Why Your Nonprofit Needs Cultural Humility (And What It Is)

Cultural humility has been on the rise in the nonprofit sector, and with good reason—it’s an important mindset to develop if you want to benefit the communities you serve and truly improve outcomes, and it’s directly related to effective leadership and management. But what exactly is cultural humility? And how can your nonprofit start to develop it? Below are some answers to frequently asked questions on this topic and tips and strategies for incorporating cultural humility into your organizational culture.

The Difference Between Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility

As the world becomes more and more interconnected, it's important for nonprofits to have a strong understanding of other cultures. However, it's not enough to simply be aware of other cultures - we must also be humble in our approach. Cultural humility is about being open to learning from others and admitting that we don't know everything. It's a departure from the traditional view of cultural competence, which is focused on categorical mastery. Instead, cultural humility recognizes that we all have something to learn from one another, that there is a shifting nature to intersecting identities, and that we must always stay curious about other people's experiences. 

Why Cultural Humility Is Important Within a Nonprofit

Without cultural humility, a nonprofit will have blind spots about its own potential for causing harm to those they wish to serve. That's why building cultural humility into your nonprofit is important for nonprofit leaders, staff, and those in power. Cultural humility can help build trust between a nonprofit and the communities it serves. And when funders see that a nonprofit is committed to cultural humility, they're more likely to invest in its work.

Ways to Build Cultural Humility within Your Organization

1. Acknowledge that you don't know everything. As a leader, it's important to be open to learning new things and to admit when you don't have all the answers. This sets the tone for your whole organization and shows that you're willing to learn and grow.

2. Seek out diverse perspectives. Make an effort to hear from a variety of people, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups. This can be done through things like surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations. Build empathy and understanding by asking questions and really listening to the answers.

3. Be aware of your own biases. We all have them, so it's important to take some time to reflect on what they are and how they might impact your work.  

4. Develop self-awareness and humility as leaders. The more you understand yourself as an individual, the better equipped you'll be to build healthy relationships with others in your nonprofit environment and beyond.

5.  Recognize that all parts of a person's identity converge to form a whole person. Everyone has different parts to their identity - race, gender identity, sexuality, religion, class background, abilities, disabilities, and other lived experiences - and these differences shape who we are. To put someone into just one category is limiting and not reflective of who they really are, or how they experience the world. 

6. Create space for vulnerability within your nonprofit culture. We all make mistakes sometimes! You can't change this about yourself, so the best thing you can do is try to create a space where everyone feels comfortable taking risks without fear of being judged too harshly if something goes wrong.

7. Start with building cultural humility within your internal organization first. Understand your staff and their identities--not as objects, but as humans who share different histories, life experiences, and cultures than you do.