Storytelling Blog: Center for Leadership Equity United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

Storytelling Blog for Scattergood Foundation
Center for Leadership Equity

United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

The Center for Leadership Equity (CLE)’s most important accomplishment over the last year has
been the steady growth of the Black Nonprofit Chief Executives of Philadelphia (BNCEP) and the
provision of thoughtful and relevant programming for Black nonprofit leaders. What began as a
group of 24 Black nonprofit leaders has now evolved into a viable affinity group and a legitimate
learning community of leaders, who inform the CLE’s strategies and activities. Since the
Scattergood Foundation’s generous funding, the organization has grown to 350 members and
now includes emerging nonprofit leaders with 3-10 years of experience in the sector.
BNCEP has grown not only because it represents a safe and affirming space for Black nonprofit
leaders, but because we have been responsive to the group’s needs on a consistent basis. In addition, Executive Director, Kelly Woodland, and CLE Lead Consultant, Folasshade Dunbar, have been mindful not to simply recruit members, but to instead be intentional about ensuring that BNCEP is welcoming and inclusive. The last year has not only confirmed the utility and need for a CLE, but also has informed the role that such an entity can play in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors. The CLE is especially
important at this time as we face the emergence of an “equity rollback” among funders who feel
that sufficient efforts have been made to address funding inequities. The CLE advocates to ensure that equity remains a priority among regional funders despite this obstacle. Our efforts thus far have confirmed that the CLE is not a DEI initiative, but rather an active illustration of how to achieve equity in our sector. Furthermore, the high attendance at each of our events held
throughout the year is evidence that we have successfully tapped into the professional
development needs and interests of Black nonprofit leaders. Events are deliberately held at local
foundations, as it is important to create opportunities for Black faces to be seen in traditionally
white spaces. The success of the CLE’s development over the past year is not only attributed to the incredible
community of Black nonprofit leaders in Philadelphia, but also to the CLE’s leadership. Kelly
Woodland and Folasshade Dunbar have been sought out as thought leaders and partners on the topic of effective strategies to reach and support Black nonprofit leadership. This information- sharing reflects how the CLE’s expertise will be transferred to support the broader philanthropic sector and help close the social access gap. Due to Kelly and Folasshade’s leadership and learnings over the past year, the launch for the CLE came to fruition in 2024, anchored by its strength of involving stakeholders in actionable, equity-oriented opportunities. Despite dedicated fundraising resources being allocated to this effort, securing multi-year
support from regional funders has been a challenge. If our organization could “raise a magic wand”, we would wish for an influx of multi-year funding to support the CLE’s infrastructure and expand our program offerings. Although we have been very productive in consistently delivering an assortment of programming for Black nonprofit leaders, there is always more work to be done, specifically regarding community building, as the demand has intensified.

The most important learning from this year is that equity-related work often fails because transactional interactions prevail over building relationships. While transactional behavior is pervasive throughout the entire sector, it especially serves as a barrier when creating and delivering professional development programming for leaders of color, as well as when recruiting from this very community. Traditional professional development is offered to Black nonprofit leaders in a manner that ignores their full selves—personal and professional—and they are viewed through the narrow prism of their agency’s profile. The delivery, tone, and dosage of professional development must be informed and shaped by the nonprofit leader. Oftentimes, the professional development offerings are driven by funders or capacity builders, as opposed to nonprofit leaders. To address this, the CLE consistently surveys and assesses the preferences of BNCEP members. These assessments reflect an interest in incorporating wellness as a
professional development offering because of the emotional toll leadership takes on Black nonprofit leaders. In addition, BNCEP members enjoy being connected to other members through our community.

To that end, an annual wellness retreat was planned and hosted by the CLE to provide emotional restoration for more than 100 Black nonprofit leaders over the last two years. A BNCEP Wellness Retreat attendee reported that after attending the Retreat, “I went to my Rheumatologist. BP was down 10 points from usual and she commented I seemed so relaxed. She was briefed on the Retreat and its therapeutic value. Thank you for creating a safe space for respite and community.” This quote signifies the core work of the CLE and reaffirms its value not only as a community for Black nonprofit leaders, but as a program that centers behavioral
health, in addition to professional development offerings. As previously mentioned, the national push back against “DEI initiatives” in response to the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision addressing affirmative action may impact long term funding for the CLE, and represents the largest obstacle for our work in the future. After the Court’s historic reversal of affirmative action measures, litigation against race-conscious grantmaking has surfaced and several large corporations, including Walmart, have announced an end to their own DEI initiatives. While the CLE does not view itself as a DEI program, external funders may interpret our work differently. We are grateful for the Scattergood Foundation’s support of the CLE to promote a more equitable philanthropic sector, especially during this changing landscape.