Abstract
This policy brief summarizes the findings of a larger report on racial-ethnic diversity in California's nonprofit sector (see www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411977). It documents the extent to which California's nonprofit boards, staff, and executive leadership are racially and ethnically diverse, and analyzes diversity by an organization's size, type, funding patterns, and geographic location within the state. The brief examines how California nonprofits with diverse leadership have been affected by the current economic downturn, and presents three models for measuring diversity using different definitions of organizational diversity.
The text below is an excerpt from the complete document. Read the full brief in PDF format.
Introduction
Racial and ethnic minorities are fast
becoming a larger share of the U.S. population,
and California is on the forefront of
this change. Already, "minorities" account
for the majority of California's population.
Non-Hispanic whites are the largest racialethnic
group in the state, but one in three
Californians is Latino, one in eight is
Asian American, and one in sixteen is
African American. About 1 percent is
Native American or Pacific Islander. And
while California as a whole is diverse,
there is enormous variation in the patterns
of racial-ethnic diversity among the state's
regions. Some regions, such as the North
Coast and Sacramento, have a majority
non-Hispanic white population, while in
the Los Angeles area, two-thirds of the
residents are people of color.
To learn whether California's nonprofit
organizations reflect this demographic
change, the Urban Institute's Center on
Nonprofits and Philanthropy conducted a
statewide, representative survey on the
diversity of nonprofit boards, executive
directors, and staff in California's nonprofit
sector. The survey addressed five
questions:
- What proportion of California's nonprofits
can be categorized as "diverse"?
In addressing this question, the report
compares three different models for
defining diverse organizations (see box).1
- What percentage of board members,
executive directors, and staff in the
sector are people of color, and what
percentage are members of specific
racial-ethnic communities?
- How does the number and proportion
of diverse organizations vary by the size of the organization, field of activity, or
location in the state?
- Is there a gender difference in the leadership
of organizations led by people
of color?
- What effects, if any, is the current economy
having on nonprofit organizations
in terms of demand for services and
funding, and are the effects correlated
with the racial or ethnic diversity of
organizational leadership?
The study provides valuable baseline
information on how racially and ethnically
diverse California's sector is in
terms of leadership and staffing. However,
it does not address questions pertaining
to such issues as the relationship
between diversity and quality of service,
why some organizations are more diverse
than others, or how diversity can be
promoted in the sector.
(End of excerpt. The entire brief with citations is available in PDF format.)
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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