The Unique Challenges Facing BIPOC Nonprofit Leaders

Leading a nonprofit can be hard even in the best of times. In these unique times, BIPOC leaders face unprecedented challenges. The COVID pandemic had a disproportionate effect on communities of color, perpetuating the systemic racism communities have faced for centuries. At the same time, the countrywide reckoning with racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd pushes leaders to address the persistent community trauma of people of color.

Despite this need, there is evidence that organizations that serve and are led by people of color were less likely to receive philanthropic and government support and that diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, while expanding, are not widespread enough to move towards a more racial just sector and society.