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Building Board Support on Issues of Racial Equity: A Conversation with Sector Leaders
December 03, 2021
From November 30 | Center for Effective Philanthropy | by Chole Heskett (CEP)
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) held their third 2021 Virtual Learning Session. In that online discussion, Michigan Nonprofit Association's Donna Murray-Brown was one of the featured panelists, addressing the research findings around the topic, "Foundations Respond to Crisis: Lasting Change?" The article on CEP's website is a transcript of the virtual session. Here's a sample from the article:
[Moderator Hilary Pennington, executive vice president of programs, Ford Foundation] HP: There’s so much in what you just said. […] And I think that you’ve named one of the huge stumbling blocks in the mindsets that I think we and boards have about what it means to be strategic and accountable.
And I see you nodding, Donna. I’m curious how this lands with you, and I’m sure you all in the association do a lot of work, either with boards or on the issue of boards?
Donna Murray-Brown, president and CEO, Michigan Nonprofit Association: Oh, absolutely. And thinking about our board — and I thank goodness that the work around diversity, equity, inclusion and justice really started back in 2009 — but when I became president and CEO in 2013, and just thinking about the board structure — it was actually a barrier to us having very diverse members on our board.