Black-Led & Serving Nonprofit Challenges and How Funders Can Best Support Them

Resilia recently hosted a #PeerToPeer webinar with Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit leaders who shared the challenges their organizations face, how they are addressing them, and actionable strategies they’re deploying to increase their impact in the communities they serve. The panel also discussed their inspiring successes and how foundations and other funders can better partner with Black-led nonprofits to contribute to their missions.

Hosted by Resilia’s Todd Pittman, Director of Community Impact, the session featured unique (and sometimes hard-hitting) perspectives from these panelists:

• Angela Perry, Executive Director at 4th Dimension Leaders

• Dr. Crystal DeBerry, President at Indomitable Families Affected by Incarceration

• Evelyn McGovern, Cofounder/President at Women of Colors

• Rashard Dobbins, Executive Director at Class Act Detroit

Following are key insights from the discussion, which largely centered around ways funders can build trust-based relationships and best support Black-led nonprofits to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Respect and Trust Black-led Nonprofits to Serve the Communities They Know Best

While all nonprofit founders face significant hurdles, Black nonprofit changemakers lead with their lived experiences and have first-hand understanding of the systemic challenges facing the communities they serve. 

The 2022 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey report released by the Nonprofit Finance Fund showed that 57% of Black, Indiginenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) nonprofit leaders have lived experience that is representative of the communities they serve compared to only 18% of white leaders. To clarify: 

• Black-led/serving organizations are those with a primarily Black executive staff, board, and constituents.

• Black-led social change organizations are those whose primary purpose is to build political, economic, and social power of the Black community.

• Black-led social change is about demographics, racial identity, and power building.

The survey suggests that to better address DEI and other issues impacting underserved communities, funders should trust leaders who are most familiar with those communities. Funders should also look to gain a better understanding of community needs.

According to Evelyn McGovern, Cofounder/President at Women of Colors, "[Funders] need to find out and be more engaged in what's happening in the community."

Dr. Crystal DeBerry, President at Indomitable Families Affected by Incarceration, noted that trusting Black nonprofit leaders is paramount, saying, “We’ve learned to listen to the streets and what our community needs, and establish that kinship with them in the work we do.”

Funders should also resist asking Black-led nonprofits to adjust to a preset template in running their nonprofits. According to Rashard Dobbins, Executive Director at Class Act Detroit, success stems from “being true to yourself, and not compromising the culture.”

Commit to Addressing Structural and Systemic Inequities to Make Real Change Happen

Black-led and serving nonprofit leaders are aware that the far-reaching impacts of structural and systemic inequity requires a long-term commitment to action.

“We have this system that’s existed for 400+ years and it can’t be fixed in 4 days, or 40 years, or 50 years. It's a generational change that we’re after,” noted Rashard Dobbins. “If we’re going to talk about equity, it’s a moot point if we’re not going to get real and talk about racial healing.”

“There’s an ebb and flow to this work,” explained Angela Perry, Executive Director at 4th Dimension Leaders. “If the work of equity and racial justice is hinging upon key critical events in society and the protests that occur because of them, then organizations aren’t really interested in change, it’s a PR play.” 

She continued: “What would it look like for organizations to build their own internal capacity to really address structural change in real ways and to sustain it? A large part of our work (the Equity Practitioner Program) is aimed at exactly that . . . to bring in decision-makers at all levels of organizations to come in, deeply learn, but also like Ella Baker would say, commit to direct action such that . . . these people who are really familiar with the way their organizations work can go back and say, ‘we need to change this, this, and this’ and be committed to doing it.”

Build Partnerships Between Funders and Black-led Nonprofits to Co-create Equitable Funding Opportunities

Fundraising is a key issue for Black-led/serving nonprofits, and some of the challenges they experience can be tied to larger systemic and historic issues.

“For me, it has to do with being respected as a social impact organization,” said Angela Perry “It’s very challenging for Black-led and Black-serving organizations to be seen as necessary. If the eyes of funders and the broader society at large says -- ‘Oh, they’re serving Black folks, that’s not for us” – then you don’t see our work as actually being a societal good. Not being seen as necessary also diminishes what we are supported as.”

