStar—noted as the largest source of non-

prot information—has impact- and results-related

information for more than 13,000 nonprots, while

Charity Navigator, as the largest independent

evaluator and rater of nonprots, has information

and ofcial ratings for some 9,000 organizations.

Just about 2,000 nonprots are proled on both

sites, but that number should rise substantially as

the new collaboration takes foot, the groups said.

The initiative will also include data from other

impact-focused platforms, including Classy’s

Progress framework, which is used to recognize

programmatic performance for the Classy Awards,

and GlobalGiving’s GG Rewards program.

“Collaborating with the sector to obtain and

publish impact-related data is an exciting opportu-

nity for both donors and nonprots,” said Michael

Thatcher, CEO of Charity Navigator. “The data

won’t impact a charity’s ratings on Charity Navi-

gator, but it does signal to all that the importance

of sharing impact-related information is the next

phase of accountability and transparency for pub-

lic charities.”

According to Jacob Harold, president and CEO

of GuideStar, the effort will also help do away with

the “overhead myth,” the use of simple nancial

ratios of overhead expenses versus revenue to de-

termine if an organization is effective and efcient

with its resources.

“It’s very encouraging to see Charity Navigator

seeking out and sharing data that speaks to impact

nonprots are having on their missions,” Harold

said in a statement. “Simply put, this partnership

will help donors make better decisions. What’s

more, this data sharing allows nonprots to main-

tain their focus on their missions.”

For more information, visit http://www.charity

navigator.org or http://www.guidestar.org. ■

GuideStar, Charity Navigator to combine data on charity impact metrics