Study links diversity, increased board engagement

• Published date: 01 May 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30448
• Date: 01 May 2018

MAY 2018 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

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© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Board Issues

Study links diversity, increased board engagement

Data collected on over 1,600 nonprot boards

show that American charities continue to struggle

with the quest for diversity—and are missing out on

some key advantages a diverse board offers in the way

of internal and external engagement�

According to research conducted by the Lilly

Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana Univer-

sity, nonprot boards don’t yet match up, propor-

tionally, with the demographic breakdown of the

general public in terms of age and race/ethnicity�

The typical board has far fewer African-Americans,

Hispanics and Asians than their actual popula-

tion statistics would warrant—7�5 percent vs� 13�3

percent for African-Americans, 4�2 percent vs� 17�8

percent for Hispanics and 2�6 percent vs� 5�7 percent

for Asians—and tend to skew quite a bit older as

well� Women make up about 47 percent of nonprot

boards, pretty close to the 50�8 percent women make

up of the American public overall�

For proponents of diversifying the nation’s chari-

table sector, the data underscore the need to increase

efforts to bring on more people of color, especially

in light of demographic shifts that are expected on

the horizon� Per the report, Hispanic and Asian

populations are expected to double by 2060, and

African-Americans are expected to comprise nearly

15 percent of the population� The thinking goes that

having members of these communities on the board

gives nonprots greater insight into their needs, thus

making it easier to tailor services to them—and makes

it easier to engage them in fundraising and other

forms of support�

According to Dr� Una Osili, associate dean for

research and international programs at IU, the report

conrms the advantages a diverse board offers, in

three key areas:

• Board member engagement—the level at which

board members participate in community building

and outreach and are engaged in oversight and gov-

erning of the organization, and whether they stay on

the board for the maximum time allowed�

• Fundraising engagement—as determined by

whether board members meet with potential donors,

whether they ask others for money, whether they per-

sonally contribute to the organization and whether

they attend the organization’s fundraising events�

• Advocacy engagement—the level at which board

members engage with policymakers, monitor the im-

pact of government policy and educate policymakers

on their issues/program areas�

Per IU’s research, female board members rated

higher in all three categories, while younger board

members also rated high in fundraising and board

member engagement� Certain ethnic groups also

correlated with increased engagement—most nota-

bly, Asians were highly rated in terms of fundraising

effectiveness�

According to Osili, the advantages offered by such

diversity come at a time when more is being asked of

nonprot boards in general�

“Increasingly, boards are expected to do more

than the usual governance,” she told Nonprot Busi-

ness Advisor� “Fundraising and advocacy are more

important for nonprots, and boards are expected to

help in those areas�”

She said the shift into these nontraditional areas

has happened over the last 10 years or so—beginning

after the Great Recession�

“There’s been a lot of thinking about how boards

can help the organization achieve its goals,” she said�

When it comes to organizational effectiveness,

board member engagement is critical, she said� And

as the data show, diversity improves on engagement�

So it makes sense for nonprots to invest in efforts

(See BOARD on page 8)