She continued that funders need to see Black-led nonprofits as “being absolutely necessary in the whole of society and know that our organizations, when we do good, everybody benefits.”

Deliver the Tools and Resources to Help Black-led Nonprofits Maximize Impact

In his event presentation, Todd Pittman cited statistics that unrestricted net assets of Black-led organizations are 76% smaller than their white-led counterparts and their average percent of revenue was less than half.

Citing similar studies, Rashard Dobbins mentioned that funders really need “to offer direct flexible funding for transformative capacity building.”

And supporting Black-led nonprofits needs to be continual, not just reactive to news of discrimination or racial injustice. Funders should work to empower Black-led and serving nonprofits by equipping them with the tools and resources they need to create long-lasting impact. 

"Now it's a ‘thing’ to give to Black-led organizations,” said Dr. Crystal DeBerry, addressing funders on the issue of fundraising. “But past this season, what do you plan to do to make sure that our numbers continue to rise?" 

Todd Pittman further shared that funders should take into account specific needs of BIPOC-led/serving nonprofits as revealed by Resilia’s internal data analysis:

Fundraising and Board Management Are Top Needs for BIPOC-Led/Serving Nonprofits

Most-frequented knowledge and coaching topics requested in Resilia’s programs for nonprofits include:

• Actionable online fundraising templates

• Board development and management

• Diversification of funding streams

• Sustainability of funding

• Leadership development and goal-setting to guide transitions

• Strategic planning to execute service mission

• Building staff capacity

This analysis shows that funders should be sure to equip their nonprofit partners with the tools they need to build capacity, run their organizations effectively, and drive toward their mission goals.

How Resilia Helps Strengthen Black-Led & Serving Organizations

The event panelists are from nonprofits participating in Resilia’s Funder Program, which offers customizable resources, 1:1 nonprofit coaching, and many more capacity-building tools. The panelists shared how Resilia has helped their nonprofits build capacity in various ways:

“Having an external thought partner to bounce some things off of as we engage in this strategic work has been extraordinarily helpful,” said Angela Perry. “It’s not often that you find organizations that are as available and accessible as Resilia has been, particularly without paying upwards of $80,000 a year for it. I appreciate that. They have been super helpful.” 

“For Indomitable, we had a moment of taking a step back and assessing the health of the board to be able to take away some of the duties, delegate, and think more strategically. We worked on that with Amber, one of Resilia’s nonprofit coaches, for six weeks and we most definitely appreciate that,” says Dr. Crystal DeBerry.

“I don't know how long Resilia has been in existence, but I wish I knew about them twenty, thirty years ago,” said Evelyn McGovern. “Just to be able to talk to someone and have that one-on-one time and undivided attention, and if they can't help you, that particular coach, then they refer you to someone that can. It's awesome. And then the workshops, the various workshops, it is just awesome. It's invaluable.” 

For more panel insights, watch the full replay of the #PeerToPeer webinar, Capacity-Building Learnings from Black-Led/Serving Nonprofits.

Recap: How Funders Can Better Support Black-led Nonprofits

In summary, to better support Black-led nonprofits, the panel recommended that funder boards work to better understand Black communities, change the narrative that Black-led organizations carry risk and/or have lower impact, include Black representatives in board meetings, and put fewer restrictions on grants so funds can be raised and used where needed most.

Backing the insights from the panel, the following points are inspired by the ABFE’s The Case for Funding Black-Led Social Change reports, where Black-led nonprofit leaders provided recommendations for creating more authentic, efficient, and effective partnerships between foundations and Black-led organizations:

1. Build Understanding
   Respect and trust leaders in Black-led organizations
   Be proximate to the organizations 
   Recognize Black community leadership and structures

2. Build Community
   Be part of the whole
   Collectively design funding opportunities 
   Be open to pivots and shifts

3. Act for Social Change
   Acknowledge systemic racism 
   Invest in Black-led social change infrastructure
   Actively advocate for philanthropic investment in Black communities

Resilia is working to address the needs of nonprofits across the country through mission-facing and back-office capacity building delivered through online training, customizable resources, storytelling, and 1:1 coaching. To learn more about the Resilia Funder Program and its customized capacity-building programs for grassroots nonprofits, click here.